Our sunset stroll went past the village towards the river. There were plenty of birds. Walking to the Government elephant park showed a series of thatched sheds without sides that had elephants chained at night. Each habits own handler, and the females wear one heavy chain and the males two. Some were swaying. We were shown the ball of rice stalks with a centre of rice that they are fed. Possibly the greatest excitement was a rhino near a hotel.
Our morning jungle walk took us along the river, in canoes, watching birds. We had been told not to wear bright colours because that scared the animals. And we were reminded to be quiet. The guide did say that some cultural groups made more noise than others and I did enjoy the peaceful canoe trip. Our canoe looked like a dugout tree, but inside was fibreglass. Our guide sat at the front, with the oarsman paddling at the back.
Along the bank, there were blue kingfishers, white heron and even swifts in holes along that wall of the bank. Then we walked under 10m tall trees. Some looked ancient with vines and moss as well as tree ferns. I think some were teak, but others were smaller. At times, the grasses were sharp edged. I would have liked to sit a while and watch insects. There were tiny red beetles, and clumps of maybe red millipedes.
One guide climbed trees to look for animals, calling himself a "Nepali monkey". As we walked along the river, the undergrowth was fine couch. There were several spots that wild pigs had torn up and some slides downing the river that were made by rhinos. We saw monkeys and deer in the distance, but the best view of a rhino was near to the village. At one stage, the older guide identified a spot were a tiger had spent the night. Other evidence was animal dung. When I asked later, one guide said he had seen tigers about 10 times in his life. The most recent time was two years ago when he worked for the government in the park. There had been a fire that he drove through in a jeep with tourists. Tigers had sheltered in a small lake and he had scorched his hair getting the tourists out safely. But they saw tigers.
I was particularly impressed with the way that the guides allowed for different walking speeds. Several times I was shown an easier path, and I was very grateful. Some spots were quite slippery and the younger and fitter ones enjoyed that.
We walked back towards then local ferry crossing, this time in larger boats, two across.
Leeches? Yes. Just flick them off. I managed to find one on my leg, then had two discoveries later when I returned. Ouch. One was right up my leg, so I guess they fall as well as leaping from the lower bushes.
After lunch of chicken curry, rice, potato and green beans, at 3 pm we had an afternoon elephant ride. Apparently this only happens once a day. Frankly, it was an unusual experience. Four adults sit on an enclosed platform on the elephant's back. I wonder if our platform was not balanced, because I seemed to be squashed into a corner, despite being told to lean forward. It was like holding on to a ladder. Others looked more comfortable. Some had space to turn around and take photos. The view from there was great. The Asian elephants are smaller than African ones, and several of these had pink patches, almost like freckled skin. The platform was secured around the tummy with one strap and a buckle. There were some ropes across the front, and the rider sat behind her neck, urging her forward with bare feet behind her ears. He tapped her forehead with a stick (on the left to to right and vice versa). Her head had a hollow sound, and I think that the stick placed in the middle meant "go forward".
No comments:
Post a Comment