Welcome to
the Worlds of the Ramblin' Rose
Royal Chitwan National Park
Nepal
Namasté!
Below you will see photos from the Royal
Chitwan Park in Nepal. Chitwan, home to the famous Bengal tiger, rhinoceros, crocodile,
deer, monkey, numerous birds, and a host of other animals, is not actually a rainforest.
It is a sub-tropical jungle. Chitwan was once the hunting ground of Nepalese royalty and
Indian Rajahs. It was an almost impenetrable jungle with broad grasslands and malaria
infested swamps. The only people who could live in the Terai area around the jungle were
the Tharus, who were supposedly immune to the malaria carrying mosquito's bite. When the
Nepalese government attacked the malaria problem by drying out the swamps and turning them
into farmland, many of the wild animals, including the wild elephant, left the area or
died off.
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Let me just say that it is very difficult to get a clear sharp photo while on a jolting elephant, rocking boat, or bumpy Jeep ride. I apologize beforehand for any blurry photos. Click on a thumbnail to see a larger picture. |
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On our first afternoon, some went on a nature hike, and some went bird watching. I did the latter, but didn't have binoculars with me. It was kind of a waste of time, so I just spent my time looking at the flora. Here is a termite nest. The young man, Clint, 11 years old at the time, gives an idea of the size of the nest. |  |
This was just an unusual tree with a vine which had completely grown into the trunk, but yet, was separate at the top of the tree. |
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This is just an ordinary bees' nest. |  |
Our first elephant ride was at 6:00am. Who would believe I would get out of bed to ride around on a 4-ton beast, looking for 6-ton beasts? We were looking for rhinos, which we found, and Bengal tigers. One bunch of our group saw a tiger. I was not so lucky. But, it was great fun crashing through the trees with the elephants trumpeting as we went to meet the ones who had spotted it. |
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This is the first rhinoceros we saw that morning. |  |
We switched our mode of transportation to a Jeep. This is one of the famous Gurkha soldiers, who as mercenaries in service to the British, have distinguished themselves as men of courage and endurance.. |
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This photo was taken from the Jeep. I had many great shots of monkeys on our way into the park. Unfortunately, my film was not wound onto my camera reel. Qué sera! |  |
Here is a lovely spotted deer. His antlers are in velvet. |
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We are fording a creek on our way to the river to look for crocodiles and birds. |  |
Rowing down the Narayani River |
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And we found just what we were looking for! Crocodiles sunning themselves on the sandy river bank. |  |
Here is my buddy, Clint, with Ramu the bull elephant. Clint picked Ramu for our afternoon ride. A very bad choice. Be it known to all future elephant riders, that the larger the elephant, the rougher the ride. |
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What lurks in the tall grasses? A crocodile lies in wait. |  |
I was so thrilled when I was the first one to spot this rhino. My old deer-hunting skills must have come into play. |
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One of the couples on the journey with me sent these two photos of me on elephant back. As you can see, it was a foggy morning. |  |
Our clothes were soaked when we got back to the lodge for a nice breakfast of juice, cornflakes, fried eggs, potatoes, toast, and the ever-present Yak milk. |
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This is a Tharu home. There are windows in the front and the back. It is believed that if an evil spirit comes in, it will just fly on out the back window and not harm the residents. The home is made of mud and manure. |  |
During this whole adventure, I had the most wonderful roommate. Her name is Dee, and she lives in Baltimore, MD. in the US. We had never met until we got to Bangkok. I could not have asked for a more perfect companion. |
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with Chitwan. It is just a delightful picture of dancing with the school children from one
of the villages along the way of our trek.
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And a radiant Himalayan sunset to you! Namasté! ....which loosely means "The God in me honors the God in you."
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10/13/01 08:39 PM
