Into the Far West -Bardia National Park, Nepal

Flying from Kathandu to Nepalgunj parallel to the Himalayas

Yesterday we left the relative sophistication of Kathmandu and took a tiny plane (see picture) to Nepalgunj in the far west of Nepal. Lalit - our first medical student, met us from the airport and we set off to meet the Dean of his medical school to ask permission to "borrow" him to accompany us on the health care needs assessment.

Eating lunch outside of Nepalgunj medical school eating delicious dahlbat

The standards of the accomodation and surroundings were incredibly basic - and considering these are inhabited by the richer, it gave an insight for what was to come. We ate in a restaurant outside the hospital gates - the women in the background were pumping dirt water from a pump, many families to a water supply. We were lucky enough to have our high-tech water bottles sponsored by Aqua-Pure, so at least we are able to drink in relative safety.

In Bardia National Park, tiger print or human hand?

To get a taster of the Terai (flat-lands) we spent last night in Bardia National park. We were lucky enough to see tiger prints (see with Kate's hand-print!), and some real-life wild crocodiles!

Walking through the Bardia Park's high grasses....watching out for tigers and elephants...

Crocs basking in the sun...

So far Aqua-pure seems to be keeping our innards healthy!
Tomorrow we leave the road behind and the going gets tough. Keep watching this space and see how the health needs assessment progresses. It will be hard work, with hours and hours of difficult walking over harsh terrain - what the locals deal with on a daily basis. We are looking forward to spending time with the locals in their houses, learning about family planning and health seeking behaviours.

Aqua Pure bottles keeping us safe amongst the snake infested haystacks....