Chitwan

Early in the morning, I quickly ate breakfast so that I could go buy a new pair of eyeglasses before the flight.

My taxi driver dropped me right in front and waited for me to finish everything. Oddly enough, I saw a deity sticker on the eye examination machines and asked the optometrist about it. I found out it was Vishwakarma, the god of machinery. Seems like Hinduism has a god for almost everything!

I got a good pair and was pretty satisfied with the design so I thanked the man profusely for accommodating me with just enough time to make it to the airport.

Lisa also had problems of her own as she went to the wrong airport before arriving at the correct one. Though honestly, it wasn't much of an issue as the flights were once again delayed. We waited for a long time, wondering why we even bothered rushing but the answer seemed to elude us as, after an hour or so of waiting, the flight was then canceled.

Big oof, it is what it is. Our options were limited, the customer care told us to go by taxi, which was pretty expensive and we were about to do it but outside, Lisa made friends with a local from Chitwan, Bhavanaa. Bhavanaa told us to go via mini-bus with them instead, a much cheaper yet wild alternative all the same. It was about to be a bumpy ride.

We went with another girl whom Bhavanaa also met that day and the four of us split a taxi and got to the mini-bus terminal where Lisa bought some medicine for the ride ahead.

All in all, I was quite happy with how things turned out though. The road we took was bumpy yet so beautiful, it allowed us to see a side of Nepal that we might have missed otherwise since we also flew from Kathmandu to Pokhara. We were also able to bond with Bhavanaa along the way and making another Nepali friend is worth more than a flight. Lisa also shared an edible she got from Thailand which was surprisingly powerful despite the crumbs I was left with, I clearly felt it, and just in time, the scenery became even more beautiful with the winding river surrounded by cliffs and the sunset.

We got to Bharatpur where a tuk-tuk driver readily took us to Sauraha where our hotel, Jungle Wildlife Camp, was waiting. After we got settled in and decided on the activities for the next day, we went out to catch the Tharu Cultural Program which was amazing.

The performances were really high-level, the peacock dance and the fire dancing were definitely highlights of the night. We walked back satisfied afterward and stopped by for dinner before deciding on getting an Ayurveda massage last minute to end the night. I wasn't satisfied though, it seemed like they weren't good at it and were more focused on just ending the night. The shower wasn't even hot and I had to use a cup manually. But oh well, it was done and the day was done as well. We got back around midnight already.Read more