Unfortunately, I’d been fighting what seemed to be a combination of a cold and reaction to the polluted air in Kathmandu. I wasn’t the only one suffering sniffles, dry throat, and less energy. The group of us took to drinking loads of ginger honey lemon tea and sharing cards full of throat lozenges. All manageable but certainly an unwelcome side effect of travel.

We started this day at 6:30 in the morning, walking down to the riverside and climbing into very low canoes. It was incredible to me that the village we were staying in is in such close proximity to a truly wild jungle. Along the way we were told that in years past there were villages that were inside the jungle itself – you can imagine what the inhabitants had to content with surrounded by predators. There came a point when the Nepalese government decided to officially preserve the jungle as a national park and paid to move and resettle these villagers on the outskirts of the park. Sauraha was not resettled as it was just outside the designated park area. That said, it is only a narrow river and a short suspension bridge that separate villagers from jungle activities. As I saw, rhinos are able to wander into the center of town and we were told stories of wild elephants causing dangerous encounters with people.

Loaded into the canoes we had a guide at the front and a guide at the back and three of us in between.

The water level was just inches from the top of the canoe, but the river was very calm and water fairly clear. The guides knew what they were doing. We were in the canoes for about two hours – fortunately it was a bit overcast and as calm as the water was, it was very peaceful sitting and just watching the world wake up. Along the way we saw many different kinds of birds, a few crocodiles, and a variety of terrain.

Once we disembarked from the canoes, we climbed up the riverbank to a jeep that took us for a three-hour ride through the jungle itself. It really was quite exciting to spot a variety of wildlife such as monkeys, spotted deer, peacocks, birds I couldn’t identify, and hippos. As much as we would’ve liked to spot a tiger, they were elusive. There are just over 100 wild tigers living in this vast jungle, so it would’ve been quite astounding to have seen one.

Once back at the hotel, A hot shower felt wonderful along with a foot and calf massage. Just with the doctor ordered as I started feeling significantly better than I did earlier in the day.

I stopped into one of the merchants who has a shop full of carved animals. I got to talking with him and he pointed me to some lovely carved wood elephants and rhinos made out of camphor tree and retain its wonderful smell. The merchant said he carved these himself and has been at this store more than 30 Years.  I hope my granddaughters will enjoy these souvenirs.