Travelog for: Filibert

I'm Filibert, an Indian rhinoceros (rhinocerus unicornis). You can see that because I only have one horn. Toys of my kind are in danger of extinction because of our horn - it's used for Chinese medicine. I would like to meet some of my family in the Royal Chitwan National Park and learn more about rhinos in the wild.

Yesterday two little girl twin bears arrived ... they had traveled from the USA to Europe. They told me it's not that scary and supported me in my wish to take off soon.

Wow, what a great start for me. Moira in Scotland will be hosting me. I have decided to go to the European TVT and see what's going on here before I'll travel to Nepal. My brand-new tag attached I have entered my envelope. Nobody can stop me 

I'm not sure about this travelling lark.  My envelope was lovely and padded and comfortable, but it was pretty dark in there.  There were all sorts of strange noises and thumps and to be honest I would have preferred to travel first class with a good view. 

Never mind, I arrived in Scotland safe and sound and was greeted by Frank, a friendly but very tatty old bear.  Frank explained that there were a few other toys staying there - Geoff the Giraffe, Rosie Bear and Heffalump.  Frank had just rescued them from a rubbish tip and they were still traumatised by their ordeal.  Frank assured me that they were now in therapy and would soon be voyagers too.  They were very welcoming if a little twitchy.  Rosie offered me a rose, but then refused to let go.  I think I should spend my first few days getting to know them, and recovering from the journey...

One of my life missions is to travel to Nepal one day.  Well, Nepal is a long long way from Scotland, but is right next door to Tibet.  Imagine my surprise then to discover a little Tibet in the hills of Dumfries and Galloway.  Samye Ling Buddhist Monastery and Tibetan Centre is in Eskdalemuir - you may have already heard of it as the very famous Travel Ted once visited.  I decided to go on a meditation retreat for a week at the nearby Purelands Retreat Centre.  My new friend Amara came with me, but shut herself in our room with a pile of books - she is a very clever owl you know.

Purelands is a very beautiful and peaceful place.  The road up is lined with prayer flags.  The flags are printed with Buddhist prayers which blow in the wind, giving blessings to all beings.  I am sure this includes small stuffed rhinos, and other toy voyagers!  See you all in a week - I'm off to meditate now....

Having spent the week meditating I felt thoroughly refreshed and supremely serene.  I had spent an awful lot of time sitting on a cushion though, and decided I needed a good walk and some fresh air.

Wandering round Samye Ling monastery I found my way down to the river.    The River Esk flows right past the monastery and there are many beautiful spots to sit and take in the view...and be bitten by the midgies.  I also came across a strange structure which a passing monk told me was a Naga House.    Embedded with semi-precious stones, this is a special offering to the nagas or water spirits.  Thankfully I didn't see the spirits as I think I might have been a bit scared of them.

My host took me to work with her today.  I expected to be stuck in a stuffy office with nothing but computers and water coolers to look at - but I was very wrong!  She spent her day driving from place to place through some of the beautiful Dumfries and Galloway countryside. Knowing my liking for lakes, she kindly stopped at Loch Ken to let me take in the sights.

I've been to Loch Ken and the River Esk now...I think that means I have completed one of my missions!

Hi folks, Filibert here, just a quick message to tell you all that i am okay, my new host is looking after me, i wanted to say HI to everyone before i catch up on some sleep, its been a hectic weekend here. I will be back soon once i have something to report.
love to all
Filibert x x x

Hi All,
sorry i have had to pass on this lovely little rhino without taking him anywhere or any pictures to show, but i have been swamped with overtime at work, and not had much time to spare recently. Again sorry to disappoint you all.
Jellycat

Hi, I arrived to Prague (Praha), the capital of Czechia.


The journey was pretty long, but it seems it didn't do any harm to me.

In autumn, the weather in Prague is damp and cold. Nevertheless, I'm not bored here. So many books about rhinos in the book-case! My Czech is still very weak, but I spent all day browsing and viewing the pictures. They're amazing!

On Sunday, a family celebration was held in the flat of my host. It was great - lot of exquisite food and splendid beverages. On parties, Czech people usually eat some kind of garnished slices of bread roll. They call it "chlebicek" (literally "little bread"). It's delicious!

Taro the bear arrived tonight. If the weather turns better, we will visit the center of Prague soon.

I and the pig who lives in my host's flat watched some episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series. He said his favourite character was Bebop, but I definitely supported Rocksteady

The weather wasn't any better yesterday, but Taro and I said to ourselves: "Dark and blurry pictures are still better than no pictures at all. Let's visit the city center before we leave Prague!"

We started in front of the building of National Theatre. It was built in 1881. As you can see, its roof is being repaired.


Then we went to the bank of Vltava river. Can you see the Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge?


Charles Bridge is very nice, so we went a bit nearer.