Allo,
Today at an unreasonable hour (ok only 6am) I met up with the crew to bus to Chitwan, the national park and reserve that protects x-hundreds of wildlife. If you would like specific information then I advise you Wikipedia or cross reference your lonely planet, and stop reading this now.
So far my reservations of coming here were validated when I saw that the feet of the government elephants in the conservation section outside of the park, were chained so that they couldn’t walk. We haven’t gone into the park yet, and I have read about how this park is known for their good treatment of the animals, but seeing that just made me feel extremely guilty. I understand it is for our own protection. No I do not want to be trampled by elephants. But it does raise the question of whether we should have the authority to use animals for the sole purpose of collecting admission while we gawk at them. And to the extent that we would need to hold them down for a decent photo. It is just really unnatural and I don’t think justified. It just all seemed very Disney Dumbo to me and I was grateful to quickly walk away.
I am hoping tomorrow when we go to the park these feelings won’t return because we will see the animals more freely. I’m not totally apposed to a jungle safari so long as I do not see any animals chained. I guess we will find out…
On a lighter note, I did enjoy a beautiful sunset with friends. I’ve also been keeping a mental count of people who have told me that I look Nepali, and believe it or not people, the count is now at 5. I’m talking cab drivers, tour operators and even random women I meet. It’s quite flattering and I take it as a compliment. It must be the nose ring haha.
After the sunset we saw a cultural dance show which was interesting and boiling hot. Sweating this much is kinda nice, almost like a suffocating detox.
Now I am going to bed full of milk tea. Namaste,
-CS
Crystal Clear Chaos 