Trips

     In the afternoon we got into narrow dugout canoes made from a Champ tree trunk.  Seven of us with a poler in front and a paddler in the back went down the Rapti River.  We saw Indian pond herons, Egrets (little and cattle), Siberian ducks that migrated from Siberia by flying over the Himalayas, lap-wing, green sank, pied king fisher, grebe, white crown bug-tail, black ibis, storks, and Asian open bill ducks.  We saw a few monkeys and several crocodiles, including the endangered Gharial crocodiles with long skinny snouts. 

    On the trail through the jungle from the river to the Gharial Crocodile Conservation Park, we saw paw tracks of a large tiger and his claw marks on a tree, and the holes a sloth bear had made digging for ants or termites.  The conservationists for the breeding program of the Gharial crocodiles learned how to hatch the eggs and care for the reptiles until they are seven years old and able to be released back into this river or other rivers.  The population dropped to about 200 because humans, monitor lizards, and birds took their eggs.  The program is successful and will help maintain the balance of nature. 

 

Dugout canoes	On the river in the skinny dugout canoes
Siberian ducks	Crocodile
A not-so-stable bridge	Sign at the Gharial Crocodile Conservation Park
Gharial Crocodiles	Gharial Crocodile
Gharial Crocodile	Termite nest
	Signs. There surely were no real roads in sight for these signs to point to!
Tues., 11/6/12 - Election Day - Chitwan to Kathmandu - Farewell Dinner             At 10 AM we left the lodge for the airport in Bhadrapur.  We checked our luggage and got our boarding passes then got back on the bus to go to a "business hotel" for lunch. We went back to the airport and went through a second hand screening (this airport has no x-ray machines) and walked out to the 29-seat, two prop plane for the 15-minute flight to Kathmandu.  If the weather had been poor, it would have taken us seven hours to drive the distance.              We checked into the Gokarna Forest Resort again and at 4 PM, five of us women met with native staff women who dressed us in saris for our Farewell Dinner tonight.              Dinner was held in the Kathmandu palace of the ex-monarchy.  The long dining hall held about 80 people and had a small stage (formerly the musicians area) on which two men and two women performed traditional dances in colorful outfits.  The waiters were dressed in the uniforms of the bodyguards of the monarchy.
Being dressed for dinner	The group
Us in our saris	Dinner at a palace of the ex-monarchy
Entertainment	We had starters of momos, French fries, fried dough, and boiled peanuts in a sauce and, of course, a curry dip.  The next course was chicken soup, again.  The main course came in a brass, sectioned platter that the royal family once used.  We had spinach/kale, roasted wild boar, curried chicken, mushrooms in a sauce, boiled potato in a sauce, and lentils to pour over the white rice.  There were some unidentified spicy condiments.  Dessert was a spicy yogurt.  The meal was traditional Nepalese and some of it was quite tasty.  Maybe we are getting used to the spicy flavors.  They also provided beer (Gorka) and a potent rice wine.  Other guests stared at us, but wearing a sari was almost fun!
The starters	The main course

Homeward bound

Wed., 11/7/12 - Kathmandu to New Delhi
            We did not have to leave the hotel until 10 AM and were able to watch the presidential election results on CNN.  Because we were in a time zone 12 hours earlier than Denver, the timing was perfect. 
            Our OAT tour guide left us at the airport and we struggled with a mess caused by someone changing our flight from Jet Airlines to IndiGo Air.  IndiGo would not check our bags any further than New Delhi, while Jet would have sent them all the way to Newark. 
            In New Delhi an OAT representative met us to "help" us at the "In Transit" desk.  We spent at least three hours waiting for our luggage from IndiGo to be identified and rechecked onto Jet Airlines before they could give us boarding passes to Brussels and Newark.  To make a long story short, our bags were never recovered, but we got boarding passes and went through more security screening and pat downs and to the hotel.  We had spaghetti for dinner and then slept for a few hours. 

Thurs., 11/8/12 - New Delhi to Brussels, to Newark, to Denver
            We don't know what day it is now!  We were at the gate for our flight and still no baggage tags appeared until 20 minutes before boarding the flight - at 2:25AM.  On the flight to Brussels we had more curried tofu and lentils and rice.  On the flight to Newark we had another meal of curried tofu and lentils and rice.  In Newark our luggage miraculously appeared - everyone was relieved!  In celebration of that and being back in the U.S., we went to McDonald’s and had a hamburger and chocolate shake!  Customs clearance was a breeze and the flight home was a relief.  We drove home to Estes Park, arriving at about 9 PM, 51 hours after leaving Kathmandu.       

       It is great to be home.  We plan to eat beef for dinner for the next week!
 

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