Final Update?

WOW! We really slacked off on the blog posts.

Typing here in Doha, Qatar; staring bullets at the Burger King not 100 feet from my seat, I suppose I should give some sort of update on the last couple days.

Leaving off from Sean's post where we finished the bridge and had a very heartwarming and emotional goodbye with our new friends from the Yillajung village. (Notice the name has been spelled multiple different ways. I have since learned that there is no "correct" way to spell it. Sherpa is not a strictly written language so any name is written how that person chooses to phonetically spell it at that given moment. Fabulous.) After that we returned to our temporary base in Thame to pack our bags and spend our last night. 

After dinner our host Dr. Kami's granddaughter had a small birthday party to celebrate her 1st birthday, we all got some cake and drank traditional beverages. After turning in early, or not so early, we woke up painfully early to begin our trek towards Lukla.

Making much better time heading back than we did on the way up, we power walked to Namche where we did some final shopping and spent the night. Retracing our steps we followed the same plan back that we had going up, reaching Lukla two days later. Where we watched the Olympics and ate our last meal in the Himalayas and said goodbyes to our treasured guides. We celebrated Leyna's 21st birthday and most of us turned in early for our 6-ish flight out in the morning.

We once again were struck with incredible luck to catch the first flight out of Lukla and flew safely into Kathmandu. We were more than excited for the comfort of the Hotel Tibet with unlimited hot water, AC, and Wifi which we used excessively. But we did not rest long!

After a short 2-4 hour nap we reconvened and decided the adventure was not yet through. Due to the incredible pace of our work at the bridge and our hiking out we were left with several additional days. After a quick discussion amongst ourselves we decided to venture on to the Chitwan Safari National Park. Through a contact of one of our guides we managed to create a plan and get on a bus to the Safari! 

Wow. Again all I can say is WOW. If you've never been bused in a country like Nepal you can't understand the pure horror that ensued. Not only are the roads winding and through the mountains but they are in awful disrepair. Craters for pot holes and extremely narrow passes were the least of our troubles, because the bus nearly just fell over about 3 times. Not a joke, we feared for our lives. And on the last wobble of the bus I was certain it was going over, I prepared myself and said a silent prayer. But it did not fall. (Note: Prof. Carlson enjoyed the ride.)

So we made it to Chitwan on the bus from hell and then hopped on a little jeep to our hotel. The Jungle Safari Lodge which was quite pleasant with both Wifi and AC. We elected for a long resting period to recuperate after our traumatic ride and then met for dinner to discuss our next day.

Our morning included a nice breakfast at the hotel, followed by a short walk down to the river where we saw a Rhino bathing. Then an hourlong canoe ride with all 8 of us in one canoe down the alligator infested river. The sides of the canoe rested a comfortable inch and a half above the water. We took in the sights of the gentle river seeing a herd of Water Buffalo and a couple birds. From there we went on our Jungle Safari Walk. 

We walked for about 2 hours through the undergrowth and saw a couple of monkeys, lots of insects and leeches, and a couple of birds. All the while being hopeful and fearful of meeting any of three exotic animals. The Rhino previously mentioned, the Bengal Tiger, and the Sloth Bear (actually just a black bear). Each of which has its own emergency response protocol. With the Rhino it's up the tree we go. The Bear we would make as much noise as we can to scare it off. And the Tiger, make eye contact and walk away slowly. None of which are foolproof. But we did not see any of those, just the previously mentioned animals and a few Spotted Deer.

We returned to our hotel for some much needed relaxation. After which we took a short trip down the road by Jeep to the Elephant Breeding area. We saw many full grown elephants and a few adorable baby elephants. One of which approached a couple members of our group who got to interact with it for a short while.

The next day we prepared ourselves to ride the elephants through the Safari. Our 2 hour trip on the back of the elephant was nothing short of amazing. We even chased a Rhino up a small river for awhile! Although that was not the most comfortable ride of my life it was certainly one of the most interesting. After our walk was done we debarked and got to pet the elephants. Which took our tip for the elephant driver in their trunk and swiftly lifted it to the men. All in all just another unforgettable experience.

We decided to take the rest of the afternoon off and relaxed by the river side. Watching the water gently roll past with one member of our group constantly sighting alligators. Or at least would-be alligators. Every single one was a tuft of grass or a log bearing little resemblance to the actual creature. But that never stopped the imaginative mind nor the vocal outbursts. We ate dinner in the loft above a bar where Lena later sprinted down some stairs to snap a photo of a Rhino walking right through town.

For our ride back we opted out of the bus, and instead chartered a smaller van to take us back to Kathmandu. This was a much smoother, cooler, and safer ride back. We also made great time! Once back in Kathmandu we had some shopping and sightseeing left to do. We visited the tourist named "Monkey Temple" and the popular Thamel district for shopping. We stopped for lunch at the acclaimed Fire and Ice Pizzeria which was quite un-Nepali and quite delicious. After which we saw the Garden of Dreams and returned back to the Hotel Tibet to await our dinner date and then depart for the airport.

That was quite a lot of information so thank you for bearing with me. Hopefully this has caught anyone still following this blog up to date.There were quite a lot of details that I left out either because I forgot, misremembered, or was just too lazy to type. It was certainly not all sunshine and rainbows as these posts may have made it seem, but it was without a doubt an important and life changing event for us all. Once again thank you for reading and we hope to see you all soon!


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