weekend at chitwan, and the most bizarre, disgusting strike i've ever heard of

every weekend, i try to escape kathmandu and get away for a daytrip, or weekend jaunt. it's nice to get away from the pollution and the masses and get some fresh air. this weekend, i took a couple extra days off from the refugee center and went down south, near the indian border to visit chitwan national park, home to monkeys, sloth bears, spotted deers, bengal tigers, wild elephants, and its biggest draw, the endangered one horned rhino......sorry for the boring text. nothing really sarcastic about seeing animals in the wild.
misty sunrise on the rati river
elephant traffic in suaraha, the town just outside chitwan national park
the gharial alligator. total fish eater, has webbed feet, and extra long snout. crazy looking guys.
the endangered one horned rhino. two tons of fun. saw them during an elephant safari, but didn't see any while trekking (nor any bengal tigers). that might be a good thing while hiking.
baby rhino running to mommy
elephant yawning at the sight of another baby rhino
sunset view from the lodge overlooking the rati river, with chitwan national park across the way

the strangest, most bizarre reason for a strike
i almost didn't make it to chitwan because of a strike just outside the town of suaraha where i stayed. the roads were shut down by truck drivers. they weren't striking for wages, but to protest a verdict made on another truck driver. here's the reason why. in nepal, when an accident occurs, such as a truck driver hitting someone, the truck driver has to pay the victim and their family a lot of money on a regular basis. but if the victim dies, they don't have to pay anything. now most truck drivers do not have insurance, and in this instance, a truck driver hit a little girl in the street one evening. however, she didn't die. so what the truck driver did, was go in reverse, and run her over to try and kill her (believe it or not, this is supposedly a common occurance). he happened to get caught doing this, and a judge sentenced him to prison. the truck drivers on strike protested this decision, and said that it's not always their fault. sometimes the kids are running around when they shouldn't be. either way, this is the sickest reason i've ever heard for closing down a road. it's actually quite disgusting.
if anyone has a sicker reason for having a strike, i'd love to hear it.

...and never sick, but always slick Dónde está Ché Pelotas?