I woke up at 6 and played on my phone for a bit. The wifi was sorta working (but still not on my kindle). At least the view from my window was pretty. I could see the Himalayas!
We had breakfast at 7:30 and I hated it.
It was eggs, mixed veggies, and toast. The toast was stale and the jam was sickly sweet, the eggs had spices I didn't like, and the veggies weren't good either. We had room temp juice too that I didn't like. I gagged down as much as I could.
We packed up our stuff and got back on the bus. Goodbye hotel we only stayed at for one night! I really didn't like you!
So anyways we got on the bus and drove to a town called Lumbini. Apparently G Adventures used to stay in Lumbini but don't anymore because whenever riots take place, they always go on here. While we were driving, we talked a little bit about Nepal. Recently (or like within the past 10 years) the royal family was assassinated. Their son (who sounded innocent) was blamed and the uncle took throne. Like immediately after there was complete unrest in the country. He was a bad ruler and was dethroned and exiled. Now Nepal is democratic. I'm happy for them.
But there is some minor election going on in Nepal right now. We see lots of people carrying flags for their party and one of the parties running is the communist party.
They had flags all over the place, it's exciting!
We stopped around 9:45 to see the birthplace of my favorite buddy Buddha. We had to take a stroll through this park and I picked up flowers off the ground to press later. MJ and I are pressing flowers we find on our trip.
We saw some fields and stuff.
And then we had to take off our shoes and socks and walk on the hot ground. Abhi talked to us about Buddha. I've said my piece about him. I focused on brushing off the ants that crawled on my bare toes. It was another hot as balls day.
Then we went into a building that didn't allow pictures. It was called the Mayadevi Temple I believe (look at the show off over here, paying attention) and inside was a ton of structural ruins (we walked on this pathway above it all) and the marker stone where Buddha was born. It was a rock.
We went outside through the back door which led to a pool where Buddha's mom took a holy dip before giving birth. There were turtles sunbathing on the edge and they would run into the water when we approached.
Beyond that were groups of stupas constructed during the 1st century and 5th century AD. "But Calla" I hear you ask, "What's a stupa?" Well my sweet summer child, it's this thing-
Next to the that is a beautiful area with trees and tons of prayer flags tied this way and that.
It was colorful and lovely. Abhi said we would take 5 minutes and he asked us to go somewhere quiet and try to meditate. I was skeptical. I've never tried meditating. I went over to a secluded tree and sat on one of the giant roots alone. I closed my eyes for maybe 2 seconds before I had to open them again. I don't know how people mediate. I don't know how they can keep their eyes closed for more than 5 seconds. There's too much going on around me and I want to see it all and take it all in and be apart of it. I don't want to relax.
After that we walked back to our shoes then went back to the bus. We made a small detour at the ATM but I can't withdraw money because my bank is taking note from my electronics and being difficult. No blog updates and no money to withdraw, how's a girl to get by....
We drove on up into the mountains. On the bus I sat in the middle and tried to be apart of both the front seat conversations and back seat chats. In the front we talked about riddles and everyone learned I'm a riddle master (solving riddles is one of my hidden talents, along with moonwalking and hair braiding). In the back we talked about TV shows and I learned everyone loves Game of Thrones but not as much as me.
Abhi said we would have a simple lunch at a place where they only serve 1 dish: noodle soup. I love noodle soup but all the food seems to have a twist so I didn't get my hopes up.
We stopped at the restaurant but it was more like someone's house where we sat on the patio and had a fantastic view of the mountains and trees.
I had a mango juice box to drink. We got our food about 45 minutes later. We could have the soup with or without chicken and I got it with. The soup was REALLY GOOD.
It was ramen and something I would make at home. Loved it. Except the chicken. I'm not convinced it was chicken. It was too gamey and and I'm fairly certain it was red meat. Maybe it was monkey.
Back on the bus after that. More driving. Once we got out of the mountains we were in a small town and saw lots of fields where people were farming.
We got to the hotel at 3:30. We are in the Chitwan National Forest. Our resort (but I don't like to call it that. We're more like glam-camping) has 3 elephants that live there. There is also a pool, restaurant, outdoor bar, a covered area with wifi, and plants everywhere. It sounds fancy but is very modest and nice.
The hotel served us chilled orange drinks, I'm not sure what fruit it was. They we got our rooms. The rooms don't have numbers. They are named after birds. MJ and I had the Osprey room.
They're big rooms with nice bathrooms. It's set up like cabins, our door leads to the outside and we have a backdoor too.
We had an hour to relax in the rooms and get ready for a bike ride. I was so not looking forward to that. It's only 90 degrees but with the humidity it feels like over 100. I don't even ride bikes in the States. 3 people opted out and Abhi arranged for them to take a car instead and that was a plan I could get behind. So I had myself a mango mugger drink (mugger means alligator) at the bar. It was vodka and mango juice and tasty. They wanted to charge it to my room and asked what room I was in. I told them "Oprah. I mean Opera." Then I remembered the rooms were named after birds. "Maybe it's Ostrich." Since I couldn't remember they let me pay cash.
We said goodbye to the 8 people riding bikes and waited for the car to pick us up.
The car was a safari style jeep with open air seating. It was fun! It was bumpy, our driver drove too fast, we didn't have seatbelts, and I had been drinking.
We stopped outside the gates of a national park that had a slow river running through it. Right after we got off the jeep our driver made us get back on in a hurry. There was a rhino sighting. I didn't see shit but one of the ladies with me saw a flash of gray and some rustling in the tall grass.
We were allowed to walk under the gates and into the forest area. Our guide dude showed us where to go if a rhino charged at us. It this rock bridge thing, about 4 feet off the ground that looks like a dock going into the water. He pointed out fresh rhino footprints in the sand.
Immediately after there was another rhino sighting and we had to leave again. Again, I saw nada. So now we have 2 rhino sightings, one on each side of the gate. Our bike riders joined us shortly after and everyone got real freaked out by the rhinos I never saw. A bunch of locals joined in the hype.
About 15 minutes later they let us go back through the gate. We got up to the water and they pointed out the rhino to us. He was like a billion miles away! I didn't even take a picture. That was what they were all freaked out about.
We were served chai and biscuits. I was greedy and took 2 biscuits. There was leftovers and they offered them to me and I had to act coy and be like "Well, if you insist..." and I took more.
I got close to the water and was told not to because there are alligators (or maybe they were crocodiles). If the gators are anything like the rhino, I'm gonna live.
We watched the sun go down and it was nice.
We left before it got dark, maybe around 7, to go back to the resort. When we returned, the elephants were out. I asked our guide dude if we could go see them and he said yes.
They were having some snacks. There are 3 elephants here, all females. I asked what their names were and they each had Nepalese names I couldn't understand but one of the names translated to Flower. They elephants seemed happy! They're not for riding. I think they're just a fun tourist attraction, like the animals a Disney World.
Our bikers returned, by then I had another drink called Rhino's Delight. It seemed fitting after our dramatic encounter from earlier. It's whisky, soda, lemon squash, and orange squash. The bartender gave me a tube of bug cream. I put some on and tried to give it back but he told me to keep it. He also left his bar to move a giant fan so it was pointing directly at me so I could cool off. That was nice of him! I believe he's in love with me.
Our group gathered in chairs on the lawn to watch a performance by local teenagers. They did a traditional Nepalese dance that started with the boys walking around in a circle and clacking these sticks together in unison. Then the girls joined in and it was really fun and impressive.
They pulled us up to join them too. I didn't want to because I was a little buzzed but it was fun. By the time we sat back down everyone was soaked in sweat. Ew!
At 9 we had a BBQ dinner right after. It was chicken and pork and potatoes and veggies and rice. It's not American style BBQ. The food was alright.
The power went out halfway through our meal and we were in pitch black darkness. A couple people set their phone flashlights on so we sorta had a candlelit dinner.
After dinner several of us had drinks outside. I got a vodka lemonade which my homeboy bartender had to pick and cut fresh limes for. It was good.
We played cards and Abhi taught us a new card game and I came dead last each round.
I went back to the room at midnight. MJ was already in bed and had accidentally locked me out (we only get 1 key per room). So I tried the back door. I had to walk through the motherfucking jungle and there were these giant ass snails EVERYWHERE and it was terrifying. Back door was locked too. I had to pound on the door to wake MJ up.
I took a shower. Right after I had massive diarrhea. Then I took another shower because it's hard to feel clean after something like that. Then I had diarrhea again. It smelled so bad, ugh. My stomach didn't even hurt. There were giant grasshoppers in the bathroom too that would launch themselves across the room. This was more intense than the rhinos.
I went to bed around 1
We had breakfast at 7:30 and I hated it.
It was eggs, mixed veggies, and toast. The toast was stale and the jam was sickly sweet, the eggs had spices I didn't like, and the veggies weren't good either. We had room temp juice too that I didn't like. I gagged down as much as I could.
We packed up our stuff and got back on the bus. Goodbye hotel we only stayed at for one night! I really didn't like you!
So anyways we got on the bus and drove to a town called Lumbini. Apparently G Adventures used to stay in Lumbini but don't anymore because whenever riots take place, they always go on here. While we were driving, we talked a little bit about Nepal. Recently (or like within the past 10 years) the royal family was assassinated. Their son (who sounded innocent) was blamed and the uncle took throne. Like immediately after there was complete unrest in the country. He was a bad ruler and was dethroned and exiled. Now Nepal is democratic. I'm happy for them.
But there is some minor election going on in Nepal right now. We see lots of people carrying flags for their party and one of the parties running is the communist party.
Bunch of commies
They had flags all over the place, it's exciting!
We stopped around 9:45 to see the birthplace of my favorite buddy Buddha. We had to take a stroll through this park and I picked up flowers off the ground to press later. MJ and I are pressing flowers we find on our trip.
That'll do
We saw some fields and stuff.
And then we had to take off our shoes and socks and walk on the hot ground. Abhi talked to us about Buddha. I've said my piece about him. I focused on brushing off the ants that crawled on my bare toes. It was another hot as balls day.
Then we went into a building that didn't allow pictures. It was called the Mayadevi Temple I believe (look at the show off over here, paying attention) and inside was a ton of structural ruins (we walked on this pathway above it all) and the marker stone where Buddha was born. It was a rock.
We went outside through the back door which led to a pool where Buddha's mom took a holy dip before giving birth. There were turtles sunbathing on the edge and they would run into the water when we approached.
Beyond that were groups of stupas constructed during the 1st century and 5th century AD. "But Calla" I hear you ask, "What's a stupa?" Well my sweet summer child, it's this thing-
Yeah I'm not sure either
Next to the that is a beautiful area with trees and tons of prayer flags tied this way and that.
It was colorful and lovely. Abhi said we would take 5 minutes and he asked us to go somewhere quiet and try to meditate. I was skeptical. I've never tried meditating. I went over to a secluded tree and sat on one of the giant roots alone. I closed my eyes for maybe 2 seconds before I had to open them again. I don't know how people mediate. I don't know how they can keep their eyes closed for more than 5 seconds. There's too much going on around me and I want to see it all and take it all in and be apart of it. I don't want to relax.
Would you close your eyes?
After that we walked back to our shoes then went back to the bus. We made a small detour at the ATM but I can't withdraw money because my bank is taking note from my electronics and being difficult. No blog updates and no money to withdraw, how's a girl to get by....
We drove on up into the mountains. On the bus I sat in the middle and tried to be apart of both the front seat conversations and back seat chats. In the front we talked about riddles and everyone learned I'm a riddle master (solving riddles is one of my hidden talents, along with moonwalking and hair braiding). In the back we talked about TV shows and I learned everyone loves Game of Thrones but not as much as me.
Abhi said we would have a simple lunch at a place where they only serve 1 dish: noodle soup. I love noodle soup but all the food seems to have a twist so I didn't get my hopes up.
We stopped at the restaurant but it was more like someone's house where we sat on the patio and had a fantastic view of the mountains and trees.
I had a mango juice box to drink. We got our food about 45 minutes later. We could have the soup with or without chicken and I got it with. The soup was REALLY GOOD.
Hells to the yeah
It was ramen and something I would make at home. Loved it. Except the chicken. I'm not convinced it was chicken. It was too gamey and and I'm fairly certain it was red meat. Maybe it was monkey.
Back on the bus after that. More driving. Once we got out of the mountains we were in a small town and saw lots of fields where people were farming.
We got to the hotel at 3:30. We are in the Chitwan National Forest. Our resort (but I don't like to call it that. We're more like glam-camping) has 3 elephants that live there. There is also a pool, restaurant, outdoor bar, a covered area with wifi, and plants everywhere. It sounds fancy but is very modest and nice.
The hotel served us chilled orange drinks, I'm not sure what fruit it was. They we got our rooms. The rooms don't have numbers. They are named after birds. MJ and I had the Osprey room.
They're big rooms with nice bathrooms. It's set up like cabins, our door leads to the outside and we have a backdoor too.
We had an hour to relax in the rooms and get ready for a bike ride. I was so not looking forward to that. It's only 90 degrees but with the humidity it feels like over 100. I don't even ride bikes in the States. 3 people opted out and Abhi arranged for them to take a car instead and that was a plan I could get behind. So I had myself a mango mugger drink (mugger means alligator) at the bar. It was vodka and mango juice and tasty. They wanted to charge it to my room and asked what room I was in. I told them "Oprah. I mean Opera." Then I remembered the rooms were named after birds. "Maybe it's Ostrich." Since I couldn't remember they let me pay cash.
We said goodbye to the 8 people riding bikes and waited for the car to pick us up.
The car was a safari style jeep with open air seating. It was fun! It was bumpy, our driver drove too fast, we didn't have seatbelts, and I had been drinking.
Weee!
We stopped outside the gates of a national park that had a slow river running through it. Right after we got off the jeep our driver made us get back on in a hurry. There was a rhino sighting. I didn't see shit but one of the ladies with me saw a flash of gray and some rustling in the tall grass.
We were allowed to walk under the gates and into the forest area. Our guide dude showed us where to go if a rhino charged at us. It this rock bridge thing, about 4 feet off the ground that looks like a dock going into the water. He pointed out fresh rhino footprints in the sand.
Immediately after there was another rhino sighting and we had to leave again. Again, I saw nada. So now we have 2 rhino sightings, one on each side of the gate. Our bike riders joined us shortly after and everyone got real freaked out by the rhinos I never saw. A bunch of locals joined in the hype.
All I see are wimps
About 15 minutes later they let us go back through the gate. We got up to the water and they pointed out the rhino to us. He was like a billion miles away! I didn't even take a picture. That was what they were all freaked out about.
We were served chai and biscuits. I was greedy and took 2 biscuits. There was leftovers and they offered them to me and I had to act coy and be like "Well, if you insist..." and I took more.
I got close to the water and was told not to because there are alligators (or maybe they were crocodiles). If the gators are anything like the rhino, I'm gonna live.
We watched the sun go down and it was nice.
We left before it got dark, maybe around 7, to go back to the resort. When we returned, the elephants were out. I asked our guide dude if we could go see them and he said yes.
They were having some snacks. There are 3 elephants here, all females. I asked what their names were and they each had Nepalese names I couldn't understand but one of the names translated to Flower. They elephants seemed happy! They're not for riding. I think they're just a fun tourist attraction, like the animals a Disney World.
Our bikers returned, by then I had another drink called Rhino's Delight. It seemed fitting after our dramatic encounter from earlier. It's whisky, soda, lemon squash, and orange squash. The bartender gave me a tube of bug cream. I put some on and tried to give it back but he told me to keep it. He also left his bar to move a giant fan so it was pointing directly at me so I could cool off. That was nice of him! I believe he's in love with me.
Our group gathered in chairs on the lawn to watch a performance by local teenagers. They did a traditional Nepalese dance that started with the boys walking around in a circle and clacking these sticks together in unison. Then the girls joined in and it was really fun and impressive.
They pulled us up to join them too. I didn't want to because I was a little buzzed but it was fun. By the time we sat back down everyone was soaked in sweat. Ew!
At 9 we had a BBQ dinner right after. It was chicken and pork and potatoes and veggies and rice. It's not American style BBQ. The food was alright.
The power went out halfway through our meal and we were in pitch black darkness. A couple people set their phone flashlights on so we sorta had a candlelit dinner.
After dinner several of us had drinks outside. I got a vodka lemonade which my homeboy bartender had to pick and cut fresh limes for. It was good.
We played cards and Abhi taught us a new card game and I came dead last each round.
I went back to the room at midnight. MJ was already in bed and had accidentally locked me out (we only get 1 key per room). So I tried the back door. I had to walk through the motherfucking jungle and there were these giant ass snails EVERYWHERE and it was terrifying. Back door was locked too. I had to pound on the door to wake MJ up.
I took a shower. Right after I had massive diarrhea. Then I took another shower because it's hard to feel clean after something like that. Then I had diarrhea again. It smelled so bad, ugh. My stomach didn't even hurt. There were giant grasshoppers in the bathroom too that would launch themselves across the room. This was more intense than the rhinos.
I went to bed around 1
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