Road Trip to the Far West

Editor’s Note: This is the second of two blogs about my recent field visit with Women for Human Rights, or WHR, to Western Nepal.

After a very moving visit to Dang, we headed west to our next destination: Kailali in the Far Western region of Nepal. Apparently taking public transportation would have taken close to twelve hours to travel, so we agreed to hire a driver to cut our trip down by half. This part of the journey was particularly exciting because we were free to stop along the way and Tracy had never been to Kailali and neither Tracy nor Sambida had been to Bardiya National Park, which lies between Dang and Kailali. So, we set off on our road trip headed far west.

Kusum post - Nepal Armed Police Forces 

The first stop along the way was for breakfast and dudh chiya, or milk tea, which is a staple in Nepal and one I have grown a little too fond of. Across the road from breakfast was the Nepal Armed Police Forces, or AFP, Kusum post that Chitra informed us had been the site of an infamous battle during the ten-year conflict when it was attacked by Maoist rebel forces. The area we were driving through had been a hot spot during the war and many of the people in the districts’ had been affected by the violence.

Bridge in Bardiya National Park where we saw crocodiles

Further down the road, we drove right through the heart of Bardiya National Park, the second largest national park in Nepal. The park is home to all types of animals including crocodiles—which we saw sunbathing—as well as tigers, elephants, antelopes, and rhinos. Our driver said that during the Maoist insurgency, the park served as a hideout for the rebels who could easily escape for days into the dense jungle.

Our driver, who was quite an interesting guy but everything he said was in Nepali so I had to rely on translation, also warned us of a young girl who haunts the area and as people drive at night through the jungle they see her but then when they turn back she disappears. He said he had seen her twice and kept red bangles on his gearstick to protect the car from the evil spirits along the way.

Karnali bridge

Despite this story, we made it safely through the national park and to the next destination: the famous Karnali Bridge. It is an impressive architectural marvel and, according to Civil Engineering Magazine, is an asymmetric, single-tower, cable-stayed bridge and the longest of its type in the world. We decided to get out of the car and walk across it to really appreciate its immensity. We shared the road with other pedestrians and a herd of cattle making its way across. The bridge’s design and construction had been a collaboration between the U.S. and Japan, and was completed in 1993. This type of infrastructure aid seems to be common in Nepal and the surrounding region, often in the form of bridges, paved roads, or highways.

On the other side of the river, we had lunch at an amazing little café that served fish straight from the river. It was definitely a highlight of the road trip and the first time I had eaten fish since I arrived in Nepal.

Sunset rickshaw ride with the women from WHR

After seven hours, we arrived in Kailali, which being on the border of India was very hot and very dusty, but at the same time very beautiful. I loved the lush greenery of the surrounding fields and parks. When we met the single women board members from the WHR district office, it felt like we were coming home to family. The women were so welcoming and insisted that we eat their homemade chapatti, curried vegetables, and milk curd, and then eat some more.

The women were excited to show us their town and took us on rickshaws, which is the primary mode of transportation in Kailali, to visit nearby Jokar Lake. The lake was beautiful and was the perfect backdrop to our first golden sunset in Kailali. As we “ricked it”  back to the hotel, it was such a peaceful ride even with all the potholes and bumps in the road.

Human Resources for Health Kailali workshop

On the last day of our visit, WHR hosted a Human Resources for Health workshop to build a Civil Society Alliance between local NGOs, the district health office, and healthcare professionals. Although the workshop was all in Nepali, I was able to understand from translation some of the points made during the very animated discussion between the practitioners and civil society representatives and the district health officer. The major concerns were about the government’s lack of implementation in its healthcare plan, particularly the high number of medical posts that remain unfilled in rural areas.

Chitra's mom preparing manna

After the workshop, Chitra graciously invited us to his parents’ house for dinner, which I was excited about because I had not yet eaten at a Nepali family’s home. Demonstrating the famous customary Nepali hospitality, when we arrived his mother welcomed us and we were given drinks and bananas from the garden outside. After a tour of the house and garden, his mother prepared an amazing Nepali spread of flatbread (manna—a regional specialty), milk curd fresh from the family’s cow (mohi), greens (saag), pickled garlic (aachar), and kauli alu tarkari (curried cauliflower and potatoes). Yum.

And as a perfect ending to the trip, after dinner we climbed up to the rooftop of Chitra’s home to watch the magnificent red Nepali sun slowly disappear behind the wheat fields.