September 25, 2009 – Day 274 – Sauraha, Nepal

The road from Kathmandu to Chitwan rivals the one from the Tibet border that we came in on. In the short 4 hours it took, we were nearly beaten to a bloody pulp. Being smashed into the bench seat in the very back of the bus (situated over the back suspension for your riding comfort!) certainly did not help. At least we did not crash or die along the way!

Elephant taxi

We were dropped off in the little village of Chitwan but to our confusion we needed a taxi to take us the additional 9km to the even smaller village of Sauraha that rests right at the edge of Royal Chitwan National Park. Through a series of soda shops, a tour office, and a walk through and back of town we discovered that a “taxi” in Chitwan means two things: horse cart or bicycle rickshaw. We chose the bicycle rickshaw even though it seemed a bit inhumane to ask another person to drag us for 9km in the blistering Nepal sun, he didn’t seem to mind and happily charged us a third more than the local price.

Saben in the rickshaw

The road was rough and we were passed by a few jumbo tourist buses, several motorcycles, and an elephant taxi. But the views along the way were bright and beautiful, certainly a welcome change of scenery from the dusty, trashed cities we’ve been seeing lately.

The view from the back

Surprisingly, it only took 45 minutes to get into Sauraha. The driver dropped us at the first lodge and, after having a price check, we decided to keep looking for a room further down the road. It was hot and humid, definitely enough to form streams of sweat on our faces. After checking several places, we turned around and went back to the one we had decided on. A cold shower was definitely in order followed by something to eat. The afternoon was spent shopping around the many tour agents to compare prices and tours. Not exactly a thrilling day but at least we are going to track rhinos tomorrow and ride an elephant too!