The moment we arrived at our lodge in Chitwan we both felt the tensions from our harrowing drive melt away. The grounds were beautiful; stepping stones created paths to a few two-story pale yellow blocks of rooms and to a main open air lodge for meals and relaxation. We settled into a sweet little room with nothing but the essentials; a bed, a dresser and a bathroom with a spout for water high up on one wall. The staff were incredibly welcoming and we were excited to explore the grounds.

The Sapana Village Lodge is right on the outskirts of the Chitwan National Park. Our hotel was looking right off into the park and as we relaxed in the sitting areas and slept inside we could hear the sounds of wild animals roaming the grounds. The common area was so relaxing and we met some wonderful people and couples from around the world that were on similar trips to ours. We would have dinners together and meet at breakfast and discuss where we had been and where we were planning to go on our travels. It was great to get some travel advice and also to talk to other people who were taking similar kinds of risks we were, who viewed traveling the way that we do and knew the trials and tribulations that come with journeying long distances for extended periods of time.

We planned on taking some time to relax in Chitwan, the lodge begged to be sat in with a cup of chai and a book, but we were also very interested in going on a few excursions. We decided to do a jungle walk to look for wild animals, an elephant ride through the forrest and to give an elephant a bath (something we were told not to miss).

Ofer and I doused ourselves in insect repellant, covered all of the skin we could with clothes and prepared for our hike into the jungle. We both tucked our jeans into our socks to prevent leeches from crawling up our legs....seriously. The two of us loaded into a Jeep with two guides and set off toward the jungle. We drove to the bank of a river and boarded a small motorized boat to take us deeper into the jungle.

Once we reached our destination our English speaking guide gave us some information as our older, more experienced guide and animal tracker started surveying the area. He told us that on our hike there was a chance that we could see deer, wild boar, monkeys, snakes, deadly spiders and rhinos. He said that these animals are not in a reserved park, we are in their natural habitat. If we do see animals they could very well see us as a threat and want to protect themselves.

He told us that if we do encounter an animal we should stay as quiet as we can and be completely still. If the animal proceeded to charge us we were told to climb up the closest tree. That’s right, he said to climb the closest tree. Damnit, I always knew it was going to bite me in the ass that I couldn’t climb the rope in Junior High School!! I spent the next few hours picking trees to climb, always trying to have at least one in sight that was at a slight bend so I would have the best chance of surviving.

I think I wouldn’t have been so scared other than the fact that both of our guides were hushing us and making us stop when they heard any kind of sound. Chitwan had a lot of rainfall just before we came so a lot of the road markers they used to hike were underwater. Ofer and I walked as daintily as we could through marshy grounds that would at some points soak us all the way up to our knees.

At one point we did see a wild boar chasing a group of 10 or so deer just about 50 feet away from us. As we watched I continued to seek out the best tree just in case the wild boar decided he wanted something other than venison for dinner. We completed our walk at another place along the river and took another boat back. That was the first animal tracking excursion that I went on that I was happy to not have seen too many animals. I did, however, manage to take an animal home as a souvenir; it seems despite my jeans being tucked into my socks and then stuffed into my shoes a leech managed to make its way to my foot. Of all of the animals in that jungle, I was glad it was only the leech that got me!

The elephant ride through the jungle was a lot more fun. The two of us were up in a basket on an elephant’s back with an elephant tamer who sometimes walked, sometimes rode with us and sometimes stood on the elephant’s trunk. From high up there we both felt so safe and eager to see more animals. We lucked out on our trip, we managed to see deer, wild boar, a few monkeys and even a rhinoceros. The rhinoceros was huge and it was incredible to think that we were looking at a wild animal and were able see how they all react to each other. The elephant was able to get pretty close to the rhino who stood his ground and went about his business.

The best thing we did in Chitwan has continued to be one of the best experiences we have had on our trip to date and even one of the best experiences we have ever had. We were told that we should help to wash the lodge’s resident elephant. We showed up without any knowledge of what this would be, we assumed we would be using broom like brushes and soap to wash him right outside the lodge.

But once we were introduced to our guide he told us to take off our shoes and to hop on the elephant’s back. We were hoisted up onto the bare, prickly back of the elephant and started walking off away from the lodge. I was behind Ofer with my arms wrapped around as tightly as I could while Ofer held onto the rope tied around the elephant’s neck.

We were doing our best to hang on as he took step after muddy step, we would all slide together when he reached a slippery patch of mud and we would feel him readjust his footing when he knew something wasn’t safe. Then we noticed that we were heading right for the river. Before we had a moment to hesitate the elephant walked right into the water.

Once he was standing in the middle of the river he filled his trunk and sprayed us with water. There was no chance of coming out of this even remotely dry. We were both laughing so hard and I was still holding onto Ofer burying my head in his back to keep the river water out of my eyes. Then the elephant started to kneel down and decided to lay down on his side consequently dumping the two of us into the river.

The elephant then relaxed and laid in the river as we rubbed him down with rocks. It was incredible feeling. He was such a huge but gentle and expressive animal...it was one thing to see an elephant at a zoo or to feed them bananas but it was a whole other thing to be right up next to his eyes and feeling his skin in the river. 

Our guide had seen that I had been shielding myself from the sprays by hiding behind Ofer, so he told us to get back on the elephant, this time with me in front.

After a few failed attempts to stay on the elephants back as he stood up we were again at least 10 feet in the air with our legs gripping the massive animal. He resumed his bath and doused us with water over and over again. One of the funniest feelings was his huge flappy ears hitting and getting stuck on my legs and he waved them back and forth.

Ofer and I were so happy walking back to our room. We couldn’t stop smiling and laughing as we squeezed the water out of our shirts and picked brush out of our hair. I felt like we were 6 years olds walking home; so proud of how completely covered in mud we were and that even if we got in trouble it would be worth it.

Our time in Nepal was phenomenal. After only 7 days there we so in love with the countryside and with the people. We know we only cracked the surface of what Nepal has to offer and we now know that it would definitely be a place that we would love to visit again.