Day 54 - Seti River, Chitwan National Park and Thauru Village, Nepal

Day  54 – Hers.

All things considered, I slept well – snug in our little tent with odd animal noises outside and the quiet murmuring of the river’s lullaby.  We had gone to bed very early – not long after 8:00 (There isn’t much to do in the jungle in the dark – and walking around was out when I saw the first leech....) – so TIen and I were both up and packed by 6. We sat on the little stools provided by the campsite – watching the river and our still sleeping boat crew – in sleeping bags out in the open, down on the rocky beach.

Breakfast was another impressive spread, given the conditions.  We had porridge with banana, omelettes and potatoes fried with onions and peppers with juice, tea and coffee.  As usual, Tek added green chillis to his.  I do like the tiny hot chillis – but not for breakfast...

We loaded up the raft and Beemel warned us that there were some real rapids to negotiate this morning.  We were all excited – and a little apprehensive.  The first large set came right over my head, getting in my ear and up my nose.  After that, we seemed to get the technique sorted out and we didn’t go nearly so far under.  I noticed that Beemel, captaining from a raised seat at the stern, never even got wet.  That’s experience.....

Rafting rivers are graded 1-6 for difficulty and I was told that the Seti qualifies as a grade 2.  Grade 1 must be nothing – I think I’d like to try a grade 3 or 4.  Perhaps I can convince Rob......

We travelled along at a good rate of knots – watching a raft ahead of us negotiate each set of rapids before we arrived (We all felt this took a bit of the fun out....) and occasionally daring to look at the scenery.  A green parrot preened itself in a tree and another of the black-faced lemurs – a quite large one this time – gave itself a bath on a large rock near the bank.  The Seti joined the Trisuli just before the end of our journey – with a great set of rapids at the confluence – and we were all sorry when the adventure ended...I say ‘all’, but Cindy had never been convinced that rafting was a good idea; she had heard of some quite serious injuries and was, I think, just pleased to escape unscathed.

We changed in a little bamboo hut at the roadside, thanked (and tipped) our crew – and piled back into the minivan for the usual hairy bus ride to our next destination – Chitwan National Park, home to elephants, rhinos, crocodiles and tigers – amongst other things.

We checked in to our little jungle bungalows and had a couple of hours to walk down to the river and explore the tourist village.  We then loaded ourselves back into the minibus for a walking tour of a local village of the Thauru people.  The Thauru were originally the only people to inhabit this region – the Terai – of Nepal because they have a natural resistance to malaria and a long history of cohabiting with the dangerous wildlife of the area.  In the 1950s, the entire area was treated with DDT and malaria was eradicated.  Hill farmers descended and threatened to overwhelm the Thauru way of life.  The cultural tours and evening dance performances are all that keeps Thauru culture alive.  It may seem a bit voyeuristic to descend on a village to photograph the children and gawp at the kitchens, but the villagers rely on this income to supplement their barely subsistence level of farming  - and to not resort to poaching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I must say mosquitoes here are rife – and huge.  We kept our bungalow lights off and our mosquito nets down – and the smell at dinner was decidedly ‘Eau de Insect Repellent’.  Malaria may have been eradicated – but no one mentioned Dengue Fever.....

On the way back to town, we saw filming of a Nepalese television programme – and later the film crew and cast letting loose at a riverside bar.  We ate in a terrific jungle restaurant – vegetable kofte, buffalo meatballs, chips with chilli sauce and a lime soda. Truly delicious – and it’s so terrific to have my stomach back on track!