Text and photos by MARLEY BARBOIEISEL
I’ve always been a fan of a roadtrip. As quick as a flight would be to travel from one place to another, you miss out on observing or engaging with anything along the way. I’ve spent weeks of my life driving around the United States, exploring everything from the coast in the Pacific Northwest to the plains of the Midwest, stopping at anything that seemed interesting.
None of those roadtrips could have prepared me for the travel we experienced in Nepal. On our voyage, we spent 7 hours driving in the bus through beautiful valleys with businesses, homes, and farms. Though it was just a brief glimpse of these places, the colorful structures and steep green hills kept us glued to the windows.
Our driver, an employee of the National Trust for Nature Conservancy, kept us safe, while navigating the busy roadways and advancing us to our next location. On the drive, we watched in awe as we passed small communities nestled in the valleys. For lunch we stopped at a resort, where we ate and explored a coy pond and luscious gardens. After a couple more hours on the bus, we arrived at the NTNC area at the entrance to Chitwan National Park. We will be here for the next few days before our group splits and some stay here to continue reporting while others go on to Pokhara.
After a welcome from the program leaders, we were able to interact with a rhino and a handful of elephants homed on the property. Some of us then walked through the nearby town and got caught in a heavy rainstorm, before returning for dinner and an early bedtime.
