Share:

My 2026 vacation was packed with fun, family, and new discoveries. We visited incredible places like Meghauli and Bharat Lake,a man-made lake named after the mayor of Bagmati Province, Bharat Kumar Thapa. It all started on a Friday, which wasn’t a typical Friday because it was the last day of my school’s final term exams. Even writing about that post-exam excitement still gets me thrilled! I came home to find my parents packing for the next day, so I immediately packed my own things: 7 pairs of clothes, a night pajama, 3 books, stationery, a drawing book, a school bag full of food, essentials, 2 towels, shampoo, soap, medications, and my stuffed Shiba Inu, Waggy. Our original 4-day plan was to stay in Hetauda, visit Meghauli, return to Hetauda, visit Bharat Lake with our Hetauda family, and head back to Kathmandu. Instead, it turned into a whole week! That first night, I was too excited to even close my eyes.

Because of my sleepless night, I slept for half of the Saturday morning car ride, using a pillow and blanket so I wouldn't bother my dad. The other half was spent enjoying the rural scenery, and I was surprised to see cars and bikes in such isolated villages. In Hetauda, we first visited Rajan's grandfather and his daughters, Pepe (the older aunt) and Omi (the younger aunt). Since I practice Advanced Math at school, I happily helped Pepe study for her final math exam. Next, we stayed at Sunu grandmother's house, where I met Kumar grandfather and Shrish kaku (my paternal uncle).

The next day, we drove two and a half hours to the Tiger Wildlife Resort in Meghauli for a one-night stay. The staff mentioned that animal sightings had increased. While my parents were packing the next morning, I scanned the community forest's tall elephant grass in the scorching heat. Just as I was losing hope, I spotted a pack of deer! I convinced my skeptical parents it wasn't a joke, marking the first time I ever saw my mother run. The deer moved right in front of the viewing point, and we captured some great photos and videos.

Nothing went strictly to plan after that. We detoured to Manahari to visit our sick grandfather, then ate dinner at Dinesh grandfather's house before returning to Hetauda for a day. The whole Hetauda family enjoyed a meal at Baishnav restaurant. The next day, Rajan's grandfather took all the children to Jump Hetauda in Rita's grandmother's car. After buying tickets, me, Omi, and Elvin played at the trampoline and jumping corner. Next, me, Pepe, and Shrish went to play the VR experience, choosing a terrifying map that was well worth the slight delay. After a quick rest by the bowling section, we hit the bumper cars—first me and Omi, followed later by Pepe, Shrish, Elvin, and my mother. When time was up, me and Pepe tried the 360° VR using the same map, and we went into full panic mode when it turned us upside down! Finally, I played a racing arcade game, and finished the day playing basketball with my mother and Shrish.

We went home after that, and by Thursday, my parents wanted to head back to Kathmandu. I didn't want the fun to end, so I begged them to stay just one more day with Pepe and Omi. They agreed! After spending that final quality day with our Hetauda family, we finally headed off and reached Kathmandu.