Kanha National Park

The money that we spent at Kanha National Park for spotting a tiger overshot not only our budget but also the expense of the entire trip combined. From Jabalpur there is a direct bus to Kanha at 11:00am. With bad roads at specific places and stops included the journey is about 5hrs. We found our accommodation at Panther Resort for Rs.400/- a night. 1/2km from the resort and towards the national park was where we had our dinner. It was more of “On Demand Service”. You order what you want then he would cook. But very tasty.
We booked for the jeep in the evening itself at the resort. The cost for the jeep was Rs.1500/-. This is standard.
What I find as crazy is the high charge for foreigners to visit the park while it is less for Indians. What do foreigners have or bring with them that we Indians dont? When the goverment itself fixes special price for foreigners how can one expect auto drivers to charge less for foreigners?
The entrance fees to the park was Rs.2180/- for 3 of us. And the jeep would take us around the park from 5:15am till 11:00am. Sandeep Yadav our jeep driver was waiting for us. About 945sq. kms of area and an evergreen park, saal trees are common. There are 89 tigers was what our guide Chandrakanth told.

4hours later we were yet to spot a tiger! We saw birds, soft deer, spotted deers, indian gaur, monkeys, wild dogs, peacock. All but no tiger. Time and again our guide and other guides in other jeeps would stand up to listen to sounds of birds but they could never hear a tiger.
With no point in wasting time we decided to go out of the national park. Our driver was very sad to be taking us out with showing us a tiger. When we reach the gate of the park, the staff told tiger was spotted and we could head back inside. This is called tiger show. They charge Rs.100/- for Indians and Rs.600/- for foreigners. You would have to climb on top of elephant and they will take you near the tiger for a glimpse of it. If luck is not on your side tiger might run away and your money will be refunded. Dont worry though. They ensure that they dont scare away the tigers.
Getting the tickets off we went and climbed on top of elephant and into the bushes. Not far away was this lazy tiger. 6 elephants surrounding it still the tiger did not budge. How many tigers did we see? ONE (1).

With summer there is more probability of spotting a tiger but keep your fingers crossed. You might never see one also.

For all photos @ the park from my camera click here.

Read Full Post »

Madhya Pradesh Tour

March 26th 2010 night 10:00pm we three Carly, GAPP & myself got on to train (Yeshwantpur – Nizamudin expres) to Bhopal.

Our ticket had moved to RAC. And we had to share the berth. A tiring journey sitting together in the morning in small space on the side lower berth. I managed to kill time by reading a book.

We reached Bhopal at 11:00pm and a taxi driver harassed us on seeing an American girl with us. All slangs and threatening to go to police when we did not agree to get on to his taxi. We just kept walking went out of station and with Lonely Planet book checked the hotels nearby and settled at Hotel Manjeet. Very close to railway station and bus stand. Bhopal looks very much under-developed for a capital city. Harassment at bus stand & at train station & by auto/taxi drivers does not leave a good mark about the city. A few people give a wrong impression about the city.

Next day morning we took a bus to Gunaga.

Click here for experience at Gunaga.

After our wonderful experience in the vilage we returned to Bhopal and took evening bus to Indore. A journey of 5hrs. We were harassed here also at the bus stand by auto drivers but not much as at Bhopal. When we said “NO” they left. There were cops on the roads. The city is beautiful in night time and is far more developed than Bhopal. We found accomodation in Hotel Neelam.
Next day morning we took bus to Omkareshwar. A journey of 2hrs. The bus conductor was very friendly and we had good laughs with him. Rs. 50/- per person.
Click here to read on the relaxed stay at Omkareshwar.

Omkareshwar to Indore by a 2:30pm bus. At Indore, we booked our tickets through Ambey Travels for a 14hr journey to Jabalpur. The sleeper bus is at 7:30pm. With sufficient time we decide to check out Celebrations Bakery. This bakery has a token system and is a self service bakery. Well maintained and good ambience.
The 14hrs journey was a tiring and a tough one. With bumpy roads and well deserved breaks. The bus was clean though. Once we reached Jabalpur again harassment by auto drivers. Evading them out we went to Indian Coffee House. A nice coffee and sometime for refreshing ourselves. We were back to the bus stand for the 11:00am bus to Kanha.

Click here to read more on spotting tigers @ Kanha National Park.

1:00pm is the last direct bus from Kanha to Jabalpur. Otherwise one should break the journey from Kanha – Mandla, Mandla – Jabalpur. Once we reached Jabalpur the same situation again with auto drivers. Hotel Vijan Place which is supposedly the biggest hotel around refused to accommodate us. Opposite this is Hotel Sardha and we found accommodation there without any issues. Of course they were hospitable also. The cyber cafe where we went was a surprise with an old dot-matrix printer and the lady was an IAS officer at Central Excise Department. A tamilian settled over there it was a welcome change from all the straing eyes and harassing auto drivers. Hotel Anand was where we had dinner and Gulmohar for ice-cream.
Next day morning we boarded train to Yeshwantpur. Dont try the 24hrs Food Plaza at the station in the morning. The food is stale and probably yesterday’s.

The worst part of the train journey (Lucknow – Yeshwantpur express) back home was on Sunday morning when the train did not stop for almost 7hrs. It slowed down in Gudur junction to facilitate food vendors to hop on. Rest of the journey was peaceful.

At Bangalore Yeshwantpur station an innocent auto driver asked for Rs.280/- to drop us at Malleswaram 6th Cross. Imagine the shocker I got.

Click here to view all photos from my camera.

Read Full Post »