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Today we have headed further into Nepal. We have passed lots of farmland. Right now is mustard season needless to say it felt a bit like home with yellow fields and the smell of flowering mustard (canola). We were so surprised by the amount of bicycles in Nepal. There was probably 50 bicycles to every motorized vehicle on the road. I guess when fuel is $1.30 a liter and it is one of the poorest countries in the world it makes sense to ride a bike. Even the Honda dealers have more bicycles than motorbikes in the showroom.
We arrived in Chitwan which is a small tourist town on the edge of the national park. We met our local guide and headed to the elephant breeding center. This center is committed to preserving the Asian elephant. Unfortunately these elephants will never be put in the wild but the wild male does come and visit the ladies at the breeding center to mix up the genetics! When we arrived they were training the elephants how to play soccer. The breeding centre has the only known set of live twins. It is nice to see that such a poor country can still be committed to preserving it's wildlife and natural areas.
In the morning we had a chance to take a canoe down the river to see wildlife. Unfortunately it was very foggy so we didn't see a lot except birds such as Kingfishers and sparrows. We did see the head of a crocodile for a brief moment. We then walked back up the river hoping to see a rhino but no luck either just a wild boar and a wild rooster. In the afternoon we headed out on an elephant ride to try and find the rhino but again no luck. The elephant is such an amazing creature and we did have mixed feelings about riding them. Chitwan is a wonderful little place it was sad to leave. I guess we will have to go back one day to try and see the rhino.
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Lorrene Sounds like a great place and some great wildlife, even if you missed the rhino.