Day 5: Sleeping in the Jungle

A jeep safari led us to a tower in the middle of the jungle where we would spend the night.

Began this morning at the same time as yesterday with another delicious breakfast of eggs, potato pancakes, and bananas. We set out for another walk through the Chitwan National Forest to go birdwatching. We saw another crocodile and some Nepali people cutting elephant grass, but not much else.

We then went back to the room and changed into swimsuits to go bathing with the elephants. When we got there I noticed the elephants with their two front feet chained together and were being dragged into the water by their ears and poked with sticks. This was an optional activity so I opted not to do it and instead took pictures for others who did.

Afterwards we went back for lunch and had an hour or so to rest before the Jeep Safari. I read a little and Katy drew and then I took a quick power nap. Then I put together a bag for the night and got into the jeep to go on a safari through the jungle.

The roads were crazy bumpy and I was surprised the jeep didn't get stuck a few times. The view was gorgeous and we even got a little view of the mountain tops. We rode around for an hour and a half and saw four rhinos, two jackals, a few different types of deer, egrets, king fishers, and a few other types of birds. At one point I could see rhinos, jackals, and mountains all in the same view.

At the end of the safari we came across a tower in a clearing that we were to sleep in that night. We played some frisbee and walked around the clearing for a little bit while waiting for the guard to arrive with the key. Once he unlocked the tower we set our stuff down and went on a walk through the jungle to see some animals crossing the river. Sadly we didn’t see anything except a beautiful view.

Once we arrived back at the tower we noticed a herd of deer right next to us. We went up to the top floor in the tower and sat around talking and looking for more animals we didn’t see anything else and eventually we went down for dinner.

Our hotel brought us a hot meal wrapped up in tinfoil and cold beers. We enjoyed fried rice, fried cauliflower, vegetable curry, chicken, and potatoes. I gobbled down my food and we talked for a while before heading back upstairs.

We sat for a few hours looking for more animals, but sadly didn’t see any other than the herd of deer still in the clearing. I decided to head off to bed, but a few others stayed up. I slept pretty well considering the mattress was paper thin and I had a mosquito net in my face.