Chitwan Nat'l Park, Nepal

Tigers, rhinos, and crocodiles....oh yeah! We just spent three days at Chitwan National Park. We took an early morning elephant safari--yes we rode on top of elephants. There are wild rhinoceroses in the park. Rhinoceroses are the second largest land animals in the world. They don't see too well, they don't hear too well, and they have a really nasty temper. This makes it easy to sneak up on a rhino, but not so much fun once it realizes you're there. When a rhino is disturbed, it charges. Therefore, the only safe way to see rhinos is to ride the largest land animal in the world--elephants! A rhino will charge an elephant, just like it charges anything else. But the elephant will make a low rumble to let the rhino know that it's an elephant, and the rhino will stop. Which is nice for everyone.

We also took some walks once the sun warmed things up, and found these crocodiles, or muggers as they're called here, basking in the warm winter sun on the river bank. Of course, our guides like to have a little fun at our expense. To get the goofy American to walk under the elephant, they tell you that it's good luck to do so. The only lucky thing that happened to me was that the elephant didn't pee on me. Which I guess is pretty lucky...have you ever seen how much pee comes out of an animal that size?

Aside from these animals, we also saw a barking deer, tons of birds, monkeys, and fresh tiger tracks. If you're ever in the Indian jungle, remember, if you see a rhino, run! (but not in a straight line). If you see a sloth bear, bunch up in a group and make noise! If you see a tiger, back away slowly and maintain eye contact! Or, just ride your trusty elephant.