Elephants, Monkeys, Rhinos, Crocodiles, oh my!!
Trip Start
May 09, 2007
1
124
125
Trip End
Ongoing
Sauraha, Nepal
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
I arrived at the Sauraha Resort early in the afternoon and was happy to be away from all the busy cities and stress and finally into the jungle. They fed me a great luncha nd then we went on a walk around the local village and then to the river to watch the sunset over the river and jungle. It was the most beautiful sunset that you could imagine. The area is also so quiet that it is easy to relax and let all the stress of big cities melt away. I then went back tot he resort and had a great sleep for the first time in days.
The next day started really early in the morning and after breakfast, we were off to the river to take a dugout canoe ride down the river. There was still the early morning mist on the river and jungle which made for the best photos and best feeling as we started our day. I didn't see any crocodiles on the way but lots and lots of birds. Birds are boring and they can't hurt you unless the attack on mass. We finally ended the canoe ride and started our walk through the jungle. I like walking through jungles and forests and such so I was right at home. We were in search of deadly animals but alas they were not to be found at this point. We saw lots of monkeys, a peacock, a wild chicken (very scary) and a leech!! It was a nice walk through the jungle but it would have been nice to see such tigers or rhinos or something. I think the leech was the scariest thing that we came across. After our jungle walk, we crossed the river and went to watch the Elephant bath time. This is where all the elephants go down to the river and you can ride them and bathe with them and they spray you with water. I would have liked to do it but it was ending and I didn't have shorts on or time to change. Maybe next time.We then went back for lunch.
After lunch they look us to an Elephant ride through the jungle. This was great fun but awkward as the elephants don't exact provide a smooth ride. It was a good thing my back was feeling better otherwise it would have been a very painful ride. As the ride progressed we saw deer and monkeys. Then we saw 2 rhinos. It was fantastic to see them on the back of an elephant. For once my animal was bigger then their animal. Then we went down tot he river and saw a huge crocodile. After crossing the second river, the elephant drivers heard a tiger. We went in on the back of elephants to find it but it had already run away. It was disappointing but at least we came close. After the elephant ride, they wanted to take us somewhere else but I was tired and wanted to relax so I headed back to the resort and waited for dinner. After dinner I met some people that I had met on the elephant ride and had a couple of drinks down by the river in a thatched hut. It was another great night of relaxing on this very long vacation.
The next day ment another bus ride and back to Kathmandu....
