Reflections – Karachi, Pakistan

My final days in Nepal were spent in Chtiwan National Park, a former game reserve for the King of Nepal that was turned into a protected national park. I went to Chitwan looking for a bit of adventure and hoping to spot a rhino or two. Though I did not see any rhinos, I did find a little adventure in an unexpected way.

Sauraha, the village outside the national park, certainly felt like the jungle. The muggy weather ensured I had to shower and change twice a day. I spent the first evening exploring the local Tharu village with a guide. Unfortunately, the tour was not very informative because the guide did not know very much about the villagers. I did learn that the Tharu were quasi-nomadic tribes that roamed the malaria infested Terai foothills in Nepal and India. After the eradication of malaria in the 60s, Nepalis from the north immigrated to cultivate the very fertile land, forcing the Tharu to give up their roaming ways. They mainly practice Hinduism, but I was unable to get any sense of how their specific practices differed from mainstream Hinduism except the god of fertility, Lakshmi, was central in the Tharu religious life.

The next day was dedicated to exploring the National Park on elephant back and jeep. Both safaris were relatively boring when compared to the safari in South Africa. We come across dears and a number of wild boars, which were hardly the tigers and rhinos I had hoped to see. The most exotic encounters in the park were with the numerous insects that crawled up and down my body. To be fair Chitwan had a number of factors going against a successful safari. The first factor was the weather. Visiting in the middle of the monsoon meant that the engorged rivers running through Chitwan prevented anyone from going too deep into the national park. The second factor was the flora of the region. The thickets of lush green Sal trees that cover over 70% of the region, made spotting even the largest deers a difficult task.

An hour before nightfall we realized that our search for large game would be futile and we agreed to head home. Thirty five minutes later something unexpected happened: our jeep broke down. With no cell phone reception and night quickly approaching we had no options but to leave the jeep behind and walk. The night was pregnant with anxiety and excitement. And for the first time I felt the promise of adventure was fulfilled. As we walked along the muddy road, in total silence and pitch black darkness, breaks in the forest canopy revealed glimpses of a shimmering star filled sky.

After an hour hike we reached an an army checkpoint and were able to contact help. At the army checkpoint, outside the canopy but still without electricity, the night sky revealed the brilliance and vastness of the cosmos. Granted reader this may sound like the trite ramblings of a man who has rarely strayed too far from a city, but staring at the thousands of stars, made visible by of the lack of humanity, I could only think of the insignificance of man compared to the infinite nature of space. Although our manipulation of nature has hidden the night sky from us, the stars continue to exit and will shine brightly in the night sky long after our chapter on this planet has come to an end. It was the first time on this trip that I felt in awe of my surroundings. An hour later we were hurtling down dirt roads on our way back to the hotel.

The next morning I got on a bus back to Kathmandu with a girl from the safari. Halfway to Kathmandu our bus broke down. We hailed down a local bus and jumped on with some other tourists. On my last night Kathmandu, I downed some Manhattans, did some shopping and met two brother from Holland with whom I chatted late into the night. I flew back to Karachi the next day.

I have decided to end my travels with Nepal and spend more time with my family. Travel is a daunting task and requires more energy than I can currently expend. I plan to do one final blog post summing up my thoughts on this trip. Stay tuned.