And then there was that one time that Ben got attacked by the tiger.

Last weekend, Sudip decided he needed a break from the ministry since he and Anne Lise are immersed in it all day every day. So, with one day notice, the four of us packed our bags, bought our bus tickets, and headed to Suaraha, the home of Chitwan National Park. Chitwan is a famous tourist attraction with canoeing, elephant rides, jungle safaris, riverside resorts, and week-long trekking for those who are not afraid of tigers. The bus ride to Chitwan is about six hours long and is just as beautiful as the jungle itself. Once you get outside of the Kathmandu valley, the mountains shoot up on either side of the narrow road that follows a huge river. The mountainsides are dotted with tiny farms, roadside villages, and small abandoned temples, and the river is full of huge boulders and rapids that beg for a raft to ride over them. The tourist stops along the main road are usually no more than teenagers pedaling melon, fried fish on a stick, or leechee (which is my new favorite fruit).

We arrived on Thursday night and decided on our hotel—Rainbow Safari Resort. It was nice, although not as glamorous as it sounds. The only thing it lacked for me was A\C, and I enjoyed watching the geckos crawl along the walls beside my bed. That night, we located the ticket booth and found a nice place to eat. Al Frescos, a recommendation by our guidebook, tried very hard at western food, and it was not bad at all. The view of the elephants roaming by and the village far animals during dinner was fun.

Bright and early Friday morning, we woke up and headed strait for the elephant ride ticket booth. Everything in Nepal takes a little bit more effort, and acquiring these tickets was no exception. All of the elephants from the first booth had been rented out by a French film crew (I know, this would only happen to Ben and me.), so Ben and Sudip had to go find another elephant. Sure enough, there were other elephants that could take us for a ride, and after a quick breakfast of coconut cookies we mounted the huge beast. Our ride through the grassy plain and thick jungle was an hour and half long, but we only saw three rhinos and numerous bugs and spiders that we frantically flung from our arms and legs.

After our bumpy ride, we went to breakfast at our hotel. (If you ever find Tibetan bread anywhere, please pick some up for me—it is delicious!) Sudip was intent on going to Pokhara that morning, and I was secretly glad to find out that the bus for Pokhara had already left. That left time for what I really wanted to do: jeep safari! After a long nap, we crossed the river in a dugout canoe and loaded into our open-air jeep. After twenty minutes, we were stuck in the mud in a swarm of horseflies. The men jumped out to help push the jeep, and as the jeep worked its way loose and sped into the jungle, Anne Lise and I got an exciting ride through the ten-feet-high grass. The rest of the ride was fun, but not so exciting. We saw more rhinos, an elephant, a monitor lizard, a snake, monkeys, pea cocks and hens, storks, and a kingfisher. We also saw gharial and marsh mugger crocodiles and a man-eating tiger in captivity at the crocodile breeding center. The best part of the safari was standing on the seats of the jeep and riding through the mud with the wind in my face.

As we rode back across the river, Anne Lise pleads with us to swim in the river with her. Yes, it is the same river that they release the crocs into when they are old enough at the breeding center. But we went anyways. It was nice; the evening had cooled down significantly from the 100+ F it had been during the day, but the water was still very warm. After our dip, we ate in the dark at an outdoor riverside restaurant and enjoyed our time with Sudip and Anne Lise. Our mere presence often seems to be a ministry to them in itself; they are usually too busy to have much leisure time with friends and rarely have much conversation that isn’t about a ministry-related problem. It is also an amazing experience to live with and learn firsthand from a missionary couple, since that is what Ben and I hope to be one day. I think this trip is a huge preparation for our future.

On Saturday, we rode back to Kathmandu on the bus. It was good to get out of Kathmandu and see how people live outside of the metro areas, in the towns and villages. There were definitely less beggars, but the people seemed to survive with much less. There were just as many smiles and laughing children as well. It really puts life in the US into perspective. We lack nothing; most anything we want is at our fingertips, but many people are still discontent. I think I would probably be just as happy in a village hut with only the essentials as I am in my apartment filled with stuff.. maybe more so.