Can you guess my favorite horrific…nightmare….animal….that I still want to preserve?

Side note

So….you may be wondering what was the logic behind the choice for the background picture in this blog? Well….after today there should be no doubt! But! Feel free to comment if maybe you are still uncertain. Or if you just want to criticize me for being such a wuss.

I wonder….does someone who recently ate menthos taste shittier?  AND ….more importantly…..can they figure this out BEFORE they eat you? (Photo: JLewis)

To say that what was left in that photo….had a large influence over me during this journey…..would be an understatement. Let’s put it this way…moving along roads with bombs, malatove cocktails and bullets (yes…we will get to all that later) did not disturb me. THIS….…in the photo…….disturbed me.

TO the park! Where the ….tigers….are. Great!

Today we head to the Bardia National Park. This is where there are rhinos, elephants, tigers and also…in the river that borders it (Geruwa) ….some dolphins!

Entrance to Bardia National Park, Nepal (Photo: JLewis)

We get to the park entrance and Gopal leaves me to go and get a permit to enter. This…permit….it turns out ….. is fairly important. If you are caught roaming the park without one…the rangers have permission to shoot…dead. Wow! Seems kinda…um…strict? But the reason is a good one. Just like everywhere else…many large mammals are poached for ridiculous reasons (sometimes medicinal use…other times because rich people in other places think it is cool to collect…rare things. Aholes. Yep.)

So…once we get the permit…we get the chance to enter the park…um…..where the ….animals are…including the um…..tigers. Did I mention…that for some reason…I seem to be terrified of being eaten alive? I just can’t seem to shake it. Dang it.

Photo: JLewis

So off we go. And IMMEDIATELY we are surrounded by tall grass! Where….YES…tigers could easily hide! I am feeling only good in that we are on a motorized vehicle…which means …maybe we can outrun? 

Ok. So…the road is total shit. I think officially…you could say…not a road…but maybe a path….maybe …a TIGER path!

AND…. we keep hitting the edge which makes Gopal have less control…and then…we keep loosing our way…and have to stop to call the station…meaning…WE HAVE STOPPED AND THE TIGER CAN CATCH UP!

We get to the top of this crest….surrounded by tall grass. And we see a look out thing. (aka…looks like tower high above that has stairs that you can climb up to get view of safely….oh…I dunno…TIGERS! ) And Gopal…says…"Get off bike!" He wants to go ask them the way to the river! The people watching tigers! Who will soon be watching me getting eaten by them! ……..I write my first good bye on what’s app.

Obviously…all goes…good for me…bad for tiger. So. We take off and head towards the river. And when we get to a tributary creek…and I should mention…in case you had not thought about this….that creeks are where…um…maybe a tiger would like to …. DRINK! Anyway, there is a steep mud bank on the edge…and ……Here goes adventure accidental number three! We slide down on the side of the cycle. Which…is all good and fine…EXCEPT! 1) I have only brought three pairs of pants…and am trying to get as much wear out of each before I have to wash…and now…damnit…this one is…well…dirtier. And 2) THE TIGER CAN CATCH UP AGAIN NOW!

To be continued…….