Nepal - January 6, 2009

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Chitwan National Forest - Part One

Today was a beautiful day. We started with an elephant safari ride through the forest. I didn't care what it did to my back--I was determined to do it and I did. The forest is lovely. It looks like the set for a Tarzan movie, but it's real.

By the way, click on any of the still photos to see them in a larger size.


Our mahout knew where to take us to see wild game. We saw several rhino families, who practically posed for us, along with spotted deer, mule deer, wild pigs, peacocks, and huge crocodiles. I took pictures all the way, figuring some of them were bound to be good.




We didn't see either sloth bears or tigers, although both live in the forest, nor did we encounter any snakes.



After the ride we walked about two miles into the nearby village, where we shopped for souvenirs and had lunch at a very nice restaurant. Then we walked back to our resort.

Eric took a nap while Lois and I took the tour of the elephant breeding facility.

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My First Video

A day for firsts. I started my first blog today, and edited my first video.

Some explanation: I belong to the local Humane Society, and do pet therapy at local schools, nursing homes, the Watch program, and the university. I'm just slightly unusual in that my pet is a cat, Dudley, rather than a dog. You'll see Dudley in the first few moments of the video. You will also see a far more unusual therapy pet than Dudley, as the latest addition to our ranks is a llama!

But mostly you'll see our dogs greeting people and making friends.

The therapy pets take part in local activities, such as the Christmas Parade. While Dudley does walk on a leash, as you might imagine a cat doesn't march in a parade very well. However, we have a golf cart that we decorate for each parade, and Dudley and I rode in the cart. You can see people on the sidelines waving to us.

I took the video from the golf cart as we were gathering for the start of the parade, and then during the parade itself. I'm just learning to edit, so please be understanding! This is my first try, both at shooting the video and at editing it. I hope to get better with practice.

You can view my Christmas Parade video here.

I can really recommend the Flip video camera I used to capture these pictures. It couldn't be easier to use, and I think the picture quality is excellent (I don't mean my composing, which is basically point and shoot).

I'm sure I'll be posting more and better video in the future.