Mirrogram®

Highlights/Lowlights

• Escaping the city
• Hot showers

Treacherous roads clinging to the side of mountains winding their way slowly through the countryside. Overtaking on blind corners which are far too narrow for two lanes of traffic. Rice terraces cut into impossible steep hills. Aside from this today felt almost like we were back in Australia.

Welcome to the West

After a 5 hour bus ride we were welcomed to Hotel Seven Star with a glass of juice, before being shown our accommodation. Hot water, fresh sheets and Wifi that actually worked. This place had already exceeded our wildest expectations and we had only been there 10 minutes.

We unpacked our stuff and headed to the restaurant for lunch where we were treated to the first of many buffet meals. Soup, Chips, Steamed veggies, Curries, Noodles and dessert. The food was so good we even allowed the team to eat meat (usually a big no-no).

I felt like I was on a different planet. Gated off from the rest of the world, we were in our own little paradise.

The first of the tours began after lunch as we visited the local village to learn about (and consume) Tharu culture. For the first time since visiting the Taj Mahal I felt like a tourist. Such a sudden change in purpose was weird.

My thoughts were interrupted by the awesomeness of Elephants who we watched peeling bark from branches before cheekily throwing them in our direction.

It was amazing to see what Elephants can do with their trunks. Such power and yet enough finesse to pluck and bunch blades of grass like a tepee before whacking it all on their legs to knock the dirt off. It was truly incredible.

Show off! An elephant balancing food on it’s trunk

After the Elephant Breeding Centre came a trip to the river to watch the sunset.

As the sky turned pink one of the guides pointed out a rare Hornbill in the trees nearby.

The night finished with another 3 course buffet and hot showers. For the first time this trip we drifted off to sleep to the sound of silence.