Day 102 :: Chasing Tigers

Day 102 - Pokhara
-----

Near the border of India in Southern Nepal sits a National Park called Royal Chitwan. It's home to numerous wildlife including bears, tigers, elephants, rhinocerous, alligators and monkeys.

On our first day in the park we spent a few hours hiking through the jungle. Even with our guide, we both felt uneasy. When hiking back in the States, I have a pretty clear idea of what to do if I come across a grizzly or black bear. But coming across a fricken TIGER is another thing entirely.

So, we're walking along when all of a sudden our guide stops us out of nowhere and motions for us to shut the hell up. Believing the animal in question was probably a spotted deer or a monkey, we leisurely stopped in our tracks. It was at this point that our seasoned guide turned and mouthed a word that you might want to hear if you were in a jeep, or a helicopter perhaps.

"Tiger."

As we looked at each other in terror, it was obvious that both of our hearts were pounding. I then acted as any man would given the same situation. I picked up a stick.

Then we heard it. A spine shivering GROWL that was as haunting as it was close.

In a blaze of unadulterated fear, Kari and I turned and ran faster than we ever have in our lives, taking shelter behind tree that measured six inches in diameter. After noticing that our guide hadn't moved a muscle and realizing that being on our own was probably the worst decision we could make, we slowly headed back to the safe presence of our five-foot, three-inch guide. And in another moment, the animal was gone. While our hearts began pumping at a more relaxed pace, our guide simply laughed at us.

Within a few hours, we were back in the safety of our jungle bungalow, with the hotel pet keeping watch just five feet from our door. A ten thousand pound elephant.