 |
| Temple Mural, Thakurbaba Temple, Bardia Nationl Park |
Although we had enjoyed our time in India, we really were ready for a quieter and less chaotic time. Enter Nepal! It would have been very easy to just walk past the Immigration Office on the side of the road and have heard of people making that mistake before.
 |
| James really couldn't get here fast enough |
James has been a regular visitor to Nepal since he taught English here for the first time on 2005. He knows a bit of the language and understands the people, the culture and the transportation systems. So were were feeling right at home once again.
We decided to stay in Mahendranagar, the first village from the border to get our bearings and take a bit of a breather. It is a rural working city that is easy to get around on foot. We had a bit of an hilarious time trying to find a bank to change some money. We got sent from bank to bank and teller to teller until at about the 6th bank where someone decided to help us. It took aaaagggges, but it did happen. We were amused by the secruity guard at the door who waved his metal detector at everyone and everyone made it beep, including us, yet he failed to ever search anyone.
Welcome to Nepal. It doesn't always make sense but it's pretty relaxed.
 |
| There was a march on the street. The election is looming. |
 |
| A knitter had dropped their ball of yarn from an upstair balcony |
When it came time to leave we simply stepped out onto the road in front of our hotel and got into a microbus (van). Life is very simple.
Next stop, Chisapani (cold water), is a very small town right beside a very big river, The Kanarli. The bridge in town is a popular spot for Instagrammers to have their photo taken.
We took the obligatory walk but the wind whipped so strongly down the river until after midday everyday that it was actually difficult to walk upright.
 |
| Looking up river |
 |
| Looking down river |
 |
| Looking across to our hotel |
 |
| Bardia National Park starts on the eastern side of the bridge |
We were grateful of the quiet of this wee town, enjoying some very local samosas and dud chia (spicy milk tea). The food at our hotel was also very good and we were just a bit fascninated by the view of the funerals which were held on the river bank every after noon. In Nepal, they burn their dead on a pyre and push it out onto the river! It all seems very environmentally sensible to us.
 |
| This was the view of the funerals from our hotel, so not too close for comfort. |
We caught another micro bus from the village. Here we had to put our Nepali hats on as there seemed to be a lot of disorganisation and our bags seemed not to be getting on the roof. But you soon learn to trust the process, as eventually they moved some stuff around and off we went.
 |
| The van was pretty full and one of us had to sit on a cane stool in the aisle. |
We were first out at the crossroads of Ambasa. Here we enjoyed a dud chia and the company of some of the villages.
We got in a tuktuk for a ride through the National Park to Bardia Homestay, where we would spend the next week.
What a magic place this turned out to be. Our hosts were a Nepali and Dutch couple who have created a real oasis in the jungle.
 |
| Our lovely room |
 |
| Dog bed by day |
The lovely Harry has to be shut inside the house at night as their last dog was killed by a leopard! It is common for them to come into the compounds at night.
 |
| Fire pit by night |
We have always wanted to come to Bardia. It is a much less commercial tourist destination than the more popular, and easier to get to, Sauraha. The word is that you are more likely to see a tiger in the wild here as there are simply less people trapsing through the park each day.
Bardia National Park has approx 110 wild tigers, 130 wild elephants and 30 wild rhinos over an area of 968 square kilometers. But there is a lot more to it than that! We quickly booked ourselves a jeep safari and headed out early one morning with our guide and driver.
As we set out, our guide asked us what we would most like to see that day. We both were quick to say .... a wild tiger, having never before seen on. We have seen plenty of elephants and rhinos in Nepal before. Well, lo and behold, not half and hour into the park we see a beautiful big male tiger resting up against a tree about 10m from us. We came to an abrupt halt and we all sat there in disbelief. We looked at him. He calmly looked at us. No one had their camera ready as, really, we weren't actually expecting to see a tiger. You do have to be very lucky indeed! Once we all came to our senses and reached for our cameras, the spell was broken and he calmly got to his feet and disappeared into the trees. It was such a surreal moment in time.
 |
| Clare took the only photo as he disappeared |
 |
| Pretty happy with that experience |
 |
| Hoping it comes back |
Feeling a bit like our job here was done, we had the rest of the day to just enjoy the other wildlife of the park and the scenery.
 |
| Babai River |
 |
| One of two beautiful owls we saw |
We saw so many deer. All day and into the early evening. In fact we managed to spot four of the five deer species in the park.
 |
 |
| Deer and peacock together |
 |
| Lunch spot |
 |
| Black faced langur |
 |
| A Changeable Hawk-Eagle guarding its prey |
Just when we thought we had seen it all and were heading for home we come across a wild elephant sauntering along the road toward us. He veered off into the bush. We tried, but failed, to track him down.
Such a rewarding day. One never to be repeated, nor forgotten.
