Bandipur Trip
Friday
5:30 Am: Called up Naidu. Asked him to wake up and get ready, and went back to sleep.
6:00 Am: Called Naidu again and ask him to get ready and come over to my place so that we could leave.
7:15 Am: Naidu was home, and we decided to go to Bandipur. Since we don't know how long we would be there or where we would be going from there, I carry enough things to last for 3 or 4 days. We checked the air pressure in the tyres, got petrol filled and set out, we were on Mysore road in a few minutes.
9:20 Am: Stopped at Kamat Yatri Nivas for breakfast. Munch on some idly and poories, had sugarcane juice, and started driving again.
10:45 Am: Reached Mysore, we went to the railway station, found our way to the tourist information center, bought a Karnataka Road atlas (Vivek borrowed mine and was doing a trip to Mangalore) and left for Bandipur.
12:30 Pm: After an excellent drive on the Mysore/Ooty road, we reach Bandipur. All the govt cottages were full because a certain 'student party' was there on an educational tour. We went searching for the Tiger Ranch (a bit expensive but a decent place) that Danny told me the previous night about. On the way to Tiger Ranch spotted plenty of deer, few antelopes, a wild boar and three Elephants. We had lunch there, booked a place for ourselves and went back to Bandipur for the safari.
4:00 Pm: The safari was boring with hardly any non-deer variety around. We drove toward Ooty in the rains after that (The roads were bad after Karnataka), but got back after a while (agreeing that we will decide if we should be going to Ooty the next morning).
7:00 Pm: Got back to Tiger Ranch and crashed. I was tired after all the driving.
9:00 Pm: Woke up and grabbed a P G Wodehouse from the small library at Tiger Ranch and finally kicked Naidu out of the bed for dinner. Post dinner, sat near the bonfire and talked to the other people who were staying there for the night. A certain time-pass gang from Bangalore and a couple who were on vacation from Chennai were company. Slept at around 12:30 Am.
Saturday
7:00 Am: Went on a mini one hour trek in the jungle. After a short wait at a water body and no animals visiting the place, we started walking through the bamboo vegetation and got back to the Ranch. We saw some Elephant poop, footmarks of a dog, mountain goat and some other animal. We also saw a couple of hen :-p.
9:00 Am: After a heavy breakfast, we decided that going to Ooty and then getting back to Bangalore would mean that I drive about 400 Km. Naidu wanted to watch the cricket match and I too thought I would not like to bunk the English lecture, so we decided that we get back to Bangalore. The gentleman from Ford and his wife (that I spoke to the night before) did not have their own transport, so I offered to drop them at Mysore (their next destination).
10:30 Am: Dropped Mr. and Mrs. Ford at the tourist office in mysore, exchanged contacts, and headed towards Bangalore. After a couple of stops midway we were finally home by 2:30.
5:30 Am: Called up Naidu. Asked him to wake up and get ready, and went back to sleep.
6:00 Am: Called Naidu again and ask him to get ready and come over to my place so that we could leave.
7:15 Am: Naidu was home, and we decided to go to Bandipur. Since we don't know how long we would be there or where we would be going from there, I carry enough things to last for 3 or 4 days. We checked the air pressure in the tyres, got petrol filled and set out, we were on Mysore road in a few minutes.
9:20 Am: Stopped at Kamat Yatri Nivas for breakfast. Munch on some idly and poories, had sugarcane juice, and started driving again.
10:45 Am: Reached Mysore, we went to the railway station, found our way to the tourist information center, bought a Karnataka Road atlas (Vivek borrowed mine and was doing a trip to Mangalore) and left for Bandipur.
12:30 Pm: After an excellent drive on the Mysore/Ooty road, we reach Bandipur. All the govt cottages were full because a certain 'student party' was there on an educational tour. We went searching for the Tiger Ranch (a bit expensive but a decent place) that Danny told me the previous night about. On the way to Tiger Ranch spotted plenty of deer, few antelopes, a wild boar and three Elephants. We had lunch there, booked a place for ourselves and went back to Bandipur for the safari.
4:00 Pm: The safari was boring with hardly any non-deer variety around. We drove toward Ooty in the rains after that (The roads were bad after Karnataka), but got back after a while (agreeing that we will decide if we should be going to Ooty the next morning).
7:00 Pm: Got back to Tiger Ranch and crashed. I was tired after all the driving.
9:00 Pm: Woke up and grabbed a P G Wodehouse from the small library at Tiger Ranch and finally kicked Naidu out of the bed for dinner. Post dinner, sat near the bonfire and talked to the other people who were staying there for the night. A certain time-pass gang from Bangalore and a couple who were on vacation from Chennai were company. Slept at around 12:30 Am.
Saturday
7:00 Am: Went on a mini one hour trek in the jungle. After a short wait at a water body and no animals visiting the place, we started walking through the bamboo vegetation and got back to the Ranch. We saw some Elephant poop, footmarks of a dog, mountain goat and some other animal. We also saw a couple of hen :-p.
9:00 Am: After a heavy breakfast, we decided that going to Ooty and then getting back to Bangalore would mean that I drive about 400 Km. Naidu wanted to watch the cricket match and I too thought I would not like to bunk the English lecture, so we decided that we get back to Bangalore. The gentleman from Ford and his wife (that I spoke to the night before) did not have their own transport, so I offered to drop them at Mysore (their next destination).
10:30 Am: Dropped Mr. and Mrs. Ford at the tourist office in mysore, exchanged contacts, and headed towards Bangalore. After a couple of stops midway we were finally home by 2:30.