the hunt for shere khan and happy holi 2069!

We are now in the town adjacent to Chitwan National Park, Sauraha, and yesterday we got back from a 2 day jungle walk. We walked in 40km (return trip) through the jungle. So I hope everyone is suitably impressed right now because that is A LOT of walking...

We were rewarded for our efforts though. We spotted lots of deer, some monkeys, some exotic birds, crocodiles, a bison (which our guide was so excited about he gave Will a hi 5- apparently it is quite rare to see one) and most exhiliratingly for us, a rhino that crossed the road about 30 metres in front of us. That is very close when you are standing there with no defence...they are fricken huge! (We actually saw something like 8 or 9 rhinos, but that one was the best).

We never found Shere Khan but we did find evidence of his existence. I'm pretty sure he was just hanging out in the scrub watching us search fruitlessly for him...we found a big pawprint/scratch mark in the ground covered in tiger wee, so he was out there.

We got back to town last night with just enough energy to shower, get dinner and crawl into bed. And this morning we woke up and realised it was Holi Festival which I think, according to our jungle walk guide, is something to do with celebrating a goddess who killed a devil who wanted to kill a baby (but if anyone actually knows, please let us know).

Anyway, it's celebrated by throwing coloured powder and water at everyone. So after we went down to the river to watch the elephants having their bath- then deciding we had to have a go at sitting on an elephant in the river and being squirted in the face with water from his trunk- we went for a bike ride through some surrounding villages. Where we got pelted and chased by all the hystercially giggling small children that saw us pass until we kind of looked like we had stuck our heads into big buckets of purple and red paint. We're thinking of harvesting the idea for back home...so no presents this christmas guys, just make sure you've got shiteloads of different coloured powder on you!

So that's our time in Chitwan so far. Sorry there are still no pictures; I've figured out how to do it now but the internet is too slow I think. I'll keep trying!

P.S. 2069 is what year Hindu people are living in right now...pretty cool huh?

in the mountains

I left Adelaide on Tuesday evening and after 2 days of solid traveling I reached Pokhara, Nepal, and found Will standing out in the garden of the hotel I was meeting him at.
I haven't really done all that much since being here...but I have only been here for 2 days. Yesterday we did a lot of resting...in fact I think the only thing we did in between resting was eat. Oh, we ate some mouldy chocolate croissant from an overpriced bakery which we then boycotted.

Today was a little more strenuous. We climbed up a very big hill to the first ever (there are I think 75 built or being built now) World Peace Pagoda, a bright white domed building decorated with huge golden Bhuddas. Then we walked back through a forest and had a relaxing afternoon back at the lake (this is the touristy part) in Pokhara. We bought a few yak's wool products in anticipation of an upcoming trek. Now we are sitting on a balcony, drinking a beer and listening to a pretty awful concert being held to celebrate Earth Hour. How's the serenity...

Before I got here Will had 2 1/2 weeks of exploring Nepal on his own; though most of this time was spent trekking to Annapurna Base Camp (he made it!) and back. He saw a snowstorm and the sunrise over the Himalayas which would have been pretty spectacular. He also ate a deep-fried snickers bar and a deep-fried ball of chips...yes, a ball of chips. I guess you need that slow burning energy to trek through the mountains.

 In his first few days in Kathmandu he also ran away from a "trustworthy guide" who told him not to talk to foreigners as they will just leave him for dead in the mountains and who charged him $30 for a walk around the city. Once he escaped from him he celebrated Shiva's birthday by having lunch with a Nepalese family and visiting some temples.

That's about it for now. Tomorrow we are heading down to Chitwan National Park with hope of spotting a tiger (almost guaranteed impossible) and some rhinos (very possible).

There are no pictures in this post because although I have figured out how to move them from my camera (actually, Will did) to this tablet thing I still haven't quite ironed out all the kinks. And I'm too tired now. But once I do, that will be way cool.