Diary entry Tuesday 15th

I awoke at 6 am to go on an early elephant safari.   We saw lots more rhino but tigers were elusive this morning.

Then I travelled for an hour on the river and was picked up by ox cart to go to Tharu Lodge. I am the only guest here!

 I visited the local school sponsored by Tiger Tops and Swissair for disadvantaged children.   The staff are Montessori trained and it is extremely well run.  I felt quite emotional comparing it with the Government school in Pokhara but the visit made me realise that it CAN be done

 This photo shows the children  having lunch, and eating dahl baht (rice lentil sauce and vegetable curry, the staple diet)   They change into their uniforms at school when they arrive in the mornings.  Each has a locker in which to put their home clothes.  The children were so well behaved.  What a contrast  to the local government school!

A local Tharu house showing  the tiny  window - built deliberately smaller than an elephant's trunk! 

 When there were more wild elephants in the area they used to put their trunks inside the dwellings searching for food so now they all have very small windows  Consequently the houses are very very dark inside --- and so are both the hotels I have stayed in. It has taken time  to get accustomed to this.   The candle and kerosene lights reflect on my glasses and I have found it difficult to see what I am eating in the lodgings down here.

This window decoration was at the lodge but the same can be seen in the local dwellings

  The Tharus use the heel of their hands to make this wonderful white black and red decoration around doors, windows, alcoves and pots. I am longing to try this out when I get back to B. House

In the afternoon  some local boys proudly opened their sack to show me the python they had just caught.

It is very peaceful and quiet here at Tharu after all the excitement of tigers, elephants and rhino.

Battery power is now down to 5% so will have to resort to writing on paper until I return to the mountains and electricity. It is very humid but there is no sun so no hot water as all the heating is solar powered 

Vegetables, lentils and washing drying on the stalks of the harvested rice.