22 May 2015
Postcard from Chitwan
December 2012
Chitwan National Park in the south, near the border with
India, is famous for its wildlife: from large (elephant, tiger, rhino,
crocodile) to small (water spiders, frogs, beetles) and much more.
But I'm going to talk about another type of wild animal
first, one that can put fear into people the world over. I'm talking about
politicians, of course. Our driver is ex-army, having served for 16 years at
home in Nepal and as a peacekeeper with the UN in Haiti when that country had a
civil war. Haiti is the only other country he's ever visited and was, he says,
"terrible" because, "like in my country, people shoot at each
other". He's referring to the Maoist insurgency in Nepal that lasted until
the monarchy was abolished in 2008, and the Maoists were elected (as a side
note, there is no sign of anything vaguely Maoist about Nepal today, it appears
to be more of a label than anything else). The newspapers are full of arguments
about who will be PM, what the budget should be and what should be in the new
constitution (the country has been operating without a constitution since 2008.
This appears to be Asia's Belgium, which managed so long and arguably so well
without a government).
"I hate all politicians, everywhere," the
driver continues, "they are only interested in power and greed. Everywhere
is bad. Except in UK." Slightly astonished (and thinking this might be a
ruse to get a larger tip), we ask why the UK is the only country where
politicians are not evil, greedy and power grabbing, in his eyes. "Because
you have a King (sic). It is my dream to live in the UK; my dream for another
life, not for this one."
The driver earns the equivalent of €80 a month, and
drives us in a mid-range Skoda, that costs €75,000 here. The car has done
45,000 km and the tyres are original, the best one being bald, the worst down
to the thread. We have two punctures en route, which is part of the adventure
as we experience a roadside repair service. One tyre is beautifully repaired by
removing the nail that caused the puncture and inserting a viscous mix of what
looks like wax and glue. A woman stands by, cooking lunch on a clay stove. The
total cost is €0.30. On the road, we come across a lorry on its side, not
having made it round the corner. We watch as they vainly try and drag it out.
I'm tempted to give them a few hints, but decide they would probably not be
well received!
But back to the real animals and Chitwan, if I may.
We're staying on the edge of the park, in Machan Lodge,
which has modest facilities and communal activities. There is no menu in the
restaurant, the choice being just whether you eat more, or less. A blackboard
outside lists your next activity, and the time you need to turn up. Activities
include elephant, jeep and boat safaris, nature walk, village visit and a slide
show about the park and its history. An unfair analogy might be 'Butlins meets
Longleat', but it does remind us a bit of University field trips. We learn
that, with solar water heating, there is no point in showering in the morning.
In any case, with the first activity at 06:30, and the mornings being chilly,
there's not much enthusiasm for a cold shower.
What makes it a success is the quality of the activities.
Riding an elephant through tall elephant grass, as the sun rises and the dew
glints off thousands of spiders' webs, to come across a rhino feeding just a
few metres away, is special. So is travelling down rapids as the sun sets, in a
canoe hand-made from local Kapok trees, watching kingfishers, ducks, egrets and
many other birds feeding or settling for the night. Walking through the forest,
being shown plants with medicinal properties, and coming back to dance with
local people, staff and other guests around a fire was another highlight.
Everywhere we've been in India and Nepal has feedback
forms, in fact in some places it's hard to pay the bill without filling one
out. We take an age filling this one out, with some simple suggestions to make
this awesome: mattresses that are softer than the floor would be nice, for
example. As would indoor heating, even if the outdoor fire pit is effective and
fun. And we would have liked a little more paint in the bathroom. Perhaps we're
just, as Namrata said in Pokhara, getting too old for this!
# posted by DavidF @ 17:11 
