Come Along with Bill & Mary Ann Going Full Circle on the 2015 World Cruise -114 days+

[WCB]

Greetings all!

 

Just a note to let you all know that we are back on the ship in Dubai…..safe and healthy.

 

We had no internet at the lodge, so we shall be catching up with the reports very soon, starting from March 17th through today, March 23rd. And we promise that you will not be bored.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[shrimp56]

Welcome back!

[albi]

Can't wait to read about your adventures! Sounds like we will be truly entertained!

[seaside sally]

Welcome back!!

 

Can't wait to catch up with you!! :)

[WCB]

Report # 78 Cochin, India March 17, 2015 Tuesday Partly sunny & 94 degrees

 

After a pretty exciting night of heavy downpours and lightning, we arrived to the port of Cochin, India, somewhere around 8am. We started the day with a hot breakfast in the dining room at 7:30am, because we knew it would be our last one like this for a week.

 

This morning we all had a face-to-face passport check with the Indian authorities. It began at 8am, where we lined up on deck five outside the upper dining room. The first numbers called were “S” and 4. We could be either, since we were already part of the priority group, or S, and we were also part of the independent over-landers, who needed to be first through the line to get to the airport on time. Guess who was in line first? Many folks with group 19 or 23. When asked, they said they had a tour that was starting in 5 minutes from the Queens Lounge. Well, there was no way that excursion was leaving on time. So, some of these folks did stand aside and let those with the proper numbers go ahead. But not all. Now we all had the letters with our assignment on them, and sometimes these letters are collected. Today, they were not. Seems like a simple solution to us, if the letters were checked, those with high numbers would be asked to stand aside. Simple, but that would make too much sense.

 

When our turn came, the official could not find our names, because we were on a special list of those who would be flying out of the city today. The official said we were supposed to have come in a group separate from the rest. Again, that made more sense to clear us all together. For that reason, some of the folks who were on a group tour to go to the Taj Mahal had left their passports on the ship, because the officials had given them a copy. A copy of a passport is useless, and cannot be used at an airport. So their host had to go back and have them search for the missing passports, holding the entire group up. They came to the airport an hour after we did, and were lucky to make the flight on time.

 

Anyway, we were set to go, and went back to the room to gather our suitcases and meet our escort outside the gate. We got off the ship around 9am, and found our fellow and driver waiting for us, with our names on a card. That’s always a good feeling. Then we were on our way to the airport by 9:15am, with the driver taking side streets to save time. The last time we did this drive, we were on a bus with a large group, going to the Taj Mahal. That ride took almost two hours, where today, being in a small car, we were there in little over an hour. This time we passed by many colleges, government buildings, the harbor area, and the backwaters of Cochin. We could see the Chinese fishing nets along the shore, where they are manually dipped into the water, then lifted with the trapped fish. Clever idea and productive when the fish are plentiful.

 

Once at the airport, we were dropped off at the domestic terminal, where our two bags were put through , weighed, and tagged. We were then taken by our escort to the check in counter, where we got our boarding passes and seats. Guess we could have done this within the 24 hours before the flight, but we did not. Thinking back on it, we could have gotten better seats if we had checked in earlier. Hind sight is 20/20.

 

Our next stop was to enter the security section, women on one side, men on the other. Once clear, we waited in a room with over-sized padded chairs, instead of the usual plastic seats. We met another couple, Cindy and Phil, who were also from the Amsterdam, leaving by themselves on an independent tour to the Taj Mahal and other historic sights as well. They would be back to Mumbai in a few days.

 

We boarded the small Indigo plane around 12:15pm, after our passports and tickets were checked by the guys holding the guns. Security here is handled by the military. Instead of going down a connector to the plane, we had to board the stand up bus to the plane on the tarmac. Then you climb the portable stairway to get into the jet. Take off was at 12:45pm.

 

Then a funny thing happened on the way to Delhi. We heard an announcement that we were landing around 2pm, but there was no way we were near Delhi. It turned out we were landing at Hyderabad, not mentioned in the itinerary. We know now that this happens all of the time in India, but no one had warned us. More than half of the plane debarked, while those of us continuing on, stayed in our seats and waited while the plane was quickly cleaned. More guests showed up, filling the aircraft to full capacity again. We were on our way again after ½ hour layover. We landed at the scheduled time in Delhi around 5pm.

 

We went to the carousel 4, and found our 2 bags. We were a bit concerned that our travel agency’s group, our bags would look the same as 20 others. That is one reason we always add a colorful luggage tie, so ours were easily found. And by us. As we exited the airport baggage area, the luggage tags were doubled checked by security. How often does that happen?

 

Directly outside the airport, a man from our travel agency was standing with our names on a paper. He took us to the waiting vehicle for the ride to our hotel, the Radisson Blu. We had chosen this hotel because it was close to the airport, and it was also nice. This fellow handed us our itinerary and flight info, along with some vouchers for the lodge and the hotel. Along with that, he handed us a silk pouch with a bronze figure of Ganesha, the deity god of the remover of obstacles. Looking back on this, we believe this may have not helped us as much as we would have liked. Anyway, it was a nice gesture.

 

As we made our way through incredible traffic with drivers who do not believe in using the designated lanes. Their best friend is their horn, which they use often. At one stop light, a small girl came to our car, and began knocking on the window. Our escort said to ignore her, even though she seemed sadly hungry. He added that the parents deliberately starve these kids, and use them to beg for money. He said they use the money for drugs, not for the kids. Very sad.

 

Once we turned into the driveway of the hotel, we were stopped and security brought over a dolly with an xray machine on it to check under the chassis. Looking for bombs we guess. Chilling when you think about it. At the entrance, our bags were taken from us and put through xray. We also had to go through the portal of the xray. (It’s no wonder that our room keys on the ship were de-activated when we got back.)

 

Instead of checking in at the front desk, our escort collected our passports, a credit card, and the voucher, and had it all run by the staff. They returned with our docs and room keys. At this point, our escort told us that he had checked our flight tomorrow, and it would be leaving earlier than expected. Now this was good news, since we wanted to get to the lodge as early as possible. And we had been told that the ride from Jabalpur to the lodge was a dangerous one at night, so we wanted to do this ride during the daylight hours. Well, sometimes things are too good to be true, and this was one of those times. Early flight? It did not happen.

 

On that news, our escort said he would be picking us up at 10am tomorrow. A porter from the hotel took our two small bags, then led us to our suite on the second floor. Nice accommodations, to be sure. He showed us all the bells and whistles, except how to turn off the entry lights. With no light switches anywhere, we soon found that they were all turned off and on with a console on one side of the bed. Every light, but the bathroom. What was good was that bottles of water were complimentary, as was coffee and tea.

 

We went down to the lobby around 6:30pm, and checked out the grounds…..specifically the pool, spa, fountains, and gardens. All beautiful, but not enough time to enjoy. The most important spots we found were the restaurants. There were several such as a kebob, or Thai, Indian, and general buffet. The buffet was the breakfast restaurant for tomorrow morning. The best find was the bar, where we had several Kingfisher draft beers, served with a tray of tortilla chips and fresh salsa. Not too sure if we should eat the salsa, we did not. The bartender also let us know that we could get some food here, which suited us fine. So we ordered a panko-breaded chicken sandwich with cheese, leaving the lettuce and tomato on the side uneaten. Looking back, it would have been OK to eat. This is a lesson we learned when our tablemates, Bill & Marianne, went on a Taj Mahal trip on last year’s world cruise. They said……don’t eat anything that is not cooked. When you get the stomach upset, it could come from anything, anywhere. In our case, we would have had better chances of getting this malady on the ship, than here in Delhi. Anyway, we were fine, and did enjoy every crispy French fry that came with the sandwich. Since we had missed lunch, it probably did us good.

 

While we were gone from the ship today, everyone got a note stating that the Noro virus was still flaring it’s ugly head, despite all the cleaning efforts from the staff. We heard they were getting sick too. In order to stop the progress of the bug, the doctor visits would be free. The medications to stop the virus symptoms would be free. If you were forcibly quarantined and caused you to miss a prepaid shore excursion, you will be compensated. Overland cancellations will be reviewed on an individual basis. This is the first time ever we have seen this offered.

 

Before we turned in, we went to the front desk and exchanged $30 US dollars for some rupee for incidentals. We needed our passport to do this. Even though Bill did not have his, I did. And even though I signed the forms, the money was handed to Bill. Fine with me, but I am sensing a pattern here. When a woman is with a man, he gets 100% of the attention. That shows that in India, it is very much a man’s world. They were all respectful to me, but only as the second person in a party of two. Watching other couples, I noticed that car doors were opened for the man first, as well as the man’s luggage taken first.

 

We were happily off to bed by 9pm. Trying to figure out the plumbing with the fancy shower took some time. Remember when you had a cold and hot faucet? How easy is that? Now you have three shower heads, one on a hose, operated with a different handle. If you touch the wrong one, you get drowned. Directions for using the contraption should be on the wall nearby. Simple, we think.

 

Now the good thing was that we had requested a wake-up call, which we seldom do. The one travel clock we use is an atomic clock. It does not receive the signal on the ship, due to the massive amount of steel surrounding the room. So it does not matter what zone you have set for your home time. We set it manually. Now we forgot that once we left the ship, the clock began searching for the signal. Long story short, it set itself with a completely different time that what was right. Not noticing it, the alarm would have gone off sometime in the middle of the day. Had no choice but to disable it, because it continued to cycle, and when that happens, you cannot change the settings. Will shop for a new one, when we get back on the ship.

 

Tomorrow will be another busy day of traveling, and more unexpected surprises.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

PS Warning: These reports will be full of details that more than likely, will be of use to us only. Remember, it is a diary of events that we keep track of, in order to do things smoother the next time we attempt an overland excursion. We could have used a few items on this trip that we did not bring, and leave back some clothes we did not need. So bear with us, and read just the “meaty” parts of the reports if you wish.

[JamesEM]

Happy to see you are back reporting.

[ger_77]

Welcome back - I'm loving the details; it makes it feel all more real to me!

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[WCB]

Report # 79 Delhi to the Safari Lodge March 18, 2015 Wednesday Slightly overcast & 80 degrees

 

We set the alarm for 5:30am, although we were awake between 4 and 5am, waiting for the alarm to go off. The bed was very comfortable, and hard to leave. Knowing we would not have a lot of time to pack, we did most of it before breakfast. Having a few spare minutes before we left the room, we went over the itinerary we were handed yesterday. We had not noticed that the return flight from Jabalpur to Delhi had a stop along the way. In fact, two things were wrong. Instead of leaving from Jabalpur, it was now listed as leaving from Khajuraho, a six hour ride from the lodge. Added to that, we had a stop in Varanasi along the way. We decided that this was not going to work well, and needed to make changes when we met with our escort.

 

The breakfast buffet opened up at 6:30am, but we went at 7am. There was a diverse buffet of Indian breakfast food, that really looked like lunch to us. Traditional cereals, fruit, and juices were also there. Our best bet was to have custom made omelettes, with onions and tomatoes. We located English bacon and sausages, as well as toast and some pastries. Coffee and tea was served by waiters. All of it complimentary with our room.

 

Since we did not have to be ready until 10am, we kicked back in the room until 9:30am. Then we went down and checked out, after seeing our escort waiting for us. It only took a few minutes to load up the car, and start for the airport. That’s when our escort got a call from his office, telling him that our flight had been changed to a later departure time at 4pm. Had we known this, we would have stayed at the hotel. However, we were already on our way to the airport, and the only choice we had was to proceed to the airport to get seats and find out the real time.

 

After entering the terminal with a door check by a security guard, we found out the time for departure was 4:30pm or so. Our escort argued with the girl behind the desk, but we wondered if that was just for show for our benefit? The rep looked at him like he was nutty or something. We will never know when this flight was delayed, because without our computer we would have no way of checking airport schedules. Our escort apologized profusely, but he explained the airlines do this all of the time in India. Then he left, since he was not allowed to go beyond this point.

 

We went through security, separate lanes, and Bill had to unload the camera bag again. At least, we did not have to take off our shoes. Checking the first big screen, we found that our flight was not on the grid. In fact, it would not pop up until 15 minutes before we left. That was approximately 6 hours later. Talk about worry. On a side note, this airport was as clean as any we have seen in other parts of the world. Cleaner than most in the USA.

 

How do you waste away 6 hours in an airport? It’s not easy. We felt like homeless folks, walking our luggage around in the small cart. Believe us when we say, it makes for a very long day. We had plenty of time to spend some of our rupee on candy bars, cookies, and chips. Never know when our next meal would be. Definitely not on the plane. Moving downstairs to the right gate, the room began to fill with commuters, mostly men. Out of the 50 passengers, only a handful were women.

 

Boarding time should have been 4:10pm, but it turned out to be closer to 5pm. We all loaded into a standing mostly bus and were driven to the waiting jet. It was a twin prop aircraft perhaps holding 50 people. The airtime was listed as 1 hour 20 minutes, but it was more like 1 hour 40 minutes by the time we landed in Jabalpur. It was close to 7pm now and the sun was already going down.

 

We had a ¼ mile walk on the gravel tarmac to reach the terminal. We both kept hearing gun shots, which was a bit alarming. Our escort here in Jabalpur said that we had landed in the middle of a military complex, and the gunshots we heard was artillery practice. As long as we were not the targets, it was OK.

 

In the old terminal, we got our bags within 10 minutes and then walked out to meet our guide here. By now it was past 7pm, and it was getting dark. Originally, our travel agent had said this road was too dangerous to travel at night. Well, guess what? It was dark, and what choice did we have but to drive in the dark? The escort, a nice young fellow, said he was going with us on the 3 plus hour drive to the camp. We were happy to have him.

 

This road was almost unbelievable with pedestrians, motorbikes, bicycles, and large trucks…..all in a hurry to get somewhere. The streets were jammed with shoppers buying food, eating from roadside cafes, and dodging the many cows that go wherever they want. There was food cooking everywhere, but did not look really good or clean. As the traffic thinned, we could see why this road would be dangerous at night. Most vehicles used no headlights, including some of the huge trucks. Our driver cut in and out, passing cars, buses, trucks, and bikers as much as he could. The road was so narrow that it was a miracle we did not run over some dogs and cats along the way.

 

Despite all of the dust and cows, most of the women, old and young, wore saris in brilliant colors. Such a contrast for this countryside scenery. Once past the villages, all we saw was darkness and stars. That was the best part…..stars as bright as we saw in South Africa. See, there is always a silver lining in every cloud. That is until we came upon a series of boulders on the road, blocking one side. Then suddenly, one large boulder was in the middle of the road, and the driver could not avoid running over it. Scraping the bottom of the car, our driver pulled over and both guys got under the car to check it out. There must have been an angel on our shoulders, because there was no damage, and we could continue on. This would be the last place in the world we would want to break down.

 

We could tell we were climbing as the road became twisted with hairpin turns. Larger trees lined the roadside, and we figured we were approaching Bandhavgarh National Park. We drove through the portal of the park somewhere around 10:30pm. So far, we had survived the most dangerous trip we should have done in the daylight. That is, if our flight had left on time in Delhi.

 

Eventually we turned onto a dirt road, wide enough for one car. There were no lights or signs until we saw some arrows with Arabic printing on the signs. The driver turned the opposite way, and it was obvious to us that he was lost. Hmmm, lost in the forest with wild tigers and bears. Something not good here. He turned the car around, and followed the trees marked with white paint. Lucky for all of us, we saw some lights and a tiny sign with the lodge’s name on it. By now, it was 11pm.

 

We were greeted by the head staff member, Patty, who had us sign some papers, then gave us a quick tour of the lodge. She offered us some late dinner, which we gladly accepted. We were then escorted by flashlight with one of the staff members and Patty, who showed us the instructions for our cottage. This was not just a room, it was a house without a kitchen. Shortly thereafter, food arrived by two helpers, who set the living room table with a tablecloth and a proper meal setting. We completely enjoyed a thermos of hot mushroom soup, and a plate of sliced chicken with assorted veggies. Dessert was Ferrero Rocher chocolates. Our refrigerator was well stocked with bottled waters, juices, cokes, and some candy bars. We would not starve.

 

Since it was so late by now, we opted to take a quick shower and go right to bed. We’ll describe our cottage tomorrow when we can see it all in the daylight. Thinking that with our late arrival this evening, we would pass on tomorrow’s game drive, we surprised them and said absolutely, we would be up at 4am. We asked for a wake- up call just to be safe. Going to bed in the plush extra- large king size bed never felt so good.

 

We are so ready for this safari to begin………

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[vino100]

Thank you so much for all your reports on your fabulous trip. I have enjoyed your trip reports for years without a proper thank you !!! I love all your details so please keep them coming. :D

[cruz chic]

I've missed your updates. Very interesting reading. Looking forward to hearing more.

[Folk Singer]

Thank You so very much for your reports.

[WCB]

Report # 80 Safari Lodge Day One March 19, 2015 Thursday Warm sunny day & cool night

 

Seems like we just fell asleep, and the alarm was going off. Oh wait……we did. Good thing we had a 4am wake up call, or else we may have overslept. By the time our escort came to take us by flashlight to the lodge, we were dressed and ready to go by 5:15am. In the reception room, we had the choice of tea or coffee and an assortment of cookies and pound cake.

 

Our guide and driver, Veejay, was assigned to us for the four day stay here. We got lucky….he seemed to be a well-versed young Indian fellow, who knew his job well. Hope he drives just as well.

 

This room was filled with large wall maps of the three areas of Bandhavgarh Park where we would be driving. Veejay described zone three, our destination this morning. It was reported that a tiger had made a kill on Tuesday, and she had been spotted with her three cubs there the following day. Quite often, once they have made a kill, it takes a few days for them to consume all of the meat. Veejay would head there first, because if there was a chance of seeing them, it would be at daybreak.

 

We joined a very nice British couple, Suzanna and Phil, who had been in the camp for two days already. During those two days, it had rained unseasonably heavily. They reported that they had gone out for two drives, but got pretty soaked during them. Their chances of seeing any wildlife were reduced greatly. Like us, they love the birdlife. So today, with the nice weather, they were looking forward to more sightings of the large animals as well as the birds.

 

I requested the shotgun seat next to the driver. Even though it is lower than the back seats, it is far easier on the back. What I did not anticipate, was that the front seat did not go back far enough to give me legroom. Luckily, I had brought a poncho, provided by the lodge, to cushion my knees. It worked fine.

 

We all loaded into the vehicle, and left the camp by 5:30am. Guess we should explain that the lodge is located within a few miles of the park gates - one, two, and three. Other lodges are closer to the nearest town, so they need to drive much further to access the park. This is nice for us, but also more dangerous, because many of the animals are close to the lodge. This area surrounding the park boundaries is called the buffer zone. Many tiny rural villages as well as this camp are in this zone. Along with jackals, hares, and antelope, a lone male tiger, somewhere around 14 years old, roam these areas. Veejay explained that when the tigers get old, they lose their canine teeth. That prevents them from making difficult kills. So it is not uncommon for these tigers to go after easy prey. That would be wandering cows, goats, dogs, and even little kids. Believe us, we sure thought about that when we headed out in the open vehicle in the darkness of early morning.

 

Arriving to the gate at Zone Three, we waited, first in line, until 6am. At that point, a park ranger took our passports and logged us into his books. We would be required to carry our passports on every game drive. Within minutes, several other vehicles lined up behind us, until there were 16 of them. Now we see the need to arrive early…..that way we don’t eat the dust of 15 cars ahead of us. Right before 6:15am, a guide from the park jumped in with us, a requirement from the government, which controls everything done in this business.

 

Exactly 6:15am, the antique gate was opened and the race was on. We dubbed it “The Great Race”, with 16 cars trailing each other. Obviously they knew about the tiger and her cubs, although it is passed by word of mouth. There are no walkie-talkies or cell phones allowed in the park, except to be used in an emergency. What we did see, much to our surprise, were local men riding bikes or walking the roads. They were spotters, and when passed by the drivers, they would give reports of what they saw and where. Asked how often they give the correct information, our driver said perhaps 80% of the time. Then he laughed. These fellows could have the cars going in all directions, which they probably do on purpose. What puzzled us is the fact all they carried was a long stick, and the only warning device they had was the little bell on the bike. With meat-eating tigers all over, a stick would not do too much. Of course, the natural prey for these big cats is the sambar deer, a large heavy deer that would feed a family of tigers for days. People as food, are much too thin, especially the local Indians.

 

This park is full of trees called sal trees. They are tall towering trees with large leaves. Most all the rest of the vegetation are clumps of bamboo. Sometimes, it is so dense, animals could be hiding in it, and you would never see them until they moved. Tall, weedy grasses fill in the rest of the spaces. In the few open meadows, grasslands opened up where we would see grazing animals like the bison, water buffalo, spotted deer, and sambar deer. These are so plentiful, they reminded us of the plains animals of South Africa. Many of the spotted deer bucks had huge sets of horns, some in velvet. Must have gotten a thousand photos of these in the first hour. Eventually, we would just shoot the biggest ones, that is, with the camera. Here is the list of what we saw the first morning drive: A hare, frogmouth bird, spotted deer, peacocks, storks, junglefowl, and a female tiger, the one we were searching for. She had been in the creek drinking water when we found her. The cubs may have been nearby, but out of sight. She lingered just long enough for all of us to get some good shots, then she disappeared into the brush. Despite waiting for a spell, along with many other vehicles, she never did re-appear. So we went off in search of another one.

 

From there we saw: doves, a chestnut shoulder petronia, an Oriental magpie robin, and a guard hut, manned 24 hours by park rangers. Other birds included the Oriental white eye, common woodshrike, spotted doves, scarlet tailorbird, plum headed parakeets, a bulbul, and an Indian heron. Black squirrels are everywhere on the ground and in the trees. They are much smaller than our squirrels at home in California. We spotted an Oriental buzzard, green parrots, a purple sunbird, an Indian hornbill, and a black-footed oriole. Just as we asked about monkeys, we ran into a troupe of macaques. Veejay said they can carry rabies, even though they are cute and animated. Wild boars were rooting through the bamboo, actually eating the new shoots. They showed no fear of us. While Veejay was showing us a funnel spider, several common langur monkeys were watching us. They are the comics of the forest. We could watch them forever, especially the moms and their babies. Several of them had just had little ones, as recent as two weeks ago. They are not always the best mothers, as we saw some of the females grabbing their babies by the neck and yanking them away from our vehicle. Guess they are pliable. If not, they learn quickly to hold us for dear life as their mothers scamper up a 30 foot tree.

 

Continuing on, we saw starlings, bee-eaters (pretty little things), lapwings, and elephants hiding in the trees. Some of them are 30 years old, and are utilized as workers in the park. Rangers use them for VIP safaris and also for the vets, who sometimes have to go off road to treat injured animals. (We’ll explain VIPs later on.) On the way back to the lodge, we passed by cows, or holy cows as Veejay called them. These animals are used for plowing fields and for milk, but never for meat. They simply do not eat beef here. Cows go anywhere they want in the villages, but are corralled at night to prevent them from being tiger bait. Doesn’t always work, since a hungry tiger can jump over any fence they put up.

 

The last of the wildlife we saw were Indian rollers, wire-tailed swallows, black redstart, more chipmunks, and water buffalo, domestic. We should mention the trees we saw. Indigenous trees include the sal, and the red-flowering flame-of-the-forest. This flowering tree was beautiful with orange/red blossoms that are consumed by the monkeys, birds, and bees. We just happen to be in the blooming season, and what a treat it was to see them. They are also called the red silk cotton tree, since they produce a cotton-like substance that the locals use to stuff pillows. The existing fig trees were imported, and the mahua trees produce flowers that are used for making a fermented alcohol. Termite mounds were raised off of the ground around old stumps of rotting bamboo. Once the termites had finished off the bamboo, the dead sticks remained poking out of the dirt mound. It appeared that someone had stuck these sticks in the mounds.

 

The drive ended at exactly 10:15am, where we were required by park rules to vacate the zone. The ranger with us reminded our driver of when he needed to head back to the gate. They have to comply with the strict rules, or be subject to fines and banishment.

 

Back at the lodge, we were handed warm wet washcloths to wipe our faces and hands. We were filthy from the powdery dirt from the park roads. Breakfast was next on the agenda, and was served upstairs on a shaded deck. It was basically a buffet with many Indian dishes. A chef was in the corner creating personalized omelettes, so that is what we ordered. We also added English bacon and wheat toast. The coffee was excellent, giving us a shot of caffeine to keep us going for the afternoon.

 

We would only have a few hours to rest or relax by the pool. Of course, we chose the pool, and ended up being the only ones there. Fine with us, we could sleep in the warm sun, and catch up on the diary. We did not bring the computer with us, because we knew that the lodge had limited access to the internet. As it turned out, few of the guests were able to connect successfully. The pool water was inviting, but also quite chilly. The evenings cool down enough to keep the water cold during the day, something we are used to with our pool at home.

 

This was also a good time to shower and shave for one of us. While Bill was doing that, I stretched out on the huge hammock-like lounge on our patio. Having every intention of reading my India book, I was asleep in seconds. Losing sleep several nights in a row does tend to catch up with you eventually. This did not last long, because a bite from a mosquito woke me up quickly. Forgot to use the spray or the overhead fan I just noticed over the lounges. Well, we are both taking malarial meds, so we should be covered, I hope………

 

Time for our first afternoon run. We needed to be in the lobby by 2:15pm, which we were. Together with Suzanna and Phil, we took the same seats, and soon realized we were in a different and bigger vehicle. So much better for me…..I had legroom. Perhaps tomorrow I will think about going up into a middle seat. Along with the wildlife we saw this morning, we added some new ones to the list. The monkeys were the best actors of the forest, as they clambered up the trees, swinging from the branches, and showing off for us. Others preferred to sit on the roadside, much like people, and watch with their legs up on a tree, or with their arms folded…so human-like. These were the long-tailed langurs with long silky coats. They appear to be smarter, and definitely more handsome than the macaques.

 

We spotted an Indian tree shrew, an unusual sighting for the day time. As we lined up at the gate at Zone One, we had the best show of two elephants walking while chained and hobbled. These are the working animals, and although it is tough for us to see them in chains, it is for their safety. Once free of the chains, they tend to run into the forest, away from the handlers. Many have been injured or killed that way. We all understood, because that is the way of the natives here. Near the pond where the elephants were standing, we saw a cormorant, a jacana, and a pied kingfisher. Spotted doves were drinking water since it had warmed up considerably. A wooley-neck stork and a Eurasian spoonbill were also standing in the large pond. With the help of Veejay and his bird book, we were able to get the proper names of all of these birds. He took the time to look up each and every one as we took photos.

 

As we entered the zone, we saw tiny chipmunks, painted spurfowl (chickens in the wild), 5 striped palm squirrels, and a spotted and jungle owl. Indian bison or gaur, were grazing in a meadow, minding their own business, with noisy peacocks surrounding them, making all kinds of racket. Sounds just like home to us, since we have a collection of them we raise.

 

Besides the large grazers, we saw yellow-footed green pigeons, brown headed barbets, a crested serpent eagle, red wattled lapwings, and rufous treepies. All exotic birds. We never saw a tiger on this afternoon hunt. The time to exit the park was at 6:15pm, and anyone that knows animal behavior, knows that the big animals will not come out until later when it is cooler and closer to sunset. Of course, that would be when we leave the park, and the VIP’s are still on the lookout for tigers. These could be government officials, or anyone with big bucks to pay under the table for such priviledges. They don’t try to hide it, they just do it, much to the disgust of the lodge guides and drivers.

 

We arrived back to the lodge by 7pm, dirty from the road dust, but ready for a leisurely dinner. More so, a nice cocktail time. Our vehicle companions would be leaving tomorrow, and that was too bad. We were all on the same page with the variety of wildlife, especially the birds. They were on their way to another safari camp for a three day stay in a different area of India, and we wished them luck. At least we had all seen the tiger this morning, and they were happy with the sighting.

 

Waiting for us in the room, were two large metal tubs, filled with warm water….a footbath with flower petals floating on to. Sure felt good.

 

Dinner was outside around the pool tonight, where we found a table for two lit with several candles. But before we began, Patty, the guest relations gal, said our agent from Delhi had called with some options for flying back to Delhi in a few days. We had explained that a drive for 6 hours was not to our liking, and neither was missing our morning drive on Sunday. Amit gladly offered the option of leaving from Jabalpur on Spice Jet instead, giving us plenty of time to go on the game drive, eat breakfast, and take the 4 hour ride to Jabalpur. He did add that Spice Jet could be unreliable, but we discovered that five other guests were on that same flight. Patty suggested that we take the chance, and do it. So we said yes, and it was done. This would not have even been noticed by us, but the printed itinerary from Amit had conflicting information. We assumed incorrectly, that we were back-tracking the same way we had come. At least, now we know that we are, and the worry is behind us. We thanked Patty for her assistance, which was nice she let us use her personal phone.

 

Dinner was Indian cuisine, not too familiar to us. The Kingfisher beers were the best…..cold and wet. The menu was explained to us by one of the nice waiters, since all of the titles were in Hindi, but with English subtitles. The style of serving was called “thali”, with all the individual dishes in separate metal cups. It kept the food hot, and the cold food cold. We had cubed cucumbers, a tangy yogurt dressing, veggies, chicken, lentil soup, diced fried potatoes, and a covered bowl of rice to share. All of the dishes were in a sauce of some kind. The best was the large piece of naan bread, buttered and grilled. They served bottled water, more beer, and a brownie for dessert. Full, we headed back to our cottage with an escort.

 

Again, bedtime was most welcomed after a hot shower. Would have done some writing, but I sort of forgot how to turn the living room lights on, and was too tired to figure it out. It was better to eat the pillow chocolate, another Ferrero Roche, while reading our little pillow card of enlightenment, left by the staff. Nice touch.

 

It would be another marathon day tomorrow.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[windsor26]

What a fabulous time you are having

Oh dear I have turned green:):)

[Belle]

For every year sharing you WC Cruise

with us all. We love hearing every detail.

Can't wait to read about the rest of the India

Safari. Plus all the other places your going too.

 

Also love all the blogs of all your cruises.

Thanks again.

[TiogaCruiser]

Thank you for sharing.

 

Am wondering, what is on the pillow cards?

[hmorrow]

Loving your adventure.

Thanks for the detailed posts.

Helaine

[WCB]

Report # 81 Safari Lodge Day Three March 20, 2015 Friday Sunny & 80 degrees

 

This morning, we were up around 3:30am, so we could be ready and alert for our start at 5am. A new group joined us…..a dad. mom and their daughter. They are of Indian descent, but live in Alabama. Their names are Kumar, Shefali, and Ayesha, and seem to be very friendly. Ayesha, a tall girl, took the front seat, since I decided to try the middle seat today. Veejay said I could easily get up there, and would have a better view for filming video. He was right, it was much better with lots of legroom. Kumar, the dad, sat next to me, so I was well-insulated from the chill of the early morning. Good thing we had the wool ponchos, because we did need them. Especially when Veejay drove fast. The wind went right through our lightweight jackets.

 

This morning’s drive would take us to Zone One in Bandhavgarh Park, which gets its name from the fort which is located on the top of the highest plateau in this region. The origins of this fort are thought to be over 2000 years old. The fort is surrounded by 32 smaller flat top hills, with a maze of forested valleys and flatlands below. When we first viewed this plateau, we thought it resembled Table Mountain in Cape Town.

 

This area was the private game reserve for the Maharaja of Rewa. The ancestor of most captive white tigers, Mohan, was captured from these forests by the Maharaja. Since those days, the park has increased from 105 square kilometers, to 448 square kilometers. It was declared a national park in 1965, and in 1993, it was included in the Project Tiger Network. Bandhavgarh is home to more than 25 species of mammals, and 250 species of birds. There are 80 types of butterflies, and a number of reptiles.

 

As we started out of the camp, we ran right into a wandering jackal. We knew they were close, because we could hear them during the night. While we waited for the opening time at 6:15am, two elephants, the same ones as yesterday, walked past the string of safari vans with their handlers. Again, they were chained and hobbled. They were slowly being led to the other side of the road. Yesterday, while on our way back in the afternoon, we saw these same elephants in the pond near the road. The smaller one was having a ball diving and splashing in the water. She pulled up some weedy growth from the bottom of the pond, and threw it over her back, sending water spraying 10 feet in the air. Quite a display. Guess she was venting the frustration from being hobbled all day. As quickly as it began, she exited the water to follow the bigger elephant into the woods.

 

This was funny. When the park ranger asked Veejay who he had today, the ranger stated that he sees he has three Indians and two foreigners. Little did he know that the family of three was from Alabama. And with us from California, he actually was looking at five foreigners. Once again, we went through the passport check and got logged into the manual of the park ranger. The park guide who has to ride with us, took the back seat. These fellows tend to stand up for the entire morning, and act like spotters. Usually they spot the animals first, but do block the view of the person in the other back seat.

 

Veejay was first in line, and drove like a wildman to get to where the tiger was spotted. We did see one briefly, but he was buried in some trees in the distance. We did get some photos before he turned and went out of sight. Perhaps, we may see him later in the morning.

 

We saw many of the same animals and birds that we saw yesterday. A few new ones to add to the list started with the Alexandria parrot, a crested hawk eagle, a ruddy mongoose, and the elephant in chains once again. This time, the elephant was so close to our van, that the handler said we could touch her. She kept backing her backside into us, and Kumar freaked. He said that could be dangerous if she decided to let loose and go, if you get the drift. The handler, spotting that he was uncomfortable, pulled her away.

 

We drove the roads until 10:15, when we had to leave the park. The ranger and our driver listened closely for the sound of the spotted deer yelling, or giving off a danger signal. They can tell by the sound of their noise, if it is a mating call, or a frightened call. The langurs also scream if a tiger is nearby. They must be the watchdogs of the forest. Driving to every water hole, we did not see the tiger again. Once the morning progresses and it heats up, the tigers crawl into the bamboo and sleep. If they have cubs, they will lay low until later in the evening.

 

Back at the lodge, we went to breakfast for a repeat of the meal we had yesterday. The waiters are very attendant, and had our omelette order delivered in a timely manner. It sure was pleasant eating on the top deck, with the tree tops peeking through the floor to shade us. Once again, our waiter wanted to take our lunch order, but we informed him we would not be eating lunch once again. He offered to send sandwiches to our cottage, but we declined. We did have a stash of candy bars and cookies , so we could snack on those if necessary.

 

Needing to wash my hair, I took a shower, and changed into swimwear. Both of us went to the pool to get some sun and swimming. It was so warm, my hair dried in 15 or 20 minutes……so much better than using a hair dryer. The time went by way too fast, and soon we had to leave to get ready for the PM drive.

 

Our new safari drive mates were there, raring to go to Zone Two. We have come to realize that they are strictly only interested in seeing the tigers. Of course, that is mostly our intent as well, but we know many folks who have done this same type of safari in Ranthambore National Park, and never saw a trace of a tiger the entire trip. So we had the mindset, that if we see one, it will be the frosting on the cake, so to speak. We are thrilled with every sighting of all of the mammals and especially the birds. Yes, some are more exciting than others, such as the animated monkeys, or the grazing spotted deer and sambar deer with gigantic sets of horns. When Veejay saw our cameras go up, he either slowed down, or stopped briefly for us. In addition, he had a bird book, and took the time to look up each species to show us the proper spelling. Not that anything was ever said in a complaining way, we could feel the frustration of our companions, because we were not seeing the Bengal tigers as closely as they thought they would. Now if they were that easy to find, this would be more like a zoo visit, and not the real thing.

 

Added to the wildlife we have already seen and continue to see on every drive, we saw a large egret in a pond, a white-eye buzzard, red wattled lapwings, a red-eye gray and pink shikra, and a black crested kestrel. Veejay stopped quickly and picked up a cluster of dried leaves, which looking up high in the canopy, appeared to look like strange looking fruit of some kind. Turned out to be a nest made of leaves, and glued together with the spit from a little bird. They hatch their eggs in this large cocoon, then abandon it when the chicks fledge. Pretty clever and resourceful. We noticed that Veejay did not step on the ground to retrieve the nest, but drove close enough to reach down. He said he could not step on the ground in this park, because it was considered “holy” and only accessible to the maharajas. Except for the fenced tea/coffee break area, we had not seen anyone but the spotters walking on the grounds. Interesting.

 

There were many red and black butterflys floating around, called the common rose. Veejay pointed out the local Indian ebony tree, which the leaves are dried and smoked in a cigarette called Bidi. Shefali said these cigarettes are considered less toxic than regular ones, but then, they are half the size of a normal cigarette. And they contain a more addictive nicotine.

 

As we continued, we saw a white throated kingfisher, peacocks and pea hens, an Indian gray hornbill, wild boar, frolicking rose head parakeets, and a brown headed barbet, copper color. The time was close to 6:15pm, and our ranger reminded Veejay he needed to drive back to the gate. The communications between Veejay and the ranger were in Hindi, but thanks to our Indian-born group, they understood every word and translated for us. This was fortunate, because we knew more than we would have as to the tiger sightings and where we were headed. Right now, it was out of the park.

 

The drive back coated us with another layer of dust, if that was possible. If we ever do this again, we need to bring proper face coverings. A scarf or handkerchief was OK, but not working as well as the real face coverings. And more importantly, the good camera needed something to cover it during these dirt drives. As it was, Bill used the wool poncho. That got really warm as the day heated up, but was better than nothing.

 

We were back at the lodge by 7pm, and more than ready for an ice cold beer or two. Patty and Prim had good news for us. Our flight back from Jabalpur to Delhi had been done, and we would have our morning game drive, and a 4 hour drive instead of a 6 hour drive to the other city. Hurray. Prim, the manager, gave us her phone so we could speak directly to our Indian travel agent to confirm this change. He still was stalling about using Spice Air, but with five of us leaving together, we said we would take a chance with it.

 

Dinner was served under the breakfast venue, on an open-air patio under chandeliers. The food was from Southern India, served in the thali dishes once again. We had chicken, fish, veggies, a cabbage salad, a squash puree soup, eggplant, and rice. Dessert was a crepe suzette. As always, Veejay stopped by and informed us that tomorrow’s drive would be in Zone Two, and we would need to meet at 5am. Sounded good to us, and we headed off for bed.

 

Tomorrow would hold some pretty exciting surprises………..

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[BettyPC]

Cliff hanger! Enjoying your adventures. Thanks for all this hard work!

[Cruisergal1208]

Wow, what adventures you are having!! Thanks so much for sharing with us.

Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report # 82 Safari Lodge Day Three March 21, 2015 Saturday Sunny & 80 degrees

 

This morning we would load up and leave for Zone Two. To get there first, we needed to leave the camp around 5am. We were first in line by 5:30am, and had a long wait until the rangers showed up at 6am. We went through the passport check, then got our park ranger. Within 15 minutes, a series of safari vehicles lined up behind us….a total of 16 cars. Once the gate lifted, the race was on. Expecting to be first, we noticed there was a “vip” car ahead of us. Obviously there is another entrance to this zone, and the special people had gotten ahead of us. These vips could be government officials, politicians, business men, or whoever had money to pay their way in. They are allowed in the park early, and can stay late. On top of that, they are allowed to stay in the park until after 7pm, when most of the tiger sightings occur. Now if Veejay broke any of these rules, and got caught, he could be fined, and banned from the park for a week or more. In fact, he would stick his neck out this morning, but we did not know that until later on.

 

We came upon a group of Indians walking the road. They informed us that a tiger had recently crossed the road up ahead, and left some sizable prints in the sand. These locals were either on bikes or simply walking, but all carried a long stick. All of us joked that maybe these guys put the paw prints of the tiger with these sticks. Then watch as the vehicles race to see the elusive tiger. We did see some sizable prints, never really expecting to see a tiger.

 

But as always, there is wildlife to see. Sitting on a tree branch up high, was an oriental honey buzzard. He almost did not look real, but stuffed. That is, until he turned his head while watching us. Then we saw a flock of seven birds on the ground, which Veejay called babblers. For no good reason, he said that when he sees them, there are always seven. Above them in the trees were many large Alexandrine parakeets. When Veejay said he spotted the tiger bird, we got excited. What he meant was that he saw a rufous treepie with long tails, also called the tiger bird.

 

We had just pulled into the parking area across for a ranger station, when Veejay went to talk to some other drivers. They told him that there was a tiger up the road a piece, and if we hurried we might be able to see it. With that, he gathered all of us, and drove out of the parking lot. We could do coffee and tea later.

 

There were a few vehicles parked along the road not far from the ranger station. We parked and waited, listening to the sounds of alarm from other animals. You could hear the monkeys and the deer. If they are close by, the deer will also join in the noise. Then, out of the blue, appeared a lone female tiger, who was taking her time walking towards the water source. Other guides must have been tipped off by the walkers, because one after another came and parked near us.

 

The tiger that was walking in the brush, was a single female, with no cubs yet. Our driver said that she had a name…..Dottie, recognized by a mark on her forehead. We filmed her walking in the brush, until she finally came out into a clearing. What a magnificent animal……and so big. This large cat crossed the road right in front of us, stopping long enough to find a tree to pee on. And did she go? Like a fire hose. This was her way of marking her territory. As she passed our vehicle, she cut right in front of us. She could not have been closer, and we took every photo we could. We know many folks who have come this far in other parks, and never saw one tiger. This was incredibly lucky. When she stayed in the bamboo and shrubs, we backed off , and gave her some space. She shyly walked into the thicket, and continued her journey. What a beautiful creature. Veejay said that she has had a male hanging around with her recently, and they hoped she would mate and have cubs sometime this year.

 

The other drivers had gotten wind of our good fortune, and joined the crowd. No one was quiet, especially the little kids that were in another van. They were actually screaming…..tiger, tiger. The big cat did not seemed bothered by all of the noise and excitement. She was just doing her thing. We had gotten the best spot to see her, thanks to the park guide and our driver. As she disappeared into the forest, we continued on with the drive.

 

It was then that Veejay said he had taken a chance, and joined this sighting, although he may not have had permission to do so. As long as our ranger said nothing, he would not be fined. We think this may have happened when he suddenly loaded us up, and left the snack stop.

 

We left the area, taking a chance of seeing something else. All we saw was a group of wild boar, then finally, all the deer. We did stop for the snacks, and we had sandwiches, muffins, cookies and fruit. We asked about the actual numbers of tigers in this park, and Veejay said in his opinion, there are around 50. The reported population is said to be 65, which is twice as many as in any other national park in India. Still, that makes Bandhavgarh having the highest concentration of Bengal tigers than anywhere else in the world. Hoping to see another tiger on the way out today, we did not. But to have this same type of encounter would be too selfish. The terrain began to get familiar with all of the meadows and sal trees, and we knew we were close to the gate. The time was about 10:15am, and we all had to leave. Park rules.

 

We did have another rare sighting of one Indian gazelle, as we drove down the dirt road towards the lodge. In Africa, you would see these by the hundreds. A pretty animal, the gazelle took off into the dense cover. Another mile up the road, we spotted a film crew with Patty, the guest relations gal from the lodge. They were getting shots we were told, for an upcoming magazine, Relais & Chateaux. Later in the afternoon, this same team was filming at the pool and spa. Since there were no other guests using the pool yet, they were not intrusive.

 

Back at the lodge by 10:30am, we had a hot breakfast with omelettes and dolma, a rice pancake rolled with mashed potatoes mixed with onions and butter. We dipped it in a bowl of tomato-like salsa, Along with the English bacon and toast, we were happy and full. The coffee was great after our successful drive this morning. Other lodge guests who had gone to the other zones had seen nothing, and were envious of us. It is the luck of the draw. Even some of the other guests that were in the same zone as us, did not see the tiger we saw.

 

Taking the time for a quick dip in the pool, we relaxed in the lounges for a short time. This part of the afternoon tends to heat up, and sunbathing has to be brief or you could easily burn. With the filming of the lodge, we decided that our patio would be a quieter spot to read and relax. Actually, there were several books in our room with excellent photos and information about this park. Too bad we did not have enough time to read them all. Once you see the tabletop mountain range and the fort with castles on the top, it gets your imagination going as to the past history. You can picture the maharajas hunting these ranges with dignitaries from other countries. To take it a step further back in time, these cliffs have caves where ancient people lived and created “cave art”.

 

It was time for the last afternoon game drive we would take. We all left the lodge at 3pm with our guide and yet another different vehicle. One couple in the camp had professional camera equipment that needed room for a large tripod. They got a vehicle that had been modified to accommodate these cameras. Our drive would be in Zone Three, and unknown to us, all of the drivers had decided to go directly to the big pond area, since a female tiger and her 3 cubs had been spotted there earlier.

 

Veejay said hold on, we were racing non-stop to the pond at a rapid speed. It was a bumpy crazy ride, getting us to the manmade water hole by 3:40pm. We were first there, but were soon followed by a dozen cars, pinning us in. The only good thing was that our ranger had sat next to me in the middle row of seats. He successfully blocked the hot sun just standing there. This is something most all of the rangers did. Their normal seat would have been in the back row on the lefthand side. That way, they can stand up during the entire drive, spotting animals and their tracks. If a guest insists on taking that seat, the ranger will sit in the center row on one end. That turned out to be next to me. Today our ranger spoke acceptable English and always warned me to have my camera ready when he spotted any wildlife.

 

But being parked at the pond, we had no choice but to sit there as quietly as we could. Do you know how long that lasts? Not long. After 50 minutes of watching, several spotted deer came over the berm to drink water down at the water’s edge. They did not linger, and there were always a couple of the older ones on the lookout for danger. That was a clue to us, that the tigers were nowhere close to this pond yet. The deer slowly exited the area in no big hurry. They would be followed by several birds, like noisy crows and one Indian pond heron. He walked the entire perimeter of the pond, eating some small creatures along the way.

 

That was when all of us decided to hit our snack bags. We had candy bars and cookies, which we offered to share. Ayesha had a box of Nerds, which she shared with Veejay and the ranger. Our ranger took them just to be polite, but did not seem to like them. Kumar said some of the candies were sour, but good. The ranger shared them with another ranger next to us, and eventually they were gone. We had to stifle giggles, since we were getting stares from other starving guests who did not think to bring food. At least we all had plenty of water, but you had to ration how much you drank. No restrooms in the forest, and remember, no stepping on “holy” ground.

 

OK, we decided to get serious and go back on watch. By 4:45pm, three more spotted deer came over the top, three wild boars came on the left side, and eventually a peacock, and a junglefowl joined them side-by-side. Veejay listened for the spotted bucks to sound a tiger alarm by barking, or the yell of a langur monkey doing the same, but it did not happen. The green bee-eaters, very pretty, but tiny birds, and buzzards kept us busy with filming. It was obvious as some of the vans left that the tigers were not going to come. Now if we were here around 7pm, we bet we would see them for sure.

 

By 5:35pm, most of the cars had left, giving us room to exit as well. It was a relief to pick up the breeze once again. We could see some of the guests getting sunburnt while sitting there for two hours. That is why it was stressed that we wear long sleeve shirts, and hats or something to cover our faces.

 

On the way out of Zone Two, we saw the deer calmly grazing in the meadows, along with the peacocks strutting, and chipmunks eating the red flowers of the red silk cotton trees. As we got near the camp, we saw one nilgai antelope running past us. We had hopes that the old tiger who had been seen in the buffer zone, was after the antelope. But if he was there, we did not see him. Did we tell you about the sign we saw leaving Zone Two? It is a picture of the tiger saying, Don’t be disappointed that you did not see me, for I certainly saw you! How true that is…………

 

Back at the lodge at 6:45pm, we washed up after soaking our feet in the metal tubs in our living room. Will miss these special touches. Patty had told us to wear sturdy shoes to walk to the dinner venue this evening. Now we wondered where they were taking us. We cleaned up, and changed shirts to look a bit more dressed up for our final evening.

 

An escort picked us up at 7:30pm, and led us by flashlight to a huge patio that was located well behind the spa building by the pool. The way was lit by at least 50 or more oil lanterns, placed a yard apart. The stars were as bright as ever out in this darkness…..so cool. We soon made out a tall chimney with a roaring bonfire going. A big screen had been set up, surrounded with 20 chairs to watch a tiger video for 40 minutes. We did sit for 15 minutes in the chairs, chatting with a new couple who had just arrived to the lodge. They were very happy to get any hints we could share with them for their three day stay. After two ice cold beers, we took a seat at our table for two. By the time we went to the buffet table, the film had begun.

 

There were two bowls of seasoned rice, along with lentils, veggies, cucumber salad, cottage cheese cubes, sautéed spinach, naan bread, and a big round tortilla-like bread. The last items were BBQ’s chicken and prawns. Every bit of the food was delicious, perhaps made even better with another Kingfisher beer and a glass of white wine. Dessert was a chocolate volcano cake.

 

While we ate, we watched the film. It dealt with the tigers disappearing from these parks in India. Describing India’s governmental corruption, and illegal poaching, we felt that these opinions were totally all internal problems. Yes, it is good that the world is aware of these things, but what can we do? Over-clearing for farming by the natives, and certainly the poaching of the tigers is a serious problem. We thought it was inappropriate for the film to mention the Chinese black market industry for selling tiger parts. After all, some of the guests at this lodge with us were Chinese. Not sure that set well with them. Oh well, we were given a copy of this documentary, which in some parts were brutally gross and bloody. We were asked to share it with our family and friends at home.

 

We were so tired, it was great to get to bed. We wanted to be up early for our final drive tomorrow morning. This was going by all too fast………

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[bcummin]

I enjoy every word that you post.

Thank you for taking us along again.

Barbara

[WCB]

Report # 83 Safari Lodge Day 4 March 22, 2015 Sunday Part One Sunny & 80 degrees

 

We asked for a wake up call for 3:45am, so we could be ready to go by 5am. No coffee again this morning, although it was there for the taking. Today’s final drive would be in Zone Two once again. It had been our fortunate zone yesterday, and perhaps we would get lucky today.

 

It was still dark when we got to the gate, so we all chatted while listening for animal calls. Kumar had told us that the next stop on their vacation was in Sri Lanka. They couldn’t believe it when we said we were recently there. Even funnier, we said we had gone to the city of Galle, and had lunch in a beautiful hotel. Turned out they were headed for Galle and were booked into the very same hotel. How odd was that? Their destination was Yala National Park, where they were going on a leopard safari. Now that got us interested in yet another possible adventure for a future trip.

 

As the sun came up, many more vehicles lined up behind us. One of the nearest jeeps had several Indian folks who did not have the proper IDs. The rangers argued with them, saying that they would not get in the park. But eventually, they did let them inside.

 

The first animals we saw were the same two elephants who were hobbled and led by chains by their handlers. We could hear the oohhs and the ahhhs from the crowd, who showed disapproval. But this is perfectly acceptable for trained elephants in India, and we should not judge. They perform much needed tasks in this park.

 

Veejay drove to a forested road, and without warning, we spotted a tiger deep in the brush. He was not moving, just sitting there, looking at us. This tiger was not showing any intent on moving, but we were all willing to wait him out. We did get some pictures of him, even in deep cover, but Veejay suddenly took off, we think in search of another tiger with cubs somewhere.

 

We approached three fellows on bikes, all with walkie-talkies. They must have been told that a tiger was at a waterhole, so off we darted to see if we could get a glimpse of him. The drive there was not wasted, since we did see wild boars, a white-eyed buzzard, another pretty kingfisher, and a brown fish owl. He had the orangest eyes we ever seen.

 

Sambar deer grazed in the meadow, while a junglefowl scurried among them. We could hear more sambar deer yelling calls in the distance, signaling perhaps a tiger on the move. Just then, we saw one barking deer, a rare sighting in this area, we understand. Passing under a red flowering cotton silk tree, we watched as several little five striped palm squirrels climbed the branches to eat the nectar out of the flower buds. A woodpecker joined them in tasting the sweet nectar, despite the numerous bees also in the centers.

 

Before we arrived at the pond, we saw one Oriental white eye bird, a crested sulphur eagle, and more spotted deer. Then we waited for the tiger, silently. More vehicles arrived and also joined in the watch. But it was not going to happen this morning. Our one chance to see the tiger on the move was gone when we left the one in the very beginning. That’s the chance the drivers take, when they get perhaps reliable tips from the rangers. We did ask how often the rangers tell the truth, remember? They said 80% of the time. It simply depends on who you know.

 

We did have one more sighting on the way back. Right off of the road, we saw a jackal running into the thicket. He came out long enough to get his picture, then disappeared in seconds. We were back to the lodge by 10:45am. Before we leave this park, we have a few facts about it that we think are worth mentioning.

 

Bandhavgarh is one of the most popular of the tiger parks, and it is located in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The myth that surrounds the park says that Lord Rama gave the prominent mountain to his brother, Laksmana, so he could keep watch on Ceylon (Sri Lanka)….figuratively speaking. The word Bandhavgarh means Brother’s Fort. As well as tigers, the park has a breeding population of leopards, although we never did see one. Altitudes in this park range from 1345 feet to 2657 feet. Visitors are restricted to the Tala Range, an area of 40 square miles. Only vehicles registered by the park authorities are permitted in the park.

 

We passed by the young kids in the village as we went back towards the lodge. They have been here daily, after the pm drives. Their usual routine includes playing make-believe cricket with sticks and a ball. Every day we have passed them, they had stopped and waved at us. Their moms are always working, carrying greens for the cows, or washing clothing in the muddy creek under a bridge. As for the local men, we never saw any, so they must work outside the homes. These families have plots of land with fenced-in pastures and vegetable gardens. Some of them also have fields of rice and sugar beets. These fields will be planted once the rains start in July. Every pasture had a raised platform six or eight feet off of the ground with a woven roof, only accessible with a ladder. It was a “one bedroom suite” outdoors, only very small and a few feet high. The purpose of this was for a family member, usually a boy, to safely sleep outside at night, and keep watch of the cattle, goats, and the crops. The invaders could be the sambar and spotted deer, wild boars, all who would eat the veggie gardens. And the larger predators like the jackals, wild dogs, leopards, and the tigers come in to kill the livestock. The kids in these blinds will make noise with pots and pans and ladles to scare them away.

 

We enjoyed our final breakfast up on the balcony. Having omelettes once again with lots of English bacon, toast, and coffee, we were fortified to pack. We had the job done by 12:30pm, weighing everything to make sure we did not overload anything for the short flight back to Delhi. We signed the guest book before left, and thanked everyone for their excellent care while we were here. And so we would have lunch along the way, the cooks had packed sandwiches, cookies, chips, and juices for us for the 4 hour ride to Jabalpur. Our driver showed up, loaded our bags, and off we went. It was hard to leave, since we had such a great time. And extremely lucky too.

 

The drive back was really good, since we got to see what we missed while driving in the darkness coming here. Shefali had told us to watch for the blooming red silk cotton trees on the way. She was right…..the roadsides and the valleys were full of them. Just beautiful. Before we were clear of the villages, our driver pulled alongside a car shop, where he had someone put a plug in one of the tires. Unaware that it was flat, it must have been a slow leaker. With the plug, we were as good as new. The driver did say that he had a good spare tire, so not to worry.

 

At 2:45pm, the driver stopped in another village for a pit stop and a tea break. While waiting for him, we had a few sandwiches, chips, and water. It was entertaining just watching the locals shopping this Sunday afternoon. All the ladies and young girls were dressed in saris of all colors. Strange to see them riding on the motorcycles with their boyfriends or husbands in these saris. After 20 minutes, our driver came back and off we went. He did have one more brief stop, when his wife brought him his dinner to the car.

 

The road was crowded with animals instead of trucks this time. Many men were herding the cows and goats to other fields. It was not uncommon to see fifty skinny cows blocking the whole road. It did slow us down, but we had plenty of time to reach Jabalpur. We arrived there by 4pm. Expecting to go straight to the airport, our driver stopped instead at the local hotel, the best one in town, we suspect. It was nice to use the decent facilities at this hotel, instead of the airport’s. Our original escort from Jabalpur met us at the hotel, and asked for our new flight itinerary. He drove with us to the airport to help us enter the airport terminal. Since he was not allowed inside, he directed us to the check-in and said goodbye.

 

Our flight had been switched to Spice Jet, an airline that was expected to go under before now. This had been our original flight, until the travel agent decided to switch us to an earlier flight on India Air. This worked out so much better, and there were seven of us from the lodge now leaving on this flight. This time, Spice Air provided a bus to bring us to the small plane. It was pretty funny watching three guys pushing these two buses backwards, so they could jump start the engines. Guess they are not used often enough to keep the batteries charged. It worked, and we loaded up from the small terminal building.

 

About halfway there, we noticed someone’s bag laying on the tarmac. Suspecting it had been dropped from the luggage cart, the bus driver beeped his horn. Another worker came running over to inform him that there was a cobra near that bag, and they were using it to mark the snake. Gee whiz…..only in India…… In a minute or two, a worker came over slowly, grabbed the bag, and ran like heck. If you recall, we had walked this tarmac in the darkness just a few days ago…….

 

Whether we were tired, or the plane was so small, we did not even remember going up. By the time we were over Delhi, it was dark and the land below looked like a golden blanket of lights. Delhi is a massive city with over 16 million people, no wonder it was lit up so nicely. The plane landed smoothly at around 8pm, a one hour 20 minute ride.

 

In Delhi, we were met at the baggage carousel by our original escort once again. We thanked him for getting our last flight changed, and he attempted to explain why it had been changed in the first place. At this point, it did not matter. We were glad to be here.

 

The drive to the Radisson Blu went quickly, and we discovered that we had been upgraded to a bigger room. Too bad we only were here for 12 hours. We could have enjoyed some down time at the inviting pool. After the check-in procedures, we went directly to the Savannah Bar, where we knew we could get ice cold Kingfisher beers and crispy chicken sandwiches with fries.

 

Bedtime followed immediately after a warm bath. And even though there was a good movie on TV, we both crashed within 15 minutes of our heads hitting the plush down pillows. We slept like babies.

 

Tomorrow, we would be back home on the ship in the exciting city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[ger_77]

I am constantly amazed at your attention to detail and writing skills, making me feel like I am right there beside you. A question though, how do you remember all the names of the creatures you see? Do you carry a notebook, have a recorder, or do you just have a fabulous memory? I would think writing down details would detract from the enjoyment of wanting to take in everything around you.

 

I continue to enjoy your adventures.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[Folk Singer]

It sounded wonderful. Thank you.

[Love the beach]

Thank you for taking us along...I am loving it!