The Village

Our first attempt to go to Chitwan brought us to a little village. It was on the way to Chitwan and near where Axel had repelled while we were in Dubai. The place was in the middle of nowhere. After a 3 hour drive, we piled the kids out of the van and made the trek uphill. As we walked, we seemed to gather more and more Nepalese kids along the way. They were all pointing and smiling and they seemed to want to make friends.





The little village had small huts made of bamboo and grass along with some livestock and fields of corn. When we finally reached the place where Axel repelled, the kids sat around just staring at each other. The local kids had nothing and I wished our stink'n stuff had showed up sooner from Dubai so I could have given them some decent clothes to have. Their clothing were rags and some of them didn't have any shoes.






The next stop we made was at a little hut restaurant on the river. It was a place where most white water rapid riders stop for a meal to eat and a book to read. They had a great selection of books and I was able to take in a couple of chapters of The Map of the World while Axel collected rocks for his Japanese garden. The kids were plenty entertained with the dog the owner had named 'Rapid' or 'Rapieeed' as they pronounced it. While there, it thundered and rained a bit, just enough to set the perfect mood. We then left and spent the night in a resort nearby. The next morning we found out that Chitwan was on strike. As a result, we headed home.

Dona chill'n at the restaurant

Axel gathering his many rocks for his garden


My kids having WAY more fun than they could handle

On our way back, Axel remembered that he had noticed some small trees in the village that had been chopped down so many times that they made perfect bonsais. He decided that we would make a stop there again before heading home.

The local people were again delighted to see us and one of the boys there, who spoke English, said that this was the first time they had seen white people. They watched our every move and enjoyed laughing at Axel for digging up a useless root. I am pretty sure I now know the word for 'crazy man' in Nepali.








When we were done, Axel gave them some money for our disturbance and we were on our way home. The entire village came to send us off and we were glad we made the detour. So, even though we never made it to Chitwan on our first attempt, the trip was fruitful (bonsais, orchids, river rocks) and the kids had a blast.

Xay showing off his bug