Exploring The Subcontinent Like A Seasoned Traveller

By Lana Dwyer on May 14, 2013 in Other

“There are some very dangerous animals in this park, so we have sticks. But if you see elephant, rhino, tiger or bear and they start running, climb up a tree. I hope you’re good climbers!”

Over the uni break, my friend and I decided to venture out into the world and see for ourselves what India and Nepal are really like. These two countries were both amazing! I would go back to either any day.

Beginning our trip in India, we flew with AirAsia via Kuala Lumpur to Bangalore. We thought that any initiation into India would be not be complete without an arduous, 10-hour train ride, so this came early on the agenda. I think we ended up speaking to about 50 locals while trying to figure out which platform our train left from and which end we were meant to get on at.

After about a 1km walk (seriously) from the wrong end of the train, we finally found the right carriage, which surprisingly didn’t contain any live animals and had functioning air conditioning!

By the time we arrived in Madurai, we felt like seasoned travellers. Here we stayed for two weeks, where we volunteered at a school, attempting to teach English to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade kids. The kids were so cute and incredibly generous; most days at least one of them would give us lollies that they had bought from the canteen. We were also lucky enough to sneak up to Kodaikanal, a four-hour, stomach-churning bus journey up the Western Ghats. I would highly recommend visiting if ever you’re in the south of India. It was stunning and the climate was so refreshing after the suffocating heat of the lower lands.

Following the two weeks in the south, we headed up to Delhi and did as much of the classic tourist trail as we could manage in eight days. For this bit of the trip, we hired a driver. He not only provided us with complimentary water, but also Punjabi music – “the only music you can really dance to”. In eight days we managed to check out Agra (home of the Taj Mahal), Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer was by far our favourite place. There, we stayed in the atmospheric fort, where no cars or rickshaws could fit in the narrow streets, and went on a camel safari that started in a nearby desert village. Our last day in India was spent in Delhi, another place with which we were pleasantly surprised.

Arriving in Kathmandu, Nepal, at 11pm and seeing no one on the street was a pretty big shock. We weren’t sure if it was because we were driving through a deserted town or because this city actually slept (unlike India). It turned out that the latter was true.

After spending one day in Kathmandu, we hopped on a bus down to Royal Chitwan National Park. Here we went on a jungle trek, where our guides protected us with their sticks, and we saw a wild rhino and a crocodile. We also went to the elephant breeding centre. While we were there, a 9 month-old elephant took a particular interest in us. This interest was so strong that he dismantled part of the fence so he could come and take a closer look at us. Later, we bathed the older elephants and went on a safari on their backs, seeing two more wild rhinos (apparently there are only 5000 left in the world, so we thought we were pretty lucky). Sadly, we had to leave and meet up with the group we were trekking with, so after four nights in Chitwan, we travelled back to Kathmandu.

We decided to do the Annapurna Sanctuary trek as we’d heard that the scenery was impressive. It was absolutely stunning the whole way! I would highly recommend this trek to anyone keen on nature. We went from rhododendron forests to snow covered mountains and had perfect weather the whole time, barring one freezing cold, wet day when the rain gradually turned into snow as we walked higher. This was when I discovered that if you hang wet pants up in negative temperatures, they will freeze.

A couple of final tips that will come in handy when travelling to India and Nepal:
1. Take toilet paper with you always.
2. There’s very little difference between mid-range and budget accommodation – go with budget.
3. Make sure the hot water works in the mountains before you commit to having a shower.
4. Practice tree-climbing before heading to Chitwan!