On the heels of the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) trek I spend four relaxing days in Pokhara, which has become a base camp of my own during my month-long travel in Nepal. Whilst at the hot spring in Jinhu, I met a Swede named Jesper Bjornman, whose surname literally translate to “Bear Man”, but his friends amicably call him “Beer Man”. Given his moniker, I knew we would get along famously – and we did. We journeyed to Pokhara together and enjoyed some well-deserved downtime after both finishing the ABC trek. Not much to tell about our days in Pokhara other than drinking beer, talking about anything and everything, sipping cappuccinos and masala chai, and enjoying back-to-back films at the Movie Garden, a quaint outdoor theatre that shows classic and contemporary English language films and has an incredible view of Phewa Lake from its prime location in east lakeside. Jesper and I were also joined by Lizzie and Sam, an English couple living in Geneva that I first met in Chomrong during the ABC trek. All four of us got on swimmingly and I very much enjoyed our time together in the Nepali oasis that is Pokhara. I hope to see Sam and Lizzie again in the future.

After our four-day sojourn in Pokhara, Jesper and I headed to Chitwan National Park along an indescribably bumpy road. Famous for being the first national park in Nepal, Chitwan is a well-preserved area in south-central Nepal near the border with India known for its rich biodiversity, dense forests, and grassy plains. The park is home to rare wildlife like one-horned rhinos, Bengal tigers, and elephants, as well as a wide range of bird species and crocodiles. We stayed at Rhino Land based on the recommendation of a French girl that I met during my first night in-country, and the accommodation did not disappoint. Not only was Rhino Land a comfortable distance from the bustle of the tourist street in Sauraha, the hotel courtyard was beautifully landscaped with mango trees, palm trees, flower bushes, and other tropical flora. To boot, our rooms only cost $6 per night.

On Day One at Chitwan National Park, Jesper and I signed up for a half-day walking tour of the plains hoping to spot wild rhinos and tigers in their natural habitat. Stepping into the wild after crossing a crocodile-filled river, within 30 minutes we spotted three rhinos bathing in the low-lying water. To be sure, seeing a wild rhino up close for the time was a special sight for a guy from the sub-arctic lands Canada. Guided by two locals, one of whom used to live in the national park until his family was driven out by floods and increasing pressure from the tourism department, Jesper and I were richly rewarded that day as we saw seven rhinos in total, including a baby. It was surreal to be able to walk freely through the park as we sought out and crept up on wild animals. Sadly, we did not see any tigers, which is probably for the best because I would be devoid of proper reaction if I were to encounter one in the wild. Later that day we also embarked on a half-day jeep tour to go deeper into the park. Frankly, the walking tour was a much more intimate experience, but the jeep tour brought us to the farther reaches of the park – an enormous landscape – and we even spotted a wild elephant that day, Renaldo, who is famous in the area for his track record of killing humans. In fact, the jeep tour guide told us Renaldo has killed about 20 people so far. Thankfully we saw him from high above in a watch tower, but he could not have been more than 500 metres away. We also saw countless other elephants in Chitwan, many of whom walk the streets in Sauraha as transport elephants. These so-called “government-owned” elephants are bred and trained specifically for touring. While special to walk past them on the street, it was sad to look into their deadpan eyes and sense their anguish.

I should mention that we met another crop of interesting people at Rhino Land. First was Ben, a 23-year-old Englishman from Oxford who recently finished his undergraduate studies and was about to join the army full-time. Flavia and Amy, Swiss-German and Canadian girls who met and formed a friendship whilst undertaking the challenging Annapurna Circuit trek. A father-son combo from Norway; a nerdy pot-smoking 60’s hippy and his hacker son who boasted openly about being a former member of Anonymous, an international hacking network. Being very interested in the dark web and cyber crime, I prompted him to open up a bit and learned that his claim to fame was a Denial of Service (DoS) attack on the Norwegian Labour Party, amongst other cyber breaches. Having said that, yet again my time on the road put me in direct contact with a very diverse array of people from different walks of life – precisely what I was hoping for.

Back to our time in Chitwan, after the jungle tour Jesper and I rented motorcycles and toured the area for three glorious days of riding the open roads and passing through small villages in southern Nepal. Jesper taught me how to ride a motorbike and I am in his debt because I really took a liking to it. This may in fact spark a new hobby when I return to Canada. Never mind that the bikes had more than 200,000 km each and none of the dash dials worked; those steel horses were our salvation for three whole days and put us on cloud nine, day in and day out. Indeed, there is no better way to get out and see the sights than on a motorcycle, feeling the road intimately as we traversed the countryside unencumbered.

The most memorable moment touring the areas around Chitwan came when we happened upon what we thought was a restaurant in a very small rural village, but, in fact, was a local gathering to celebrate the life of a recently deceased man. Despite our mistake, the family fed us a giant-sized plate of homemade food, which we ate gleefully in front of about 15 people who smiled broadly and spoke no word of English. We felt like two fish out of water, but it was a beautiful mistake that put us in touch with generous, happy people. Visibly poor and destitute, we offered to pay for the meal, but they humbly refused. Such generosity, so much compassion.

After spending about a week together, Jesper and I wished each other well and bid adieu as we went on to discover a new corner of the world. I was delighted to have met him and truly hope our paths cross in the future. Flavia and I went on to Kathmandu together as we were both departing for new countries from the national airport. We spent two wonderful days walking around Kathmandu, complete with a serene sunset slowly dipping below Swayambhunath temple from our hotel rooftop terrace (as featured below).

Now I sit in an overpriced airport hotel in Kathmandu, writing this missive as I prepare to journey to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to join my mate, John “Dizzy Kicks” DiPirro, a dear friend and my roommate from my grad school year in Brussels (2008-2009). En route to Bishkek I have a 10-hour layover at Dubai International Airport and I’ll probably treat myself to some all-you-can-eat/drink time at the airport lounge. I cannot overstate how excited I am to see John in Kyrgyzstan, his adopted home since 2011. I’ll be sure to chime in over the next few weeks to describe what will surely be another incredible chapter in this timeless adventure.

Much love to everyone back home!