We were again up early for our bus, and luckily we allowed some time to spare as we were delayed by our hotel owner who attempted to overcharge us for our rooms, so he and I traded blows for 30 minutes before threats to go to the police finally shut him up. I have to say that the same situation two months ago would have been a nightmare, and indeed the Americans (who had both been in India less than a fortnight) were both nonplussed and inclined to pay it; but after being here for a a few months I'm definitely not a noob anymore. The bus was on time for once and five hours later we were in Khajuraho.
The town of Khajuraho is famous for one thing only really; sex. Spread around the town are a large number of temples all of which feature beautiful stone carvings adorning the walls, the vast majority of which depict scenes from the Kama Sutra. The ancient Indians were a horny bunch. Upon arriving we made our plans; we’d spend the day enjoying – ahem – observing the temples and then in the evening we’d get a train to Agra which would arrive the following morning. After the first non Indian meal I’d had in weeks (pizza) we made our way out and had a look around. We had a good laugh walking around, but sex aside the temples were magnificent in their own right.
The carvings were actually a lot more tame than we’d expected (our generation is so warped by the internet..) but showed some pretty impressive displays of uh, athleticism. The most shocking of all was a small carving of, err.. Let’s just say that it seems that once upon a time it was a horse, not a dog, who was man’s best friend. Yeh… One of the more amusing sights was an old crusty sock that was lying on the grass suspiciously close to some of the raunchier artwork. Hmm. Nonetheless Khajuraho was a pretty nice town; the guidebook entry was very large and made it out as a major tourist spot so I was expecting it to be large and loud, but in fact it was a pretty small, pleasant place where we were able to relax at our leisure.
In the evening we had a few beers watching Germany hammer England in the World Cup with some Indians we met who assured me that they were cheering for England. They chose wrong I suppose. After that shameful performance we made our way to Khajuraho railway station which, due to having been completed less than a year ago and being a minor stop, has yet to acquire the trademark stench of urine that I’ve been subjected to at most other Indian stations. The Indian rail system is effective in some ways, but unfortunately it’s not at all convenient for arranging short notice, long distance trips, as Sleeper berths get booked up several days (and sometimes weeks) in advance, meaning that in order to travel short notice you have to go General II class.
This is fine for short distances, but pretty horrible for longer journeys as you’re unlikely to get a seat unless you get on the train at its source, and even then it’s overly crowded, loud, and hot as hell. Our journey to Agra would involve a train change after two hours, and that first stretch was very pleasant as our train was virtually empty so we just sat and chatted with three Indian guys. Upon arrival we would have to wait another two hours (until 0200) for the next train to arrive and take us to Agra, again in II class. As expected, it arrived at 0330.
While sitting in the waiting room I was treated to a spectacular display of what India can do to you if you take yourself too seriously, as a girl from Belgium came in and sat down, wearing a skimpy crop top; the kind of thing that’s bound to get a western girl all the wrong kinds of attention from the sex-deprived Indian men. Before long all the men were leering at her and one particularly classy guy got out his camera phone. This did not amuse the girl, who at this point seemed to lose it and started swearing uncontrollably before throwing her bag at the man’s head, slapping him (still swearing) and storming out of the room. I was worried for a second she was going to throw herself onto the track, she was just so off the rails it was crazy. Silly girl. I’ve had so much attention from Indians since being in the country on account of my fair hair and skin, and everyone I’ve talked to has had similar experiences; I guess it’s just something you have to deal with. Training for the life of a celebrity perhaps.
We eventually got on the train, and seeing as II class was full to bursting we attempted to upgrade to Sleeper with an onboard conductor, but sadly it was completely full. However the guy took pity on us and allowed us to just sleep on the floor of the sleeper carriages, which although dirty, was far better than general class would have been; we at least had room to breathe, and I was able to snatch a little sleep before we arrived in Agra at around 0800.
Friday, 9 July 2010
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Kanha National Park
I was up early for my 0700 train to Jabalpur, but I needn't have bothered as it arrived 90 minutes late, so I settled in for another long day on the move. It was 1900 when we finally arrived, and I very nearly missed the stop. As we pulled into the station I'd kept an eye open for signs saying the name of the station, but hadn't seen any and so asked one of the Indians I was sitting with which station we were at. Without hesitation he replied 'Zahanabar'. Well I had no reason not to believe him so waited for the train to move off, and just as it did I again asked the man, to which he gave the same reply, and he was not corrected by any of the other five Indians sitting with us.
Fortunately I had a funny feeling so as the train started moving off I looked out for a sign and I finally did see one saying 'Jabalpur' so I quickly grabbed my bag and flip flops and took a running jump off the train, just about making it before the last of the platform disappeared. I got a lot of funny looks for my antics but it was pretty fun to do. It also illustrated a few things, firstly not to trust other people on things like station names. It 'could' have been a mistake of the man but I highly doubt it, not to mention the fact that I would have thought one of the others would have interjected. The other thing it highlighted was the wisdom of my decision to pack as light as possible. Almost every backpacker I'd seen was fielding a 70+ litre rucksack, whereas mine was only a 40 litre. But I have to say that I'm not sure I could have landed barefoot after jumping from a moving train carrying that kind of weight; more likely I'd have twisted an ankle and ruined my week, but as it was I landed spryly.
My reason for coming to Jabalpur was that it's a perfect launchpad city for heading out to one of the three main tiger parks in the region. I'd had to rush from Aurangabad as the parks all closed on June 30th for the monsoon, and I didn't want to cut it too close. I opted to go to Kanha, the largest of the parks, as I figured that I had the best chance of meeting other travelers there, which was vital to me as I needed to share the cost of a safari as they're pretty damned expensive. To that aim I spent the night in Jabalpur, enjoying a beer and some cricket with some locals at a bar, and the following morning got myself a bus to the village of Khatia from where I could get a safari through the Kisli gate and into the park proper. The 6 hour bus journey was uncomfortable, but before long I was arriving at Khatia. It's interesting how my perspective of distance has changed since coming to India; back home in England the six hour trip north to Lancaster seemed like quite a lot, but now six hours seems like a warm up somehow.
I asked around and found out that there were only two other foreigners in the park, two Americans one of whom had been there a week and the other who had just arrived. They were both staying at the same place so I went with the flow and haggled my way to a cheap room. We all met up over dinner and agreed to split the cost of a jeep safari the following morning, and after negotiating with the owner for a while, came to a very reasonable price. The safari left at 0500 so I was again up early and, after some chai, raring to go. The sun was just rising as we ventured out through the gates and into the wild, so to speak. I had no idea what it would be like, but I was not disappointed.
The first thing that hit me about Kanha was the sheer greenness of it. All around was an oasis of vibrant plant life echoing the sounds of nature. The Gypsy Jeep we were in made its way quickly up the track and before long we were deep in the heart of the park, with just over four hours to soak up as much wildlife as we were lucky enough to spot. The two Americans were busy snapping photos left and right, but I had accidently left my camera in my room so I was free to relax and take it all in. The star attraction of Kanha is of course its tigers, a sighting of which is likely on your average safari, but not guaranteed. There were numerous Sambar (similar to deer) and monkeys (which I had now seen so many of throughout India that these just seemed standard) as well as multiple sightings of the wild dogs that roam the park. One particularly spectacular moment was watching a huge crowd of several hundred Sambar cantering across the fields after being spooked by a pack of the dogs who, to be fair, didn’t seem interested.
We spent a moderate amount of time waiting with our eyes peeled for a cat to appear, and we came very close to seeing one of the incredibly rare leopards, as according to another jeep one had fallen right out of a tree in front of them and was still somewhere nearby. Sadly the leopard never did come into view, but the waiting around gave me ample time to appreciate the truly beautiful scenery. Thousands of years ago much of India must have looked the same as Kanha does; and it was a strange feeling to be in the heart of what was such a huge contrast to how the rest of the country is now, and it blows my mind to think that the whole subcontinent, now so overpopulated, was once a vast wilderness.
As we drove around the rough tracks weaving through the park, we saw numerous birds from owls to eagles, and the image of a vulture sitting on a dead tree illustrated how far out from civilization we were. Towards the end of the safari we saw some of the rarer fauna; a small group of Gaurs (the world’s largest oxen) which were standing around grazing, as well as a glimpse of the odd looking Sloth Bear through the bush. Right as we were heading in, we finally got a tiger sighting. Having a drink from a watering hole, one of the majestic cats stayed around for a few minutes, ignoring our presence in the jeep, before padding silently back into the jungle. I hadn’t been all that fussed about seeing a tiger as I was more interested in the landscape, but it was nonetheless pretty incredible seeing a tiger right up close, not in captivity but in its natural habitat, and I’m very glad it got thirsty when it did.
After ending on a high note, we made our way back to civilization and a good breakfast. I hadn’t really planned specifically how long I wanted to spend in Kanha, but I had to catch a train from Jabalpur to Agra in a few days. Although I would have loved to go on another safari, my budget simple couldn’t take it as even sharing it with the two Americans had cost me Rs1250 (GBP20) and to go on one alone would cost me three times that amount. Both the American guys were leaving in the afternoon for Jabalpur, and we got on really well so we decided to all join up and go first to Jabalpur and then on to Khajuraho together. I could have stayed for another day and just gone walking in the park, but there wasn’t a lot to do really there and I figured I could easily cancel my train from Jabalpur to Agra and make my own way there after Khajuraho, which was in the same direction.
We enjoyed a really good thali lunch and got packed up. The bus would be leaving at 1300 and it arrived promptly, we got on, and departed. Only joking; this is India. The bus broke down. We waited around for two hours, and then took a roundabout route back, switching buses half way through, but making it back at a fairly reasonable time. There wasn’t a direct train to Khajuraho so after some internet café research utilizing my by-now comprehensive grasp of the Indian railway system, we ascertained that we could take a 2 hour train to Satna and stay the night, and then take a bus the rest of the way in the morning. After some minor problems getting tickets (it seems it’s pronounced ‘Suttana’, and for some reason just saying Satna as it’s written isn’t comprehensible) we got on to the crowded second class carriage and had two hours of sitting on the floor before we arrived, forged our way through the familiar swarms of rickshaw drivers and touts, and found ourselves some cheap rooms for the night. It had been a long day.
Fortunately I had a funny feeling so as the train started moving off I looked out for a sign and I finally did see one saying 'Jabalpur' so I quickly grabbed my bag and flip flops and took a running jump off the train, just about making it before the last of the platform disappeared. I got a lot of funny looks for my antics but it was pretty fun to do. It also illustrated a few things, firstly not to trust other people on things like station names. It 'could' have been a mistake of the man but I highly doubt it, not to mention the fact that I would have thought one of the others would have interjected. The other thing it highlighted was the wisdom of my decision to pack as light as possible. Almost every backpacker I'd seen was fielding a 70+ litre rucksack, whereas mine was only a 40 litre. But I have to say that I'm not sure I could have landed barefoot after jumping from a moving train carrying that kind of weight; more likely I'd have twisted an ankle and ruined my week, but as it was I landed spryly.
My reason for coming to Jabalpur was that it's a perfect launchpad city for heading out to one of the three main tiger parks in the region. I'd had to rush from Aurangabad as the parks all closed on June 30th for the monsoon, and I didn't want to cut it too close. I opted to go to Kanha, the largest of the parks, as I figured that I had the best chance of meeting other travelers there, which was vital to me as I needed to share the cost of a safari as they're pretty damned expensive. To that aim I spent the night in Jabalpur, enjoying a beer and some cricket with some locals at a bar, and the following morning got myself a bus to the village of Khatia from where I could get a safari through the Kisli gate and into the park proper. The 6 hour bus journey was uncomfortable, but before long I was arriving at Khatia. It's interesting how my perspective of distance has changed since coming to India; back home in England the six hour trip north to Lancaster seemed like quite a lot, but now six hours seems like a warm up somehow.
I asked around and found out that there were only two other foreigners in the park, two Americans one of whom had been there a week and the other who had just arrived. They were both staying at the same place so I went with the flow and haggled my way to a cheap room. We all met up over dinner and agreed to split the cost of a jeep safari the following morning, and after negotiating with the owner for a while, came to a very reasonable price. The safari left at 0500 so I was again up early and, after some chai, raring to go. The sun was just rising as we ventured out through the gates and into the wild, so to speak. I had no idea what it would be like, but I was not disappointed.
The first thing that hit me about Kanha was the sheer greenness of it. All around was an oasis of vibrant plant life echoing the sounds of nature. The Gypsy Jeep we were in made its way quickly up the track and before long we were deep in the heart of the park, with just over four hours to soak up as much wildlife as we were lucky enough to spot. The two Americans were busy snapping photos left and right, but I had accidently left my camera in my room so I was free to relax and take it all in. The star attraction of Kanha is of course its tigers, a sighting of which is likely on your average safari, but not guaranteed. There were numerous Sambar (similar to deer) and monkeys (which I had now seen so many of throughout India that these just seemed standard) as well as multiple sightings of the wild dogs that roam the park. One particularly spectacular moment was watching a huge crowd of several hundred Sambar cantering across the fields after being spooked by a pack of the dogs who, to be fair, didn’t seem interested.
We spent a moderate amount of time waiting with our eyes peeled for a cat to appear, and we came very close to seeing one of the incredibly rare leopards, as according to another jeep one had fallen right out of a tree in front of them and was still somewhere nearby. Sadly the leopard never did come into view, but the waiting around gave me ample time to appreciate the truly beautiful scenery. Thousands of years ago much of India must have looked the same as Kanha does; and it was a strange feeling to be in the heart of what was such a huge contrast to how the rest of the country is now, and it blows my mind to think that the whole subcontinent, now so overpopulated, was once a vast wilderness.
As we drove around the rough tracks weaving through the park, we saw numerous birds from owls to eagles, and the image of a vulture sitting on a dead tree illustrated how far out from civilization we were. Towards the end of the safari we saw some of the rarer fauna; a small group of Gaurs (the world’s largest oxen) which were standing around grazing, as well as a glimpse of the odd looking Sloth Bear through the bush. Right as we were heading in, we finally got a tiger sighting. Having a drink from a watering hole, one of the majestic cats stayed around for a few minutes, ignoring our presence in the jeep, before padding silently back into the jungle. I hadn’t been all that fussed about seeing a tiger as I was more interested in the landscape, but it was nonetheless pretty incredible seeing a tiger right up close, not in captivity but in its natural habitat, and I’m very glad it got thirsty when it did.
After ending on a high note, we made our way back to civilization and a good breakfast. I hadn’t really planned specifically how long I wanted to spend in Kanha, but I had to catch a train from Jabalpur to Agra in a few days. Although I would have loved to go on another safari, my budget simple couldn’t take it as even sharing it with the two Americans had cost me Rs1250 (GBP20) and to go on one alone would cost me three times that amount. Both the American guys were leaving in the afternoon for Jabalpur, and we got on really well so we decided to all join up and go first to Jabalpur and then on to Khajuraho together. I could have stayed for another day and just gone walking in the park, but there wasn’t a lot to do really there and I figured I could easily cancel my train from Jabalpur to Agra and make my own way there after Khajuraho, which was in the same direction.
We enjoyed a really good thali lunch and got packed up. The bus would be leaving at 1300 and it arrived promptly, we got on, and departed. Only joking; this is India. The bus broke down. We waited around for two hours, and then took a roundabout route back, switching buses half way through, but making it back at a fairly reasonable time. There wasn’t a direct train to Khajuraho so after some internet café research utilizing my by-now comprehensive grasp of the Indian railway system, we ascertained that we could take a 2 hour train to Satna and stay the night, and then take a bus the rest of the way in the morning. After some minor problems getting tickets (it seems it’s pronounced ‘Suttana’, and for some reason just saying Satna as it’s written isn’t comprehensible) we got on to the crowded second class carriage and had two hours of sitting on the floor before we arrived, forged our way through the familiar swarms of rickshaw drivers and touts, and found ourselves some cheap rooms for the night. It had been a long day.
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