Rah Rah Raksi
Since I had arrived in Bardia without much cash and the lodge’s guide was busy for the day, I opted for a motorcycle tour with a pit-stop at the closest ATM an hour and a half away. The owner of my lodge, John, and I set off after breakfast in the morning for a day motorcycle/photography tour of the local area.
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On the way out in the morning we ran across a group of ladies fishing in the traditional Tharu way, by scaring fish into their nets by hitting the water with sticks.
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In order to get from Thakudwara (the closest village to the entrance for Bardia National Park) to the main road you have to cross the river.
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Our first stop of the day was a bridge over the Babai River where crocodiles are a common sighting.
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There are two types of crocodile in Nepal, one of which is the Mugger Crocodile.
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The critically endangered Gharial crocodile can also be spotted from the bridge if you’re lucky.
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Next on the list was a quick stop at a local tea shop for some chai and a small snack.
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Chana Samosa. A spicy chickpea curry with crushed up samosa mixed together with raw onion and chilies.
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The food, along with this guys mustache, was so good I had to have a picture with the shop owners.
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After a stop at the ATM it was up into the mountains in search of some beautiful scenery for pictures.
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The Karnali is the longest river in Nepal, flowing from its source in Tibet, down the Himalayas all the way to India where it joins the Ganges.
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The Karnali is 671 miles (1,080 km) long and cuts through four national parks, one wildlife reserve, one hunting reserve and two buffer zones.
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Taking on the rapids in a wooden canoe.
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Our goal for the day, one of the foot bridges crossing the Karnali. Believe it or not, you can drive a motorcycle across this if you want.
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Although I did see one motorcycle make its way across, walking makes up the majority of traffic.
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The four home village on one side of the bridge.
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We stopped at one of the local homes/tea shops for some raksi, a Nepali alcohol distilled from rice.
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The people and kids were a little shy at first, but after a couple glasses of raksi (for the adults) everyone started to relax.
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The kids found out we had cameras and were excited for the chance to have their pictures taken.
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I decided that I wanted to be a kid too, so we all took a picture together.
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Even the adults started to get excited about having their pictures taken.
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As the sun started to sneak behind the mountains we decided it was time for our ride back to the lodge.
