Memories of Nepal

 Memories of Nepal

At the monkey temple, one tried to steal a lady’s purse, but she battled back.

On the bus safari, a mother rhino and her big baby approached us within a few feet, but ignored us and continued grazing. We saw other rhinos in the lowland valley of southern Nepal.

On our dugout canoe trip, we passed a number of crocodiles along the riverbank. The guide assured us - somewhat - that they had already eaten. Peacocks and monkeys were seen along the shore.

At the Chitwan National Park elephant rearing station, we saw mother elephants and their offspring. The bulls roam the wilds of the Park. and are brought in annually to mate. One baby elephant approached us at the fence. We gave the baby a drink of water. We passed a large cargo hauler - an elephant - on the narrow dirt road. Besides elephants, another beast of burden is the water buffalo. We saw a number of them submerged up to their horned heads in a farm pond, staring at us as we stared at them,

We were bussed to a native dance performance - a colorful one to the beat of a drum. While our bus was returning us to our hotel, we saw on the mainstreet a rhino passing us a few feet away. In Nepal rhinos have the right-of-way.

We traveled to a hotel with a view of the Himalayas. Though monsoon season was almost over, the mountains were shrouded in clouds. We were able, however,  to see several of the peaks, right from our hotel veranda.

We visited a farm where poor families are given a chance to produce and harvest their food. The farm is a response to poverty, which has led to a major problem in Nepal, human trafficking.  The organization that effectively fights this iniquity is LoveJustice, for which our nephew Brad, and his wife Rachel, work. We were privileged to meet some of the Nepali people that interrupt human traffickers at the places where it occurs, often train or bus stations. We visited one such place near the border with India where human traffickers lurk.

Kathmandu, the Nepali metropolis, is a mixture of old - ancient temples and palaces - and new - motor scooters, or “scooties.” buzzing through the thorofares. It is set in a high mountain valley just south of the Himalayas.

A treat for us was visiting Brad and Rachel and their little daughter Petra at their apartment.  Mom and Dad  provided the meal, and Petra, the entertainment. But what else could you expect from a little one who was a world traveler at age three.