Hello guys, I hope you all are doing great in life, coz I am doing fantastic. Recently returned from a solo trip and super excited to share my experiences with you all. This trip was very special to me due to some specific reasons, but as trip started and continued, this started becoming my favorite because of the everyday experiences - each day a new experience, a new feeling.
Originally this trip was planned for a new adventure – skydiving over Himalayas. But as I continued my planning, I decided to continue it as solo trip. So I was in Nepal for two weeks, where first week was with a sky diving team, and then next week visiting Nepal’s cities as a solo traveler. So I will complete my write-up in parts, possibly two or three blogs. Each will be narrating about my days in Pokhara for skydiving and my solo trip in Nepal.
Here I am continuing about my solo trip, as I am still waiting for sky diving videos and pictures.
After sky diving in Pokhara, Everybody else started their return. I continued my journey in Nepal. So from Pokhara, I had to reach Chitwan. I had booked everything in advance, only the local commute needed to figure out. I knew that there were local buses as well tourist buses run between Pokhara and Chitwan. As a solo traveler, first thing to check with the hotel staff if they can arrange, but we had got assigned a lady to arrange all the activities in Pokhara from our skydiving group leader. I checked with her and she arranged the ticket from Pokhara to Chitwan. I started 7am in the morning from Pokhara, reached sauraha around 12 in afternoon. From there, I got picked up by hotel (Jungle safari resort) transport. Chitwan is more like a plain with lots of mustered fields spreaded all over the area. It looked so beautiful, like some yellow velvet sheet is spreaded on the ground.
I check-in around 12.30. Hotel was beautiful, full of lush green lawns and trees. I wanted to sit in lawns but I was little tired, so went to room and slept straight for 5 hours. Next day was my jungle day. I had booked full jeep for myself for a full day in jungle. I started around 7 am in morning. Everything was arranged by my hotel, guide, jungle safari and food for the day. They packed the lunch, handed over to guide. We reached the starting point, crossed a river Rapti. Three rivers are there, Reu, Rapti and Narayani. Seti river from Pokhara comes to Chitwan and called Narayani. All these three rivers get submerged in river Ganga. Early morning everything was covered in fog and visibility was not that great, still it was looking beautiful. After a long time I was feeling that foggy smell. Although it was a very small duration boat ride, yet this made boat ride more beautiful. Here are few clicks:
Then we met our driver, who took us through the jungle. As I am writing here, I am reliving that day again and this is making me smiling again. A very beautiful and amazing time I had in that jungle. Chitwan national park is the first National park in Nepal and is home to many four leg animals as well as birds. As we started, it was dense forest and almost no sunlight inside with lots of fog. It was very cold. We just had started, my guided asked me looked ahead, as there was deer, hiding in the fog. I couldn’t clicked the picture as I was lost in that moment. I saw that and it just felt me like a scene from TV serial Ramayan. I will try to described here the scene. So it was dense forest, fog was stuck between trees like clouds. A narrow path was ahead and in front a kind of circle was forming by the trees and there in the center a deer was standing, like a black shadow while some light was there from behind. It was magical. Then we moved ahead, then there was a peacock sitting on a branch of a dry tree. Again It was looking so beautiful in foggy sky, a shaded sun was lighting from behind in that foggy sky. We continued to enter the jungle. We saw many deer, barking deer and spotted deer also, lots of monkeys. Then we entered the hunting area of tiger. We stopped there for around 30 minutes silently. It was a big ground completely covered with grass, with long trees – a complete horror movie scene. As we were there, stayed as silent as we could, we heard some door cracking noise, I got scared then guide told that it was the woodpecker, but those minutes were little scared as we were in tiger’s hunting area. We started from there after 30 minutes. There was a fruit tree, called Rhinoapple because Rhinos loves that fruit and it is very nutritious to them. Then, there was silkcotton tree. It blooms in monsoon. LocaI birds drinks its juice ad they start their breeding. I witnessed lot’s of birds near the lake, on the trees and in open areas of jungle – Jungle babbler, Jacanas, two tail drongo, Siberian ducks, Darter, Rufous treepi, Red bulbul, White Kingfisher, Blue Kingfisher, Woodpecker, beautiful parakeets and Chinese pond Heron. I got only few clicks:
I had my lunch inside jungle. We stopped near a wooden tower. I went up to tower with my lunch while guide and driver had lunch at ground to keep an eye on surrounding. We started from there again and went more deep in jungle. By that time, it was almost 2 in afternoon, still no hint of tiger. I had almost lost hope, then only we heard the deer barking. Guide told me that it was the alarm to alert the surrounding. So we stayed there for around 40-45 minutes, and then the magical moment appeared. A tiger come out from the bushes. He was so silently came that we didn’t hear any sound, not even dry leaf sound. It was there for aound 5-6 minutes. Initially it was going opposite to our jeep, till then I was fine. Then suddenly it turned and started walking towards our jeep. I got panicked there. Thankfully he got distracted by something and stopped there, that was the relief. Then it went again in the bushes and how I could miss to click that magical mpment. Here are the snaps:
We waited there for some more time incase it came out again. But after 30 minutes, we started from there. I was satisfied then and my jungle safari was completed for me. We explored some more areas in jungle for bird watching and then we came out of the jungle around 5pm. It was a completely different experience for me, stayed in jungle for a whole day and felt the nature so closely.
We reached hotel around 6, I had my dinner and slept. Next morning I went to canoe ride. It was 40-45 minutes of canoe, with beautiful lake view, surrounded with forest. There I got to see lots of birds. I got chance to witness a white kingfisher hunting in the lake, beautiful peacocks near the lake, Indian cormorant and many crocodiles having the sunbath near the lake. I was not reallly interested clicking pictures, as was lost in the surrounding and nature. I loved this morning canoe ride. This could be treat to those who love to spend time in watching birds, if weather is in favor.
There we headed towards the Elephant breeding center. This was again a new experience for me. I got chance to meet a 6 month old baby elephant. It was trying to pluck the grass from its trunk, so cute.
Then there came a wild male elephant. It’s baby elephant was playing with him, beautiful experience and great place.
I came back hotel round 10am, then I checked out and boarded the bus to Janakpur.
I reached Janakpur around 7pm, checked in the hotel, had dinner and slept. Janakpur is birth place of Ma Sita, also a central hub for the Maithali language, as well as for religious and cultural tourism in Nepal. Next early morning, I went to Janaki temple. It was really a beautiful temple. I was getting goose bumps there just by thinking that I am at the birth place of Ma Sita. Temple is really colorful and beautiful art crafted on walls. I loved the temple.
I was done by around 9am, checked out from the hotel and reached the airport. Here my days in Chitwan and Janakpur ended and started for Kathmandu. Nepal airport was again a different experience. I had my flight at 1.30, but I reached airport at 11.20. Airline person asked me that they had a flight at 11.30 and I could board that flight. So basically it was like, you reach the airport, check which flight is available and ask to get seat in that. Also, security check was very easy there, looked like they were not bothered much. I boarded flight and landed Kathmandu. Kathmandu was again a completely different experience. I was there for 4 days, loved my time there and will write a separately in detail about that.
Stay tune to know about my Kathamnd and Sky diving experience.
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