Last day in Chitwan

Wednesday March 19

After a day of non-doing, Suresh agreed to get us to the hotel where Doug and Sue were staying- they had just arrived in Chitwan. Suresh already knew they were from Canada and were staying for 5 days. He thought it strange they were cousins from Canada not the US. 

Pool-side, we caught each other up and then ate Nepali food, dal, curd, veg curry, chapatis on a big wrap-around balcony and watched storm clouds over the distant hills. The wind picked up. Buffalo grazed. These are domestic animals not water buffalo and not bison.

We heard wild elephants trumpet- elephants yes, but they were on the tame side. The Baghmara Hotel sits next to an elephant depot. We told Doug and Sue about the Danish couple we met and how the husband after their elephant ride ended up bruised, bumping up against the contraption that contains bodies from falling off. They pack you in tight, not the old style luxury comfort. 

Jeep ride home in the dark, we thought about my cousin Bonnie's warning not to go out after dark in Nepal, especially in the rural areas. She says many Indians won't visit Nepal, scared of abduction or robbery. Westerns seem to be mostly exempt due to bad press, not good for tourist business. Everyone has a theory.

I remember being shocked to read about the killing of the king and 9 members of his family in 2001-the massacred cloaked in mystery. Rumors abounded involving conspiracy. The king at this point was mostly a figurehead of a multi-party system. Then at some point there was a maoist takeover, with them winning by a big margin an election. The country deteriorated further.

What I have gleaned from several people is that rural folk flooded into Kathmandu and its infrastructure plus poor government has led to an over-crowded and polluted city. Our guide in Pokhara says corruption and graft are rampant especially in land sales. He says he will never be able to afford even a small plot of land which would sell for 100 thousand dollars.

It's hard to find an item on a dinner menu for more than 4.50 anywhere except at a super luxury hotel. An espresso drink is maybe 1.25, a 20-oz beer is 3 dollars. All those world bums back in the 60's knew a good thing...and still do. Lots of backpackers and tourists of all kinds.

The houses are thatched with bamboo and mud walls - every family farms and tends animals. The ground is swept clean outside front doors. Laundry is sun-dried.