Preparing turmeric
Doing the laundry
Then the elephant trek started. Four passengers per elephant. Not the most comfortable ride, but definitely a unique experience!
We trekked through the jungle and alluvial plains.
We saw Sika Deer, Sambar Deer, and a peacock. No rhinos or tigers. (I did see a butterfly called the Common Tiger... does that count as a tiger sighting?) We also saw the remains of a deer that had been killed by a tiger.
Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor)
The Sambar deer seem to be less afraid of elephants than the Sika deer. We saw a large group (perhaps 15) Sika deer, but they all bolted as we got within photo range.
Peacock (Pavo cristatus)
Here is the elephant I was on:
It is of course an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), which has smaller ears than the African elephant, and is trainable. The females also have barely visible tusks, whereas all African elephants have prominent tusks.
Afterwards, a delicious Nepali dinner.
Followed by a party in which we drank Everest Beer!
Tomorrow, a 7-hour drive to a Himalayan village.
