"Hello, I'm Lara.
When we think of Nepal, the snowy peaks of the Himalayas are always the first thing that comes to mind, right? Today, I’d like to tell you a slightly more special travel story. Did you know that there is actually a jungle in Nepal?
I only discovered this for the first time during my 8th trip to this country. It turned out to be an incredible experience—shall we dive into this journey together?"
Even though this was my 8th trip to Nepal, it was my very first time visiting Sauraha. Usually, even if you aren't looking at the snowy peaks, Nepal is filled with high, craggy mountains looming right beside the roads. However, the closer I got to Sauraha, the more I felt like I was meeting a truly enchanting side of Nepal. I’ve never been to the African wilderness in person, but we see it often on TV, right? As I headed deeper and deeper into a place that looked exactly like that kind of jungle, I couldn't help but think, "Wow, does a place like this really exist in Nepal?" I was filled with constant wonder all the way there.
We stayed at a top-tier luxury resort in the Sauraha area. As we passed through the village to reach our accommodation, I was shocked to see elephants in almost every yard. When I asked, they told me these were elephants they were actually raising. It really made me think, "A village in the jungle truly is on another level." Our resort was neither too small nor too large, but it had many guest units. With its central lawn garden and even a swimming pool, it was a truly wonderful place.
Our team unpacked, took a short break, and then headed out for a stroll to explore the village. Just a short walk away, we found ourselves in the bustling main street. It was so beautiful, filled with crowds of people and lined with various restaurants and shops.
In Korea, you can’t see elephants unless you go to a zoo. That’s why it was simply mind-blowing to see that in Sauraha, elephants are animals raised right at home.
As we walked further, the crowds grew even larger. To be honest, I wasn't exactly sure what they were doing, but it looked as if people were gathered together playing games, much like they do back in Korea.
Encountering the cultures of different countries always piques my curiosity, and I found myself fascinated by how their street culture differs from that of Korea.
Since it was our arrival day, we ended our first day with this light stroll and returned to the resort for dinner. For tonight's meal, we took out the rice and side dishes we had brought from Korea and had a simple dinner. Thanks to the kind consideration of the resort staff, we were able to enjoy a delicious meal out on the lawn garden.
To be honest, I'm quite sensitive to smells, so I struggle with eating Nepalese food. That’s why I always prepare Korean side dishes and rice whenever I visit. I was so happy to finally have a proper Korean meal today after such a long time, and we even cooked some ramen to go with it.
[English Translation]
After dinner, we sat by the pool, discussed our schedule, and shared some small talk. The atmosphere was truly wonderful. Honestly, I wanted to jump right into the pool, but I couldn't because the water didn't look very clean. Still, I wrapped up my first day in Sauraha in an atmosphere that felt so unique—it was Nepal, yet it didn't feel like the Nepal I knew.
On our second day in Sauraha, we arrived at Chitwan National Park for our scheduled activities. We have now set off to begin our long-awaited jungle exploration journey.
At first, we moved on foot. There were many elephants around, and I remember our guide sharing a lot of interesting stories about them.
Since I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat, I couldn't bring myself to get too close; instead, I just watched them from a distance.
The vast plains, where no mountains were in sight, made me wonder, "Is this really Nepal?" The scenery was so different from what I expected that it made me completely forget I was in Nepal.
A local person told us a rhinoceros had appeared and led us deeper and deeper into the jungle without any safety gear. Being a bit of a scaredy-cat, I couldn't bring myself to get close; instead of following the rest of the group, I stayed back and took photos using my camera's zoom. And to my surprise, a real rhinoceros actually appeared!
Can you see it? The rhinoceros? I was so terrified that I was already scouting for escape routes in my head just in case it started chasing us. I even shouted at the rest of the group to come back quickly, which feels quite hilarious looking back on it now.
After seeing everything there was to see on foot, we finally hopped into a vehicle and headed deep into the jungle. I’ll save the details of our journey into the heart of the jungle for the next post. My time in Sauraha has been incredible so far, but the adventure inside the jungle was even better—much, much better.
The sunset over the Rapti River, which flows through the heart of the southern plains, is truly a sight to behold. I’ll wrap up for today by sharing this photo with you all.
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