First stop: The Royal Chitwan National Park

Despite the use of the enticing term “royal” and “national park”, the harsh truth is, I was not very impressed with this most famous 932-sqm national park in Nepal. Apology for the direct comment. Perhaps it is the ignorant me, I don’t know. In fact, I was least impressed with my trip to Chitwan compared with other parts of my tour.

When I think of national park, I think of Africa. I think of Yosemite. I was thinking of being put in the middle of nowhere, perhaps in a valley surrounded by virgin forest or canyons. Obviously watching too many movies and reading too many novels.

We barely touched the outer ring of the national park, there was too much free time, and we did not see that much animals (for this: perhaps it is me who set my expectation too high). And perhaps when I first thought about Nepal, I had in mind this cold snowy country – not this hot humid tropical-like forest. Felt just like back home.

Don’t get me wrong. Not all is lost. I thoroughly enjoyed the canoeing, visiting the elephant breeding center, riding an elephant (three hours of it – it hurts, sniff), and the evening dance performance of the Tharu villagers. I especially loved the serene sceneries, when your eyes can travel as far as the eyes can see, when there is no sound other than the sound of nature (and occasional comments from my travel companions :))

The people - the host in the hotel, the guide, the locals - we met were also very nice. First time we tasted the Nepalese food. The usual meal is called Daal bat. A set of steamed rice with curry but not as spicy as the Indian curry. Not bad at all. Of course I rarely complained about food ?

Tips: mosquito repellent is an absolute must.