Safari in Sauraha (Nepal 2012 Trip)

I am inspired to continue my entry for Nepal this time, after watching a late night Bollywood film with hub last night, Kathmandu came suddenly into the scene. How memorable it was until Hub even mentioned his desire to visit the country! sebab dia plak terlebih excited. LOL

One of our must-visit places during that 2012 trip was Chitwan National Park, located in the southern region of  Nepal, 30 km from India-Nepal border. I wished that we too had Indian visa to border cross but of course it was not doable due to the time limit.

The Road leading to Chitwan National Park. Every countries visited, the signage of passing animals must be a taken for a shot, for remembrance. LOL

My driver took us into this village area of Sauraha. As we descended from the highland to the flatland, things were getting pretty exciting when we see paddy field, cows or buffalos and some farming activities. It reminds us a lot to our kampung too, like Kedah and other northern region. The journey from Pokhara to Chitwan National Park took almost the entire day with some stop to have nature calls and lunch.

I can say Sauraha was the best thing happened during the entire trip. We met cool people who were not reluctant to be open and fun with the visitors, in many good ways. My tour guide brought us to this place for stay - Hotel Rainforest. 

http://www.hotelrainforest.com.np/aboutus.php

The friendship established between the visitors and the staff are amazing, still a facebook buddy to my guide, Mr. Arpan Guni and Mr. Buddha too, the chief among them all. Somehow it reminds me to my Outward Bound School (OBS) Experience in Lumut Perak. Very Cool!

You can google to find review of this place. 

People of Sauraha.

Well, I am not going to dwelve on the details. You can google the hotel mentioned since they come with activities for you to choose and do during the entire stay. Basically two or three days will be packed with activities, another point to come and again reminds me to that OBS experience, in more relaxed ways. What we have in Sauraha were :

1. Jungle trekking Activity

2. Visit to Chitwan National Park - elephant riding, Rhino watching, river cruising

3.  Local Tharu Dance Show (at night)

4. Sunset watching in Chitwan's River

5. BBQ (final night before departure)

6. Free n easy roaming in the town

Snake Skin found during jungle trekking activity

Chitwan National Park is a protected region of wild life so you will not see any people hunting the animals or to take any thing out of the forest except for the locals who are granted with special permission to gather herbs or wood material for their industrial usage. In the event of villagers being attacked by the wild life, there will be a special fund that pays the local some money. Dead crocodile carcasses or dead crocodile skin are not allowed to be taken out from this area too, so will see a number of them in this park without any harm.

Elephant Bathing Time. A must try!

I will leave readers with photos and no more explanation. Just to leave some surprise and room for imagination, especially for anyone who have intention to visit this place.

Some active crocodiles found during river cruise. Cool, they will not bite.

Elephants in the sanctuary visit. A bench mark to future Kuala Gandah's trip?

A rhino caught sleeping in the park. 

Couple of Chitwan, resting near Chitwan National Park.

Local girls met during our sunset watching in the river.

Kids of Chitwan.

The only thing I would like to see is the improvement of the road but of course it takes some years to develop. Who knows someday I may come and visit again this place. Insya Allah. 

River Cruising. A must do to!

This entry marks the final episode of my Nepal 2012 trip. I believe at this point of time many Malaysians has set their foot on the sacred land of Nepal due to cheap air ticket available and promotions done at MATTA fair. Perhaps people who have visited come with more stories of hiking activities which I did not manage to do it in the first place.

I would say Nepal is a must visit for those avid travellers. You will experience a total different culture, sight and people whom you may continue to have friendship with them for many many years because they are such cool people. The simplicity of life in Nepal is too another point for you.

The end......

Nepal Trip (Part III)

We continued the trip to Pokhara for some view on Annapurna....

The journey from Kathmandu Valley to Pokhara, by Malaysian highway standard may takes 3-4 hours but knowing we were in Nepal, the road condition can be compared to 10x worse than Gua Musang-Merapoh route, i hope u get it.

Nevertheless, the scenic breathtaking view captured our hearts with turquoise colour flowing rivers (great for whitewater rafting) and paddy terrace along the road makes it more dramatic. yeah, I never seen a traditional brick kiln but I tell you what, it was something I never see even in Nat Geo. cool!

We were going downhill, happens that Pokhara is in lower altitude from Kathmandu Valley and Trisuli River was next to the highway. We made some stop at several places,just to capture some photos and attending to our nature calls.

Trisuli, in the beginning of our journey...

Paddy farmer's house. The  hills behind are really high...

Friend and Driver's Wife, in a mustard field.

I was thinking, perhaps if we are more than 5 person, we would have fun doing whitewater rafting in that river. It was such a waste to come all the way but the three of us are not rafting expert, we never even whitewater before!  All of us were tempted but of course, I did not want to pose risks on my fellow travellers, so perhaps in the future, perhaps.....

More river rapids as we go downhill. Perfect for the water activities.. oh how I wish I was inside....

My heart grew excited to see people, treating this highway as a flow to their slow paced life. House are built just near the road, people stay outside to bask themselves in the morning sunlight while the weather was cool. We saw many women in their sari and shawl carrying water containers to the public water pump, kids playing with friends and men sitting under the tree playing cards. How I wish my life is that simple and free like that~! Nepalese people are so lucky to have this unspoiled nature for their surrounding, especially when they have a clean and beautiful river at the back of their houses. Yup, my friend who hails from Temerloh kept on commenting that Pahang River should be like Trisuli, not in that light teh tarik colour. Development versus Nature. This is life, isn't it?

Though we have no guts to do whitewater rafting, this cable car experience should not to be missed... skills?? strong arm muscles...

As we arrived and checked-in the hotel (luckily we have changed it before coming), it was already dark outside. The next morning definitely would be another exciting day, which was to see the sunrise from Sarangkot Hill.

waiting patiently for the sunrise....

We woke up very early at 4 a.m, as instructed by the driver, Raj and he took us to this place called Sarangkot. I contacted a friend who used to work in Nepal before, and he recommended us instead of Nagarkot, Sarangkot offers better sunrise view over Annapurna Range. Yes, he was right!

It happened that we are the earliest bunch of enthusiasts coming and booked our spot to the observation deck. I was not sure how much was being paid, but there are some free decks for other observers. Subhanallah, when I noticed how the stars from the sky looked bigger from this altitude point, it makes sense how NK kept on telling the stars look better from his Swat Valley in Pakistan. How I wish I was there with him to see this!

Ok back to the story. We almost gave up on the sunrise as we waited almost 2 hours, but when the sun cast the first light onto the mountains, it was a mouth gaping experience~! Time stood still and people were quiet...some of the travelers came a little bit late but they were already pretty excited clicking cameras for the shots.....

As the sun came out, some local visitors chanting in prayers......must be some special occasion or something......

Driver and wife took the opportunity for some photograph, in fact this trip was like the first honeymoon cum field trip.

Fish Tail Mountain... in close shot.....

We made our way back to hotel for breakfast and continued the day for some tour to local site.... 

to be continued...

Warm feelings to see  the national car in our hotel car park...

Nepal Trip (Hari Pertama)

Kami menaiki pesawat MAS dari KLIA ke Kathmandu, seawal jam 9.00 pagi dan dijangka tiba jam 11.50 pagi waktu tempatan Nepal (2 jam lewat dari waktu Malaysia).

Perasaan menaiki pesawat MAS kali ini tidaklah begitu mengujakan kerana penerbangan 4 jam dengan pesawat yang agak kecik (saiz 737 jer) berbanding pengalaman menaiki Airbus AirBus Air Asia X ternyata berbeza. Nak ke tandas pun beratur lama sebab tandas tak banyak..

Too bad, compared to flyscoot.com ari tu, MAS agak dah drop la dari segi layanan. Bukan faktor hensem ker lawa cabin crew, tapi kalau dah abis jus kat troli, toksahlah bitchy kata geng troli sebelah mengebas. sangat tak pro. kita nak fuss free service, taknak dengar masalah korang, ahahhahahahhaha.

Raja Garuda menyambut di pintu ketibaan... Bukti? yang bersayap tu la namanya Shiva dalam bentuk Garuda.... rupanya Garuda tu perkataan standard orang sana.... sebab tour guide kata, dah ada Garuda Airlines yang dia tau Indon punya muahahhahahahha

Setibanya di airport, proses mendapatkan Visa On Arrival (VOA) bermula... untuk lawatan selama 15 hari,  yuran adalah USD25. amek ko, 15 hari jer. kira buat duit keje kerajaan Nepal ni. Kat situ dah nampak cekik darah sebab kalau trekking pasti 15 hari tidak mencukupi untuk cover visa tu. Rate mengikut hari tapi aku tak amik port sebab bukan nak lama. 8 hari cukup.

Setelah kami keluar dari pintu airport, dah nampak dari gate, nama aku dah kat kadbod yang pasti kalau pegi tour, memang macam tu la kekdahnya, ada yang menyambut . Mak jemah bukan apa, nak pegi buat itinerary sendiri tak berapa lagi terer untuk negara macam ni, kene yang dapat kaki putar alam, potong terus mood bercuti. Alhamdulillah, si Ram, owner tour agency menyambut kami dengan senyuman dan sebuah van yang super selesa gayanya. Terasa macam orang kaya kaya jer travel sebab van di atas untuk kitaorang tiga orang jer... masuk bandar Kathmandu, lagi la terasa, sebab van sebesar van kami, sarat ngan penduduk tempatan macam tin sardin, kami pun takleh buat apa. tengok jer.

First time in my life, seeing a very chaotic city. insaf terus. betapa trafik di jalanan menggila waktu puncak di bandar kathmandu. bunyi hon bermaharajalela. Traffic light tak dak, yang control trafik adalah polis trafik sendiri. Satu pengalaman yang sangat berharga. Kalau tengok kepadatan penumpang sesuatu kenderaan, kot accident teruk, memang tatau sapa punya kaki tangan badan dan kepala kalau dah bekecai kecuali penumpang yang dok atas bumbung bas sebab dah tercampak dah kat mana, nauzubillah nak jadi macam tu, memang takdak safety feature langsung in their public transport. kira tanggung sendiri la risiko nak naik bas mereka. Nyawa macam takder harga. Sorry babe, aku tak rela.  Memang betul kata Lonely Planet, Kathmandu itself a maddening town!

Kami dibawa ke hotel yang direquest oleh aku sendiri, Hotel Samsara di Thamel Street sebab berdasarkan syor kawan yang dah pegi Nepal dengan syarikat tour yang sama. Lantakla kalau nak kene bayar hotel elok sikit, sebab i tell you, yang agak affordable dari USD85-USD90 semalam, standard dia lagi rendah dari Hotel Bajet ala Tune Hotel tu.  Bantal dan tilam toksah cerita, lagi best rumah aku punya yang pasti. 4Cuma ada breakfast jerla. layan. Malam tu kami merayau di sekitar Thamel membuat window shopping barang yang nak dibeli tapi terbeli jugak sebab tak tahan tengok.

Entrance Hotel Samsara. Sorry wa tak dapat nak rotate gambar ni.....deretan pokok marigold dan daisy menyambut kedatangan kami ke sini. 

So keesokkan harinya, setelah termakan pujuk rayu Ram, kami bercadang untuk mencuba Mountain Flight ke Everest. perasan orang kaya sungguh sebab kalau tak layan rugi plak sebab cuaca sangat best dengan tiada awan yang melindungi puncak, kira the best season nak layan flight ni pun. Harga mountain flight ni, USD170 untuk penerbangan selama 55 minit mengelilingi banjaran, telan air liur kejap, tapi cuba pujuk hati, bila lagi kan? Bukan senang gak nak mendaki Everest semata mata nak tengok puncak dari jarak dekat, maka bila difikir faktor kewangan, masa dan tenaga empat kerat nak mendaki, layan jerla sebab tak nak susah susah.  nak daki ke Everest Base Camp pun dah dua minggu. Ni kira express rakyat la.

Seawal jam 5.30 pagi, cuaca pun dah terang macam pukul 7 waktu Malaysia, kami dijemput oleh Kumar, pemandu van kami ke Lapangan terbang Domestik. Perasaan? ahahahah tak leh nak describe tengok local airport mereka. Kalau ko rasa LCCT tu macam Pudu Raya, yang ni macam ko nak masuk Pasar Siti Khadijah ahahhahahahahh. Bersih

Lapangan terbang domestik yang bersebelahan lapangan terbang antarabangsa mereka. sebelah tu Kem Tentera Udara Nepal.

keadaan di dalam lapangan terbang domestik. first time aku tengok scale penimbang baggage nak check in tu sebijik macam penimbang sayur kat hotel tempat keje lama aku kat shangrila, elok rata jer penimbang tu. tader roller nak punggah masuk pesawat, pakai manual labour yakni ada petugas kat belakang check in kaunter angkat. oh ya, setiap penerbangan domestik dikenakan airport tax sebanyak Nepal Ruppee 200, bersamaaan RM7.40.

Rupa pesawat kami yang comel molek tu. sebelum nak naik, kene naik mini bus ke sini dan setiap penumpang akan dapat window seat untuk tengok banjaran Himalaya. Penerbangan kali ini menggunakan Guna Air. Kembang kawan aku yang nama Guna tu sebab ada penerbangan sendiri ahahhahaha. Kalau ikut Lonely Planet, kebarangkalian terhempas pesawat tu memang ada tapi disebabkan cuaca buruk, tak da sejarah kata mechanical faulty, ceh saja bakar kawan yang nak pegi. Kalau tak elok, memang tak dibenarkan berlepas. Agak takut jugak, tapi kami kan adventerous katanya... Terus aku tak pikir panjang baca Bismillah nak naik.... 

Keadaan di dalam pesawat ringan ini. dari seat dah nampak cockpit. jangan terkejut kalau anda dibenarkan untuk pergi ke cockpit secara bergilir sebab semasa menuju ke puncak Everest, memang ia akan berada di hadapan mata, seolah olah pesawat ni nak langgar. memang best woo... macam citer zaman zaman dulu ya.

Pesawat menghampiri banjaran Himalaya yang agak panjang dan puncak puncak gunungnya boleh tahan banyak.

Pesawat akan membuat pusingan untuk memastikan semua penumpang mendapat chance tengok banjaran ni dari dari jarak dekat. ternyata kami terpegun sebab tak pernah tengok gunung dengan kecuraman yang melampau, memang terpegun seketika melihat banjaran himalaya yang hampir diliputi salji. Nasib baik aku mempunyai telezoom lense yang membolehkan aku zoom dari tempat duduk merobosi tingkap kawan tu. tak payah nak berlari rebut window, boleh tak balance pesawat tu kan ahhahahhahahhahah

Subhanallah, setelah sekian lama aku menunggu, diberi peluang nak tengok Everest (puncak sebelah kanan)  jarak dekat... inilah puncak tertinggi di dunia dengan ketinggian 8848 meter dari aras laut. cantek sungguh. Boleh bayangkan kesusahan nak mendaki sebab bukan semua yang mempunyai kudrat dan kemahiran yang diperlukan. Tergamam aku tengok sebab teringat citer 2012 yang konon kalau bah besar melanda, cukup makan jer puncak ni nak berdiri tanpa ditenggelami air. Kalau diberi peluang percuma naik Mountain Flight ni, aku nak repeat balik!

Salah satu banjaran yang juga menarik perhatian kami dengan kedalaman dan ketinggian puncak ini. Memang tak terpanjat den kalau disuruh mendaki. Curam benar!

tak boleh nak bayangkan betapa cantek banjaran Himalaya ni walau salji tidakla setebal mana tapi nak tengok mukabumi macam ni adalah Once in Lifetime! Rasa nak suruh jer kapal terbang tu mendarat bagi kami guling guling atas salji yang memutih tu, sebab memukau mata kami sangat sangat (mode jakun sebab tak penah tengok salji seumur hidup, ahahahhahah). Kira memang terbaek la sebab tengok salji dan glacier for the first time di puncak gunung tertinggi di dunia walau tak pernah pegang, kira lepas ni tak der kisah sangat pun kenkawan nak citer kehebatan swiss alp di Eropah or southern alps tu sebab yang paling best semua ada kat sini. cuma nak meluncur turun jer tak boleh, kan.  syukur di usia muda ni, antara penumpang penumpang pesawat, kami la paling muda, yang lain semua yang dah berusia dan pencen pencen. depa pun gelak tengok kami kecoh dalam flight. Siap sengih bagai sebab mereka jugak macam kami. terkesima. nothing can describe the feelings, chewah!

Kami diberikan peta mengenai puncak puncak yang terdapat di banjaran ini sambil dibantu oleh stewardess kecik molek yang menerangkan nama sekiranya kami melewati puncak puncak itu. Terasa diriku begitu berharga. Untuk mengatasi mabuk pesawat, tiada jus oren atau kacang diberi kecuali segelas air kosong yang dituang serta gula-gula. hmmmm takleh kata apa lar, limited budget kot. Yang pasti misi kami berjaya nak tengok Puncak Everest tu. Selepas pesawat mula meninggalkan kawasan tersebut dan menuju ke lapangan terbang, sekali lagi ujian kedua adalah pendaratan yang agak menjunam sedikit sebab landasan takderlah panjang sangat (Ya Nepal mempunyai 70 Airport, salah satu yang paling berbahaya di dunia sebab kalau tak dapat takeoff sure jatuh gaung punya).

Apabila pesawat mendarat dan pintu dibuka, setiap penumpang akan diberikan sijil yang ditandatangani pilot bertugas. Ya kami tak lepas peluang bergambar dengan pilot yang bertugas hari tu. First Officer dia dah cabut pegi mana ntah. Amcam hensem tak? Kira pengalaman menaiki Mountain Flight ni tak dapat digambarkan betapa cemas dan seronoknya sebab dapat melihat Everest dengan paling dekat. Yang pasti, ia merupakan salah satu attraction point kalau nak datang ke Kathmandu ni.

Bersambung........................