Unique Wild Resort - Chitwan Nepal

While in Chitwan I stayed at the Unique Wild Resort in Sauraha. They recently did some upgrades to the place and they're still improving on it, but it wasn't noisy at all, and rather quiet at night. The guys at the front desk were helpful, booking a flight to Kathmandu for me from Pokhara, and the kitchen staff were all friendly and fun. Food was served pronto. All in all, I met some great people there. Lovely Laura, from Connecticut, was on her way back home.



I enjoyed walking around the neighborhood and meeting the locals. I stopped and bought some honey from these old-timers sitting outside canoodling with their son, who was visiting from Kathmandu. It was a dusty barrio and I love small towns where the pace is s-l-o-w. It reminded me of my favorite place in the world, Santa Barbara, Colombia.



The ubiquitous overcrowded bus.

Canoeing on Narayani River Chitwan Park

It was wonderful canoeing on the Narayani River in Chitwan Park and seeing all the wildlife, including a well-camouflaged crocodile they call the 'serial killer' that was lounging on the riverbank.  I was  nervous because the boat was tippy and I didn't want to outswim a croc looking for breakfast. There were a large variety of birds, including kingfishers. After the canoe ride we went for a walk through the forest.

Our oh-so-patient guide, Dipas

Chitwan National Park Nepal

Awwwwwwwwww! We saw this amazingly cute baby rhino at the Biodiversity Conservation Center in Chitwan National Park. There is the Wildlife Display and Information Center museum filled with artefacts and in the back of that there is a large breeding area for rhinos and elephants.













Off to the breeding park.

Chitwan Park Nepal

It was a l-o-o-ng bus ride from Kathmandu to Chitwan Park, and although it's only about 170km it took almost 8 hours to get there. The road was jammed before we left the station, as you can see on the left. The highway to Chitwan was narrow and crowded with buses, cars, trucks, camping vans and scooters and when you combine that with the inevitable accident... I didn't fly because I wanted to see the terrain, knowing it would be breathtaking, and it is. The buses drive very slowly, unlike the buses in South America. They can't go fast what with the traffic, so they don't travel much more than 50km, which is the speed we went for most of the route. Thank God for traffic!





What you can expect to see when you drive from Kathmandu to Chitwan Park.

Kathmandu Nepal Tourism

Hare Krishna

There's nothing I like better than just hiring a cab to drive me around, sometimes with no destination in mind. I met Hare Krishna at the Tribhuvan Airport when I flew in from Pokhara. He helped me to find a hotel room in Kathmandu without making me feel I owed him two kidneys in return.

I liked him so much, he was so talkative and friendly and we had a great vibe together that I arranged for him to meet me the following day to take me to the airport for my flight to Oman. I told him to come early so we could drive around the city in the early morning and take pictures. No one on the road at that hour - bonus! The streets of Kathmandu are usually jammed with traffic. It reminded me of Manila, but without the mid-afternoon heat and car touts. Kathmandu's broken streets are interspersed with temples and tea shops, dilapidated apartment buildings, muddy, polluted trenches and rotting garbage. And because of all the roadwork - dust. I had a great time with Hare Krishna, he stopped everywhere and when he finally dropped me off at the airport I gave him a massive tip, all the Nepalese money I had left. He was so surprised he stood gazing off into the middle distance long after I had entered the airport and disappeared.







I stayed at the Crown Plaza my final night in Kathmandu and when I checked in the buffer at reception said he had no single rooms available, in fact, the only rooms available were the most expensive ones. I looked around the lobby. 'Dude, the only thing I see moving around down here are the dust balls. Come on.' On top of the price he wanted me to pay a sales tax, a room service tax, and if could have made up another tax, he would have. I rolled my eyes.  'Just give me the cheaper room.'  I finally paid $20, lower than the $50 he wanted, but I had to nasty him to get it.  I don't know how many times somebody has tried this which goes to show that rooms, like anything else, have to be bargained for.

The crowded lobby.




Was somebody murdered in this bathtub?





Dinner around the corner from my hotel. It was delicious!