Another drive into the Wild



Being busy for last couple of months and with the long weekend kicking of the month , gave me a chance to drive out of the city. The trip started with Mark, an US engineer visiting and wanting to see some Indian wildlife and so a few frantic calls(exams over + school summer vacations) and emails exchange was lucky to find a really nice place at Bandipur for a night halt.

The world cup cricket was at its closing phase  and I had no clue that 2nd April was the final game when I booked a place at WildFlower. Later I realised how lucky I was not to have got a booking on the 2nd but on the 3rd of April since the Indian Cricket team was about to create some history .So after watching the grand finale at home and packing , with just about enough sleep I started the long drive out of the city.

I hit the road around 5:30am on a nice and sunny Sunday morning (3rd April) . Picked up Mark and Pulkit on the way and with some good music hit the wide open stretches. There was quite a bit of traffic to my surprise and our first pit stop was for a traditional breakfast at Kadambam on Mysore Road. After savoring the piping hot masala dosa, vada and filter coffee we continued the onward march. The next stop was at Cafe Coffee day just about the corner at Bandipur . The weather till then was quite sultry and sunny but it turned cloudy and we caught a shower as we entered the forest area.

The wildflower resort at bandipur is a new one and the room , food and friendly staff makes it a perfect getaway for a weekend trip out of the city.


The rest of the day was spent just lazying, enjoying the full course meals and then taking the jungle safari into the forest. The forest this time of the year is quite dry and we were able to spot a few deers, peacock for awhile before a herd of elephants came out. Bandipur is a Tiger reserve but we weren't lucky enough to even catch a tiger pugmark . At night we did a bit of star gazing thanks to pulkit's great knowledge on the subject.

Next morning after another great meal with tons of fresh watermelon juice , we started the long drive back. The return trip was done in about 4hrs and ended with a great lunch at one of my favorite places - Only Place.


Pictures from the trip


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Into the Wild

Image
" Into the Wild . By Jon Krakauer " - This is one of those book's that has had an everlasting impression on me. It was probably about a decade back when I first read it when my mum lent it out from the library. I had never heard or read about Christopher McCandless till then. It was really difficult to get a copy of the book those days, but my mum did surprise me with a copy of the book in the coming days,something I treasure till this day. Chris, was an intelligent young man ( He graduated in June 1990 from Emory University in Atlanta, where he distinguished himself as a history/anthropology major and was also offered membership in Phi Beta Kappa, but declined it, insisting that titles and honors were of no importance) . He was also an accomplished athlete, and a veteran of several solo excursions into wild, inhospitable terrain. After graduating he donated the entire amount of $20,000 in his account , to Oxford Famine Relief Fund. Then, without notifying any friends ...
Read more

On the Road Again - Around the ruins

Image
On the last Friday of 2007,the new year weekend, I wanted to head out of the city to a quiet place away from the madding crowd, away from the media hype, away from the usual Bollywood music blasting all around that led me to ask around and found two of my team mates wanting to head out. We thought of going for a trek but the couple of options we thought of didn't seem feasible with the last minute decision and with no tents/bookings in hand. We took to the road in my good old car and headed to Hampi since I knew we could find some place to stay for sure with all the options available having spent my last year end there. On the way, we took a break for lunch at a Dhaba at Chitradurga. The drive on the NH from Chitadurga had stretches of windmills on top of the hills around and sunflower fields to give us company.We reached the river side just before Hospet in time for a beautiful sunset. Hampi : It was dark by the time we reached Hampi , after maneuvering through the dark and na...
Read more

When Nietzsche Wept

Image
Watched a thought provoking movie "When Nietzsche wept" the other day based on a book by the same name. It's a fictional piece of work that deals with encounters between real historical figures- Friedrich Nietzsche, the philosopher, S igmund Freud and Dr Josef Breuer, founders of psychoanalysis. I have always been fascinated by the workings of the complexity of the human mind that has led me to the works of various philosophers and psychoanalysists including Nietzsche, Freud, Jung etc. I haven't read this fictional book, but nevertheless, I loved the movie script that was taken from Nietzsche's books. The story delves into the lives of these personalities and the director must be credited for doing a wonderful job in portraying a difficult subject . The story starts with Nietzsche, one of the greatest philosopher's of all times, on the brink of suicidal despair, while the renowned doctor, Breuer, is in the midst of a mid-life crisis that plagues man wit...
Read more