"You need to run as fast as you can... and climb the nearest tree!"

I’m being lazy today! I’ve spent the last two days in the heat and humidity of Chennai (formerly Madras), where I have wandered the streets, spent way too long on the local public transport (3.5 hours to go 31km!), and have yet again found myself sick when faced with the extreme pollution and heat of Indian cities! After a nightmarish day of travel disruptions leaving Nepal, I am incredibly lucky to be couch surfing with Anna and Rasmus, a wonderful German girl and her hilarious Danish boyfriend, living in Chennai for five months, and by far the highlight of my time in this city! The three of us are heading off together tomorrow morning for Puducherry, however I have claimed today as a day of laziness, and therefore decided it is time I updated my blog!

Looking out the bus window... at
least this spot had a rail!

From Kathmandu, I found myself bumping along the precarious road to Pokhara, a 210km journey which takes about 8 hours in good traffic, and includes much excitement as the bus weaves through traffic on both sides of the road, comes dangerously close to the top of the cliffs which fall dangerously below, and brakes suddenly to avoid wandering livestock who use the road both as a path to reach their destination, but also more commonly, as a good spot to lie in the warm sun, oblivious to the vehicles trying to pass! I was on my way to Pokhara with my trekking group – four Aussies, a Kiwi and a Brit on a 6 day Geckos tour – and our guide Nima, a lovely Nepalese man who had been leading treks through the Himalayas for 18 years, and went out of his way to ensure we were all well looked after, and allaying my last minute fears of being forever remembered as the fat kid who held the group up. Turns out I wasn’t so bad after all!

A truck that didn't negotiate
the corners so well!

Pokhara is the second largest city (however I feel ‘town’ suits it better!) in Nepal, and is about an hour and a half drive from the bottom of the Himalayas, where our trek was to begin. The town lies on the banks of a man-made lake, popular with tourists who find excitement from sitting precariously close to the water level on rickety boats that paddle out to an island temple, and providing a beautiful view for the daredevils who paraglide in from the mountains above – obviously I did neither of these activities, and instead chose food and a hot shower over any form of sightseeing!

Our trek took us up through the Annapurna region, walking around six hours a day, and spending our nights in small, quaint teahouses where hot showers and heating were unheard of, the food never quite as you would have expected from the description on the menu, and the views of the Himalayas absolutely breath-taking! Our first day of trekking was by far the hardest, conquering 19km of uphill stairs, in the hail, with the cold temperature and the Aussie girls’ over-packing of absolutely everything holding the group back more than we would have liked! While it is glaringly obvious I am no Josh Leane in any way, but most of all in my level of fitness, I actually didn’t do as badly as expected, and was quite pleased to finish the day without the tag of ‘fatty’ or ‘slow-coach’, and without feeling I had held the group up with my lack of any real training, preparation or fitness. So far so good!

Day two saw us climb higher again to Chomrong – but only after climbing an hour and a half uphill, to then find ourselves climbing back down the other side of the same hill, to then climb even higher again up the next hill, to then have to take a longer route because of a landslide… and then climb further uphill again! While the distance we travelled was less than day 1, the continual change between uphill and downhill trekking was actually harder on our legs… however I still somehow managed to avoid the nasty nicknames, and didn’t do as badly as expected. As the sun began to set for the day, with our legs aching, our clothes coated in sweat and filth, and some of us having slight regrets at booking a trek… we turned the last corner toward our teahouse for the night… and stood face to face with the Himalayas. Every negative thought vanished from my mind, every issue I have ever had in life seemed completely insignificant, and every expectation, hope and dream I had for my trek in Nepal were suddenly blown out of the water. The Himalayas are truly amazing.

The view from my room

The Himalayan Range is the highest mountain range in the world, with 109 mountains reaching a height of over 7200m (the highest mountain outside of Asia is a mere 6900m in South America, while Mt Lofty soars at 727m) and divides the Indian subcontinent with the rest of Asia. Formed over the last 70 million years, the Himalayas not surprisingly contain a huge array of rivers and waterways, and it is estimated water from the Himalayas directly supports over 3 billion people in 18 countries – half the population on Earth!!! I only made it to 2700m, where I stood in absolute awe and wonder, blown away by the sheer size, brilliance and beauty of the mountains around me, unable to even comprehend how high and distant the peaks were. Standing in Chomrong, our teahouse looked out directly at Annapurna II at a height of 7937m, and Annapurna South at a much less impressive 7219m. In other words, the peak of the mountain in front of me was over 5km higher than where I was standing! Coming from the flat plains of South Australia, it seemed unreal to be standing in the (relative) warm, while watching it snow high above me, and then still seeing more mountain well above the cloud and snow level. Amazing!

Doing the dishes... Nepal style!

Out trek continued with a visit to a natural hot spring, which was sensational until you had to get out and face the cold Himalayan air while wet, countless games of Jungle Speed and cards, and our last two days spent following the river back down toward Pokhara. Overall, the trek was a great success, and I managed to keep up with the group much better than I am sure many of you anticipated! The Annapurna region has to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth, with no roads (unfortunately this is beginning to change on the Annapurna Circuit), hundreds of small villages and communities, and some of the nicest, friendliest and happiest people I have ever come across. The living isn’t easy, and many people walk for hours, on tracks that left me gasping for breath, and pushed my muscles to the point of exhaustion, just to get to their local town or to visit their neighbour. The land, primarily used for agriculture, is terraced and hard to access, the irrigation of crops a constant battle, and the crops and animals farmed without the modern technology we take for granted back home. However, even with all the challenges that would no doubt lead 99% of Australians to give up, somehow life goes on, the people go on, and the work gets done. I feel so incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to witness the work and lives of the people of the Annapurna region, and I know that as I continue on my travels, and eventually head back to the comforts of home, if I can take even the smallest piece of what I have learnt from these amazing people, and apply it to my own life, and encourage others to do the same, the world will be a much better place.

The Sauraha Taxi Service...

Finishing the trek, I yet again gave up the opportunity to sightsee in Pokhara for a hot shower and food, and celebrated the end of our pain with a group dinner and terrible local cultural show. Early the next morning, I found myself on the edge of my seat once more, as I caught a bus to Sauraha, a small town right on the edge of Nepal’s famous Chitwan National Park – home of the one-horned Rhinoceros. Checking into my $2/night accommodation, I was extremely relieved to discover I wasn’t sleeping with the goats and sheep as I had feared for the price, but was instead in a great little resort on the outskirts of town, surrounded by banana palms, mango trees and corn plantations, and home to a happy family of chickens who would wander the gardens… and mysteriously would drop in numbers every time someone ordered a chicken dish in the resort restaurant… hmm.

The public ferry

6am the next morning, I was up and on my way to a jungle trek, with a local guide who seemed to speak better Spotted Deer and Rhinoceros than he did English. Now that I have safely completed the trek, it’s probably time to mention that tourists are warned against doing treks in the Chitwan jungle, after a spate of attacks from a number of animals have left tourists in much a much worse condition than when they started (mum didn’t need to know this before I went!). Crossing the river on a canoe just before sunrise, our group of three tourists, two guides and an interpreter headed straight into the thick of the National Park, quietly ducking and weaving through plants, spider webs, and fresh ‘gifts’ from all creatures great and small, with our eyes and ears determined to be the first to find something worth gloating over later. The further into the jungle we went, the more evidence we found/stepped in that Rhino’s had been around recently, and the more I found my nerves on edge. It might be a good time now to mention the safety briefing we were given before entering the jungle…

“Rhino’s have killed a lot of people. If I yell ‘run’, you need to run as fast as you can, and climb the nearest tree.”

That was it. Run and climb. Good. Understandably, with this safety briefing running through my mind, the knowledge that Rhino’s and Bengal Tigers live wild in Chitwan, and the fact that every few metres I was stepping over yet another human-sized pile of Rhino poo, or flattened grass where a Rhino had last night slept – I was a little bit nervous! We walked, and walked, and walked, and walked… coming across little more than a bird that took flight as I approached (scaring the bejeebers out of me!), and a glimpse of a Spotted Deer, as it pranced through the tall grass. Pushing further through the National Park, now surrounded by dry grass twice my height, and very few trees to use in the ‘unlikely event’ of having to implement the survival plan, we continued to walk… and walk… and walk… stopping every few minutes for the guide to do his best Bear Grylls impersonation, supposedly listening to the sounds of nature, to lead him to the elusive Rhino. Just as I thought we were sure to give up our search, and head back to the safety of the resort, the guide stopped suddenly in his tracks, and motioned silently for us all to follow him. Walking softly along a small, half submerged track that followed the banks of one of the crocodile infested lakes of the park, we slowly crept forward… and finally, after hours and hours of walking… standing on the other side of the lake, no more than 80m away from us, slowly walking in the shallows, with birds treating it’s back like a helipad… a wild Rhino! No doubt pulling these facts straight from his backside, the guide told us it was a male One-Horned Rhinoceros, roughly 40 years old.

Immediately glancing around for the nearest tree (none in sight that would hold my weight! EEK!), I began to relax slightly as I watched the Rhino go about his business, completely unaware of the three gawking tourists with cameras aimed in his direction. He appeared to be enjoying a smorgasbord of underwater delicacies, sifting through the selection of grasses, reeds and who knows what else, choosing a particularly nice bunch, before moving on to devour more treats further around the lake. We stood for almost an hour, watching him move like a robot (I’m not really sceptical!), so graceful and peaceful, yet with his thick skin and horn obviously put in place as an effective and threatening natural body armour. With my camera memory card nearing capacity with Rhino photos, and not wanting to look like the loser who wanted to stay longer to watch an animal eat, I finally agreed to move on, back toward Sauraha, but not without more animals along the way!

Just hanging out in the sun...

Cutting through even more tall grass, we found ourselves on the banks of the Rapti River… with crocodiles chilling on the sand next to us!!! No wonder tourists are warned against these treks – the guide had given us no warning whatsoever, and next thing, I am standing a few metres from a crocodile, no doubt quite fond of fresh Australian meat! Looking a bit too lazy to get up and gobble me down in one go, the croc’s continued to laze in the sun as we walked around them, stopping for photos, and to watch in disbelief as a group of local villagers balanced their belongings on their heads, and waded across the river as croc’s casually swam past them!!! Concerned for my own safety, I asked the guide about croc attacks in the area, and he said they happen at times, but the crocodiles usually go for wandering water buffalo – at least twice my size – and much harder to bring down than myself! EEK! Further along the path, I was incredibly lucky to come across a herd of elephants being driven across the river, which is not an unusual sight in Chitwan… however, it was a real treat, as the elephants had full tusks – something I have not seen before.

Some tourists
take a shower

Following the excitement of the morning, I spent the afternoon on a Jeep Safari through the National Park, with a stop at the Orphan Wildlife Care Centre, which seemed more a crocodile farm than anything else, and some stops along the way to admire the local wildlife and scenery. Early the next morning I boarded a tourist canoe for a 45 min trip downstream, toward the Chitwan Elephant Breeding Centre. Clearly not having learnt from the events of the day before, I happily jumped on board, ready for a nice, peaceful canoe ride, and felt reassured by the number of tourists and small children – obviously meaning it was a safe trip I was in for. However, this all came to an end quite abruptly. Boarding the canoe highlighted the first issue of the ride, as with each passenger, the boat sunk further into the water, bringing the water level closer and closer to the top of the canoe… and my digital camera and iPad within! The second issue was the small children I had felt so reassured by… but who had no realisation (nor did their parents!) of the height of the water level, and therefore the need to sit still and balanced while in the boat!

Issue #3 became more obvious the further downstream we went, as amongst the picturesque, floating water lilies and small islands, it became obvious we were sharing the river with my good friends… the crocodiles! Sunning themselves on the bank, or floating downstream with just their heads breaching the surface of the water, crocodiles twice the size I had been concerned about yesterday were just metres away from the canoe! Now more aware than ever that there were only a few centimetres between the top of the canoe and the water, and the small children who were so excited by the crocodiles they were now throwing themselves around the boat in glee, I will admit I began to get a bit worried!!!

Of course, as with everything I have worried about so far, everything was fine. We finally made it to the calm waters next to the breeding centre, climbed to the safety of dry land, and spent the afternoon looking on as dozens of stupid tourists taunted, teased, and then held the tail of the 3 month old baby elephant the breeding centre has running around unenclosed. The information boards at the centre talk it up as a wonderful haven for elephants, however reality paints a different picture, with the elephants whipped and punished when they don’t perform, and then chained up with limited space to move, as hundreds of tourists look on from behind broken fences. The young elephants walk around freely, however so do the tourists, and unfortunately this means the baby elephants are chased and harassed by ignorant tourists after the perfect photo opportunity. I will admit I hoped one of the elephants would break free, and treat the tourists the same way! No luck while I was watching with my camera ready to catch all the action… but maybe one day.

Mum is chained up, while baby runs free

I think they may need to repair the fence?