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We spent 4 more days in Pokhara, rowing about on little boats, eating heartily and spending too much money. We bid a tearful goodbye to Helga, who we are leaving at the Fishtail Villa until we can come back to ride her home, and boarded the bus to Chitwan National Park. The journey was fairly uncomfortable but cut short by a massive traffic jam, which we decided to bypass by walking to the other end of it and catching a taxi. During this detour, unfortunately, Dave lost his wallet so we were slightly downhearted when we reached the park.
We spent the evening being introduced to local Tharu culture (a dance with sticks) and enjoying a beer beside the Rapti river. The next morning we were woken (at 5:45 am!) by our guide and taken back to the river for a 45 minute canoe ride and then a 3 hour jungle walk back in the vain hope of seeing some animals. Unfortunately, it was pouring with rain so the only animals we actually encountered were leeches, of which there were many. In the afternoon we went on an elephant safari, which was slightly uncomfortable but interesting and managed to see a rhino, albeit a very sick one. The evening was spent sampling the local Raksi (mustard wine) with our guide.
We left the park at 9 this morning (19th) headed for the border, which we reached at about 2. We then took a speedy but slightly frightening jeep ride to Gorakhpur where we write to you from now. At about 11 we have an overnight train booked for Varanasi where we plan to spend tomorrow before getting another train back to Delhi.
Tasha and David
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