The Dirty South

Awimbawap!

Tuuu-duu-tuuuu-du-tuuuu-duuu-duuu-dudu..... Awee-hee-hee-hee-heee..... etc

Jungle :D

That's the good news. Now let me make this like a compliment sandwich...

Got here the day before yesterday. Here is Sauraha in the Chitwan district - known for the large park. I had asked to go here because I figured that if I want to spend most of my time training in Pokhara (starting next week) then I might as well see this too! So... Bicky informed me about a library, and after I had told him about my Gatlang library experience (or lack thereof) I thought he would know better than to send me off on another wild goose chase. But I have different suspicions now. See - of the 365 days of the year, Nepal celebrates at least something 300 of them (and the other 65 they are bored, said one Nepali dude) and the schools aren't closed for most of them. And if they are (see Gatlang) then they are kept open if they're expecting volunteers. Who have given their hard earned money to these organisations. You would think... right?

Hell to the N O.

Right away the host kid told me he wasn't sure what I was going to be doing for 6 days.

6 days, by the way, refers to the fact that the organisation decided to inform me that the 'classes' which I received before Gatlang were my 'first week', and so I had 1 week left - and had to pay an additional 50 euro's for a second placement. That I knew, and had taken into some consideration - but my second day in Nepal I actually thought this was going to turn out well...

However! I'm sort of stuck here now with nothing to do but stare at all the people who came here for Safari's. In addition, the family rarely eats at home and I'm left to fend for myself half the time. And the restaurants are pricey (low season, festival, etc) if you don't want a case of good old Delhi Belly. A semi upside is that the host dad owns the local Safari Bar down at the lake - but do I get any form of discount? I'll leave it up to you to figure out how many beers I can actually pay for - at typical European prices mostly.

Luckily I met some people. Hard not to, really... if you want to beat boredom. Every Nepali I meet wants to sell me a 2000 Rs (20 euro) Safari, and no matter how often I explain that I was initially here to teach and don't have the money - they say it's a good price and I should do it while I'm here. Pff... stress! So I hung out playing pool (outside, on the biggest table I've ever seen! the biggest out-of-preportion thing in the whole of Nepal probably) having a drink with a Safari guide who just quit his job (and so I felt sorry and was going to pay the 2000 and go along) when - first two Polish dudes join us (and let me join in their whiskey) and after that two blokes from Belgium (one English, one Swedish), with whom I paid a visit to the elephant breeding centre (which cost only 50 Rs! whoop!). After an hour walk and a 10 minute tour (breeding not included), it was barely worth the effort, but it was worth a laugh...

I owe these two a lot. This morning we checked whether there was place for one more on their canoe-walk-Safari, and there sure was.... After checking out a group of Dutch girls being flung off an elephant (sweeeeeet), I had a small breakfast and we went... 4 hours later, we've just got back. We saw crocs, monkeys, birds, insects... no rhino, no tigers (but they are a lot deeper) but personally I find the greatest Safari just sitting on top of a bus and checking out rural Nepal so I was just in it for the hike and a few pictures. Got them. And it was a lot more worth it than the evening before...

Right, so shower now, then off for beer and pizza, and the girls might join us at the bar later on so who knows what more laughter will make this tinning belly shake :) really though, I'm losing weight... me no likey

No pics right now. Maybe tomorrow... and I'll bring the journal and recap some more Gatlang moments and busride and KTM madness... perhaps.

Namaste pud-ke's!