(Originally posted 5 May 2016) We would not consider ourselves to be adventurous people, and at home, we are not naturally inclined to participate in adrenalin-inducing activities. Booked through a third party in India, we did not know what our tour in Nepal encompassed and went quite blindly into it all. But we were definitely in for an adventure in Nepal. (Update: the time spent here remains a highlight of our one-year round-the-world trip)
Our tour company, Himalayan Social Journey, had it all in hand and made all the arrangements for us to have nine great days in Nepal. The briefing on the planned activities definitely surprised us, and against our natural instinct, we decided to trust their judgment and participate in the suggested activities.
Our second day in Kathmandu started with an early morning flight on a small 30-seater plane. It was a majestic one-hour scenic flight over Mt. Everest and its ranges. The US$200 price per person was not in our original budget, but considering we were in Nepal, seeing Everest was just something we could not miss.
The featured photo on this post was also taken during this flight.
On the third day, on the way to Chitwan National Park, we stopped to do some white water rafting on the Trishuli River. It is luckily quite warm in Nepal in May, so even though the water splashing all over you with each rapid is cold, the sun quickly warms you up.
The following day we were up early again to take a bird watching canoe ride in croc-infested waters. The crocodiles are all around us, and with all ten of us weighing the long wooden boat down, we were all a little nervous about tumbling over and becoming breakfast.
Next, we took a guided walk in the jungle hoping that we would spot some game, including a tiger. Later, we heard that a wild boar charged another group on the same walk as us that day and the guide was injured. Our wild boar spotting was of one running in the opposite direction – he must have known not to mess with Africans.
We also saw a rhino taking a lazy swim. At first, we would not believe our guide that it was a rhino until we were only a few meters away – from a distance, it just looked like a log in the lake. Unfortunately, we never saw any tigers, but that is a great legitimate reason to return one day.
The whole afternoon was used for a guided game drive. The first rains they had had in nine months came pouring down as we started. The thunderstorm continued for the next two hours, leaving us thoroughly drenched while perched on the top of the open vehicle. When the sun eventually came out, the thick layers of dust had been washed off, and the rays lit up a beautiful bright green forest that made it all worthwhile.
However, after all these activities nothing got our adrenalin going like the bus trip along the national highway. You can’t prepare yourself mentally for the narrow roads undergoing construction on a mountain pass. The nail-biting traffic negotiations ended up being the most terrifying activity of our Nepalese adventure.