On my last morning near Chitwan National Park, my hotel had me up extra early for a sunrise dugout-canoe cruise on a crocodile-infested river. How charming! Actually, it was incredibly beautiful, and we passed about 5-6 crocodiles along the way, lurking just below the surface or sunning themselves along the banks. Yes, they were dangerous, but no tourists have ever been bitten. We also saw quite a few deer down by the river for an early-morning drink. It wasn’t hard work. We just sat there while a man with a pole, Venice-style, guided our boat down the river’s proper channels.
Canoeing with Crocodiles Safari
Map of the route “Canoeing with Crocodiles”: 5,629 m, 30 m of climbing and 37 m of descent, elevation between 238 m and 248 m, time 02:07:31. It starts at 27.59464, 84.48093 and ends at 27.58347, 84.46653 (latitude, longitude).
Afterwards, we ended up at an elephant breeding centre…
…much like the crocodile breeding centre we visited a day earlier on our jeep safari.
I enjoyed my stay in Chitwan, and I appreciated the red-carpet treatment from all the staff at my desperate hotel, but I was looking forward to getting away from all the attention. I was also getting sick of being overstuffed with food three times a day, as if I had to eat it all so as not to insult my hosts. They seemed to serve me the same thing every day, just in slightly different variations. I had chicken for every meal (except breakfast), and I suspect they bought one for me and carved a little off for each meal, mixing it with the same ingredients in different ways. The meals also seemed to get a little more westernised as we went, with chips thrown in, which wasn’t their forte and wasn’t what I wanted.
I also grew a bit wary of nighttime mosquito attacks. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how they were getting into my room, but they were constantly buzzing my ears to keep me away. It is malaria country, I was told back in Perth by my travel doctor, so I have been taking my expensive medication – but there are also other nasty illnesses that come from mosquitoes that I would rather not have anything to do with. I put up a mosquito net one night, but it wasn’t set up correctly without a hook in the ceiling, and the bed was too big for it, so I couldn’t be bothered to mess around with it the second night.
Speaking of food, I’ve grown fond of one particular Nepali delicacy: Masala Tea. It is a blend of tea, cinnamon, and a few other spices (coriander?) blended with milk and sugar. I’ll have to figure out how they make it.
After my crocodile canoeing, my driver dutifully showed up to take me on another wild drive up to my next destination (seen below). This time to the central Nepali city of Pokhara. Pokhara is a backpacker’s haven and gateway to countless outdoor adventures in the middle of the country – including my trek along part of the Annapurna Circuit.
It was a crazy drive, and my driver seemed a bit more aggressive than he was on the drive he did for me a few days ago. It was probably my fault for pushing back our departure time so I could go canoeing in the morning. I think it messed up his plans to get back to Kathmandu before dark.
Fortunately, when I arrived safe and sound in Pokhara at the sister guesthouse to my Kathmandu stay, they gave me their very best room on the top floor, with spectacular views over the city and lake district, and huge mountains looming in the background. It is probably the highest hotel in town, so it looks down on everything else. Hopefully they will have a similar room waiting for me when I get back from my hike!
The Drive from Chitwan National Park to Pokhara, Nepal
Map of the route “Canoeing with Crocodiles”: 138,841 m, 1,466 m of climbing and 851 m of descent, elevation between 186 m and 834 m, time 03:37:37. It starts at 27.58219, 84.49425 and ends at 28.20901, 83.96011 (latitude, longitude).
Poke Around Pokhara
Map of the route “Canoeing with Crocodiles”: 753 m, 10 m of climbing and 5 m of descent, elevation between 886 m and 890 m, time 00:10:27. It is a loop that starts and ends at 28.20928, 83.95774 (latitude, longitude).
