Day 56 - 11th Apr 2009

Thankfully I woke up feeling much better and slept surprisingly well on the train. We arrived into Lucknow, thankfully the last stop so it was easy to know when to get off, at about 6 am. We got off the train and joined the flood of people heading in a direction we hoped was the exit. We decided to get a motorised mini vehicle to the hotel, I would have called it a TukTuk but they seem to be called moto or auto's here. To our delight the hotel let us have our room early so we checked in and cleaned up, I don't think I've been that grubby since I was a kid and didn't know better! As I was removing all the dirt from me I felt something on my back, I asked Adam to look and he tried to brush it off but said it was attached we then realised it must be a Tick! At least there was a reason why we'd brought tweezers with us!

We ate some breakfast at the hotel which was great as we hadn't had a proper meal since yesterdays breakfast! We then headed out so got a rickshaw to the Residency, unfortunately all the drivers wanted to take us round for a whole day which we didn't want. We thought we'd managed to agree a price with a driver to take us just to the Residency but as it turned out he didn't think the same as us! Our driver once we arrived went to the ticket counter and started saying stuff, we didn't understand, so in the end we just gave him the money we'd said and bought our tickets. There is a two tier ticketing system so if you ar Indian you get in very cheaply but foreigners have to pay a lot more, although it's still cheap. We had a wander round, it's basically buildings that British lived in when they governed the town, it has been left how it was after a seige in 1857. Whilst walking around we met a group of men who wanted their picture taken with Adam! It was very weird, we were celebrities for about 2 minutes.

When we came out of the place to go back to our hotel the rickshaw driver was waiting for us, he produced a piece of paper which seemed to list all of the Lucknow sights and at the bottom it said that we had taken 220 rupees from him because we had bought our own tickets. I think he had wanted to get us tickets at the price for locals and then pocket the difference for himself. At this we decided to walk away from him as communication was obviously not going very well. So we walked up the road and of course the bike man followed, luckily there was a auto nearby which we jumped in and got away from our rickshaw driver!

We had lunch at the hotel and used their computer to put some pictures on the website, then decided to head out just for a bit of a walk around. This is harder than it sounds because all the rickshaw drivers wanted to take us somewhere. We found some shops and had a browse in a few, I decided to buy a top from United Colours of Benneton, the staff where very attentive and helpful. As Adam was paying using our Visa card he somehow entered an amount when he should have been putting in his PIN and ended up paying about £1000 for my top! The staff found this pretty funny as it was such a huge amount, they quickly voided the sale and put it through at the correct price! It was almost a very costly shopping spree! We headed back to the hotel stopping en route to buy a Pepsi which I think you have to drink at the stall because they use glass bottles which I think get reused.

We ate dinner at the hotel and had some Indian dishes, not too disimilar to Indian food back home really. Then crashed out at about 9pm!

More Photos!

We've managed to upload some more photos so check them out in the photo section!

Day 55 - 10th Apr 2009

We needed to leave the lodge by 8am this morning but this still gave us time to have a bird watching walk and have breakfast. (Things start very early in the jungle.) So we said goodbye to our home for the past 3 days and heading to the town to get the bus. We made it to the bus office and waited for our bus to arrive, When it did arrive it made the bus we had previously caught from Kathmandu to get to Chitwan look positively luxorious! I guess it wasn't too bad but it certainly wasn't comfortable, well at least not after the first 20 minutes of the 5 hour journey! And the driver drove as though he were practising to be a racing driver but just didn't quite have the vehicle for it! There was a quick 15 minute lunch stop which was a welcomed relief from sitting. When we finally made it to the final destination, slightly ahead of schedule, we then had to get some transport to take us to the border. We opted for a cycle rickshaw. The guy seemed confident he would be fine with us and all our luggage. I felt so sorry for him as he put all his effort into moving us along. Plus it was really hot. But he got us there and the only slight problem was we thought we were going to pay in Nepali money and he wanted the same amount but in Indian money, surprisingly his maths was good and he knew which was the better deal. After exiting Nepal it's a short walk over to the Indian Immigration office. Although it really isn't clear where to go and you feel like you're just walking along the high street and then one of the shops is the Indian immigration office. However the guy helping us fill in the immigration form was the friedliest immigration officer I have ever met. He got chairs for us to sit on, helped us to fill in the form and then adviced us on where to get the bus and how much it should cost.

We walked a short distance towards the buses but decided to see the alternative transport options, the buses loooked perhaps even worse than the mornings bus! We ended up hiring a jeep to drive us to Gorakphur, about a 2 hour journey. We decided to pay extra and hire the whole vehicle for oursleves. This meant the luggage didn't have to go on the roof and we had some space which was a welcome change. So we set off, this driver obviously fancied himself as a competitor to this mornings driver and was not going to drive behind another vehicle for any length of time. This made for a slightly hair rising journey as I held on for dear life! We stop at a road side cafe for some snacks, which was probably owned by his uncle or something because he was very insistent that we got out and bought something! Anyway we eventually made it to the train station, unfortunately about 6 hours too early so we found a seat and camped out at the station. This seemed to be a popular pastime as the place was buzzing with people, generally much more prepared than we were with blankets to sit on and picnics to eat. However we found we were quite an entertainment for people as they starred at us as though they hadn't seen Westerners before. Well to be honest we only saw 3 others the whole time we were there! When Adam got his book out to read this caused quite a lot of interest with several people asking to look at it, I'm not sure if they don't have many books or liked the look of it or thought it was a way to start conversation. Anyway we chated to a few people, although we were always half worried they were planning some great robbery attempt, a bit sad I know to expect the worst from people but then later we had the train staff telling us to be careful when we put a bag on the floor.

Unfortunately the train ended up being about an hour late, which in some ways was good as we wouldn't get to Lucknow quite so early but we were pretty tired. By the time the train was half an hour late I was feeling kinda ill, we had taken our malaria tablets earlier in the evening and they never seem to sit particularly well in our stomachs. So I was almost doubled over with stomach cramps when the train finally did arrive. Thankfully the toilet in first class wasn't anywhere near as bad as the toilets at the station! Luckily we had been allocated a cabin to ourselves, so Adam took the top bunk while I collapsed on the bottom.

Day 54 - 9th Apr 2009

Another early start for our elephant safari at 6 am, although we missed the morning tea and biscuits as we weren't up early enough. We boarded our elephant along with our dining companions and headed off into the jungle. Riding an elephant isn't really the most comfortable mode of transport but it does give you a good vantage point to see things from. Although it also means you're at about the right height for branches and stuff to hit! We saw a rhino sitting down resting and some nice birds and the usual wild boar. And then as we were getting fairly close to finishing our safari we saw a sloth bear! It also had 2 cubs with her which she was carrying on her back. It was amazing and made the whole uncomfortable elephant ride worthwhile.

After this exciting sighting it was time for breakfast. Word got round that we had seen a bear and some people were a bit jealous. Our next activity was a village visit, this meant a jeep ride out of the national park and then we walked round the village and got the jeep back. It was quite interesting seeing the houses and it was a bit like going back in time as it was all pretty basic. But to our surprise there were quite a few places with electricity and some had television. In some ways it felt like we were the show for the locals as everyone seemed to come out to look at us as we walked round. I guess it's not everyday they see 5 westerners wondering around. It was so hot that we were really glad to get back on the jeep to go back, but about 5 minutes up the road there were so,e roadworks Nepali style. This involved 1 man watching as 3 others shovelled sand off a trailer onto the road in and atempt to level out the potholes. There were 2 problems with this, firstly the blocked the whole road to do it so we had to wait in the full sun for them to finish unloading the trailer, second in the process of unloading the trailer they had manage to get the trailer stuck so we also had to wait whilst they figured out how to un jam the trailer! Needless to say we were roasting by time we got back to the lodge.

We decided we should pack all our stuff for tomorrows departure after lunch whilst it was light as there is limited lights allowed on after dark, which is about 7pm. So we are provided with a keresone lantern which is ok but doesn't really provide much light.

At about 4 pm, so it was getting less hot, we went with 2 guides to an observation tower. This was really good as it was just Adam and I with the 2 guides so we could ask whatever we wanted and they were really good at pointing things out. We saw a monkey again as we walked through the forest. The observation tower overlooked a bit of a lake and there were birds sat in the trees and some on the lake. Herons and Storks were sat in the trees and Moorhens and another pretty bird which I can't remember the name of were feeding from the lake. There were also 3 crocodiles sat around sun bathing! And as we sat watching the birds come and go and listening to the noise of the jungle a rhino came along to have a drink from the lake! It was amazing he was so big and I guess had no idea we were there as he just went about his business oblivious. Although at one point he almost looked like he was posing for pictures! It was a much more comfortable way of seeing a rhino as opposed to the elephant riding. Eventually he went away but then after only a few minutes 2 rhinos appeared, I think one was the same one. Then a couple of wild boar turned up to join the party. It ended the day nicely, so we walked back to have dinner, saying hello to the lodges baby elephant as we went past.

Day 53 - 8th Apr 2009

Got up at 5:30 for our first activity of the day: an elephant safari. This involved riding through the jungle on the back of an elephant in search of wildlife. It was good fun but a little bumpy. We saw a few different birds and a deer, so not loads of animals on that trip, just quite a lot of staring into the jungle looking for them.

Then it was time for breakfast before our next activity: a nature walk. This was a 2 hour guided walk through the jungle where we learnt about the different trees and plants.

Then it was back to the lodge for a break from the now very hot sun, where we spent the time reading our books.

After lunch it was: elephant briefing and bathing. Here we learnt more about the elephants and got to bathe with one of them. Which actually involved me sitting on the back of one while he sprayed me with water and Liz photographed me!

Then it was time for our second elephant safari. This time we saw another deer, a rhino and an eagle which was pretty big.

Tonight instead of the movie we had a slideshow. Which was actually a lot more interesting than it sounds and we learnt a lot about the park and the animals in it.

Day 52 - 7th Apr 2009

Yet another early start as we left our hotel at 6:20 to get the bus to Chitwan. Taxi driver who took us to our bus didn't have any change so we had to mess around while he tried to find someone to give him some. Found the bus no problem, a little bit older than the one we took in Cambodia and the luggage went on the roof of this one. But the seats were comfortable enough and it went ok. The journey out of Kathmandu was slow. At times we just stood stationary for 5 minutes, I think because of the road being so windy that at places 2 buses couldn't pass. After 6 hours we arrived at Tandi the pickup point for the Chitwan jungle lodge which was to be our accomodation for the next three nights. We were met by a friendly guide and took a Landrover to the lodge. It was about another half hour along the road and then half hour off roading to get there. Lunch was waiting for us when we arrived which we were very ready for.

The lodge is quite unique in that is one of only 6 lodges which are actually inside Chitwan National Park which is a protected natue area. The accommodation was simple but nice with limited electricity (one small light in our bathroom until 10pm).

After lunch we got a briefing from the lodge manager and then it was onto our first activity: a jungle drive. This involved going out looking for wildlife in the jungle in the back of an open topped Landrover. It was only me and Liz on it along with 4 guides! We drove for about 45 to 60 minutes along bumpy tracks through the jungle and got to the point where we needed to turn back. By this time we hadn't really seen any wildlife apart from a few birds flying about.

Luckily on the way back we saw quite a bit more. First some monkeys with a baby, then 2 different types of deer, then the most exciting a baby rhino! Then a bit further up the road we saw 2 full size rhinos. At this point the guides said we could get out of the jeep and walk closer to them. This was a bit scary as they had previously just been telling us how dangerous they were. It was great to get closer though as you could really appreciate how big they were. They gave us a health and safety talk briefing about what to do if the rhino charged: run back to the landrover quickly!

After that it was back to the lodge for popcorn and a movie! Though when I say movie it was actually a tourism video for Nepal and in Nepali! Then it was dinner time where we met another English couple who were sat on the same table as us and who we got on with very well. The food was all pretty good and quite a lot of it, lunch was 3 courses and dinner was just 2 but you could help yourself to the main so no danger of being hungry!

Day 51 - 6th Apr 2009

Started the day early with a breakfast at our hotel and then headed out to explore the immediate vicinity of our hotel. The streets were really busy with people, motorbikes and cars and similiar to Georgetown everyone was sharing the same narrow strip of road. We were in search of an ATM machine to get some money out but with the streets looking so different to home it wasn't so easy. We spent about an hour wandering round and decided to head back to the hotel and take a breather.

We had seen a couple of ATM possibilities on our travels and so I headed back out to try one of them while Liz took a bit more of a sleep. Luckily the second ATM I tried worked and we had some money.

Next we needed to phone up the people who we had booked our next three days accomadation with and get our tickets and pay the balance. This involved walking to their office which was about 15 minutes away. We found it without any problem and got our tickets.

Then we stopped in a cafe for lunch, where interestingly all the waiters were deaf... Luckily we didn't want anything more complicated than what was on the menu, so some pointing sufficed.

After lunch we headed down to Durbar Square, yet another UNESCO World Heritage site. It's quite interesting in that it contains lots of different temples from different periods of history and in keeping with the rest of Kathmandu wasn't actually very square. More of a crazy 20 or so sided maze of an open space dotted randomly with the temples. By the time we had looked round them all we needed a break again from all the bustle so headed back to the hotel.

We asked the freindly manager's of the hotel if they could reccomend anywhere for dinner and they directed us to a Nepalise restaurant owned by the hotelier's uncle and told us to show the hotels card and ask for the 'special'. What we got was a taster of lots of differnt Nepalise food, we'd eat one thing and they'd be on the way with something else! Some of the courses were nicer than others and a couple were a little odd, but overall it was a great experience.

On returning to the hotel we found that there was no electricity on. It seems that there is some sort of power issue, which we never quite got to the bottom of, that means there is a schedule of when your electric will be off each day. Not something you could ever imagine back home. So the hotel was lit by candlelight until partial lights came back on at 8 which was enough for us to pack by ready for our early start the next day.