Insect ...species unknown!!!

To continue with the snake encounter from yesterday.

As I was being given a helping hand on to the river bank from the canoe, the guide said "O look, a snake" and pointed to ground at his feet!! I replied with a "no thank you, I don't do those" and quickly scuttled up the bank to a safer position. It is amazing how polite and speedy one can be in certain circumstances!! The incident didn't provoke the "flight or fight response" that it would have several years ago. (Husband & daughter will understand the significance of this). So thank you R for your help! My pulse rate was stable! :0) interestingly there was little movement towards the snake by other members of the group, they weren't curious to see how big it was!

Today we travel from Chitwan to Pokhara, another long bus journey, but this time we were first on the bus and got front seats for a more comfortable ride.

Having spent a week in India and two days in the National Park, I'm amazed at the few birds we have seen and heard, also the lack of insects. This one obligingly sat on a post this morning and even waited whilst I went for my camera (didn't take it to breakfast) and then back to try with my compact camera. (The frustrations of no macro lens). It did a few twirls for good measure, so that I could choose its best side.

The hours on the road have given me a great deal of respect for the driver and bus boy on the coaches we have used. They have driven on roads which we would have said were impossible and through gaps in traffic that were none existent until we got there!!

One of the bus boys duties was to watch the space on his side of the coach. They laughingly say that they allow 6ins gap for a lorry and 2ins for bike or TutTut!! One of their habits that I found unnerving was the inability to stay on the "correct side of the road". On the occasional dual carriage way, they would use the wrong side to drive on if it was better surfaced or more convenient for exiting. The traffic driving towards them just had to make the best of the remaining ground.

The late afternoon and evening were spent visiting the Gurkha museum and a boat trip on the lake. Low clouds heralded a cracking thunderstorm and several short periods of "loss of power" during dinner.