Paul - This India

One morning there were several men with shovels removing dirt and trash from the open storm drain that runs along my street. The storm drain is essentially a concrete trench about 2 feet deep. The dirt and trash being removed was being piled on the already too narrow steet. When they had finished, the dirt/garbage conglomeration was about 2 feet high (hence my estimate that the trench is about 2 feet deep - 9 yrs of college at work).

I asked my driver Stephen what this was all about.
"Cleaning Paul"
OK, made sense. As much as they dug from the trench it seemed like cleaning was definitely needed.

2 weeks went by and the piles were still on the street. Being the inquisitive guy I am I asked Stephen what was going to be done with it. Talking through a little smile and chuckle he simply responded "Paul, this India." I had to laugh with him since what he was really saying was "You've been here 4 months now. Haven't you learned anything yet? Nothing is going to happen to those piles. Eventually they will end up back in the same trench and a new group of men with shovels will dig it out and pile it on the street again. This is India afterall." I could almost hear Elton John singing Circle of Life.

Takin' a Walk on the Wild Side

Visit to Kabini and Bandipur National Parks

Several of us decided to take a walk on the wild side and visit two national parks; Kabini and Bandipur, about 200 miles from Bangalore. We had the great fortune to travel with Zafer Khan, a gentleman who is very passionate about the environment and animals and is also part owner of the first jungle lodges at which we stayed.

The Jungle Lodges in Kabini were very remote. We had to park our cars, take an 8 km jeep ride, then a 3 km boat ride to reach them.
Safety first - actually the boat is in very good condition. The dock has to be very portable since the water level falls several feet during the dry season and it needs to be moved regularly.

The jungle lodge itself was in a gorgeous setting. This is the dining building. Sitting here just watching the lake, drinking a beer in the cool breeze I couldn't help thinking of the lyrics of an old song I remember from college: It's just the good life passin' you by. Let the clean, clean waters takes us away til we all stand naked on judgement day. I wish I could remember who sang it so I could try to download it.
The lawn mower is very fuel efficient...

In the late afternoon we took a boat safari looking for animals that come to the lake to drink at dusk.


We were fortunate enough to see one elephant feed on the banks. He was a big tusker in Zafer's words.



Birds, peackock, deer....

The sunset in Kabini was the most beautiful and colorful I've seen in years. You'll have to forgive me for posting so many pictures of it...






Leaving Kabini we passed this group of school kids walking home. Even out here all the kids wear school uniforms.
I was reminded just how large the gap between the "haves" and "have-nots" is in India. The picture above is a village school being built from hand made, sun dried bricks.

Zafer also is also constructing tree house guest houses on another location. This is the first one. It wasn't quite finished but was complete enough for me to check out the view.


Back at the cars a mother monkey and her baby had chosen the car as a good place to pass the afternoon.

This was one of the residents of the lodge at which we stayed in Bandipur. She was in the same exact place in the morning as the night before. Fortunately I didn't need to stay in this room. Not many things in nature bother me. Spiders are one of the things that do.

Our group with a 52 yr old tame elephant. We were quite a group. As Andy (second guy from the right) said we had a guy dressed like he should be on safari (Wade), one dressed like he was on his way to a track meet (him), a hippie (me), a girl on her way to Abercrombie & Fitch (Sue) and Will (he didn't fit any stereotypes)

Funny story about this termite mound... I walked up to it looking for termites. Our driver said "Oh very dangerous. Snakes." Now I've been a National Geographic subscriber for 15 yrs and I've seen enough nature shows to know a termite mound so I figured he was messing with the silly American. I said, "No this is a termite mound." "Very dangerous. Snakes," was his reply. So I asked Zafer if he was just f-----g with me. "No, cobras often like to live in old termite mounds. We actually saw a little one in that mound last year." No more sticking my face over termite mounds or questioning my driver.

Wild boars. The animal Sue dubbed the "ugliest" in the forest. These particular boars were right outside our lodge. As were a trained mother elephant and her calf.

All together everyone say "Ooooh, how cute!"

In Bandipur we did a jeep safari. When it was almost over a elephant behind us trumpeted. No one had seen it until then. He didn't seem too happy about us disturbing his morning. Our driver stopped so we could get a good view and take pictures. Jumbo then started to charge our jeep! Zafer was understandably worried; elephants are the most dangerous animals in the forest. They are big, fearless, and unpredictable. The big bulls are also pretty bad tempered.

Zafer's comments for the next 30 seconds are rather funny in hindsight:
He's going to charge we should go
No, its a mock charge. Take pictures
No, he really is going to charge
No, its a mock. Take pictures...

Jumbo then settled the debate by walking calmly away.

Weekend at Goa

This is what I'll remember most from my first visit to Goa, the sunset at Baga Beach. Sure the sunburn I got from sitting all day on a beach in mid-January is a more tangible reminder and eventually I'll stop peeling. As an aside, one way to get a really interesting sunburn is to rent jet ski for which you have to wear a life jacket, ride around the Arabian Sea for 15 minutes hitting every wave you can catch, then sit on the beach for 30 minutes before realizing the life jacket probably rubbed your sunscreen off. You emerge with a sunburn that looks like a Picasso painting. But it was a small price to pay for the sunsets and all the sites and fun in between...

Goa is a small Indian state on the Arabian Sea a short 1 hr flight from Bangalore. It has beautiful beaches and great nightlife. It is a favorite vacation spot for Europeans and Indians alike.


The hotel were I stayed was "Luxurious". All you have to do is read their sign to know, it is printed right there. True luxury is defined by offering hot & cold showers. Any 5-star resort has hot showers but how many of them consider the number of people wandering around thinking "I wish I could find some place that has a good cold shower". The Baga Queen has the anwer. Incidently, the area in Goa where I stayed is called Baga Beach But don't just depend on the sign... look at the luxury room. Can you believe that roughly $20/night can buy this much grandeur?

My intrepid traveling companions who also braved the Baga Queen. The Captain's Cabin on the beach was much nicer than the hotel. Probably why we spent about 10 hrs there on Saturday.


The "Cabin Boys" provided great service and were happy to pose for a group photo. I'd like to think they just liked me but I think the fact that I was with 2 attractive, blonde American girls probably had more to do with it...




Here is the beach outside the Captain's Cabin early in the morning.



And a few hours later. It's a popular spot. Note the person getting a beach-side massage. Sue and Leanne also got pedicures. I passed.

I'd never been parasailing before. Pretty cool!

The streets of Baga itself are the usual mix of chaos, colors, dirt and unexpected treasures...


We went to a night market where you could haggle for everything from shirts to daggers to spices and jewerly - even hammocks (I would have considered getting one for my balcony but I didn't think I could fit it in the small carry-on that I had brought with me).



There were also several shows; fire dancers, musicians, and this group. This guy is balancing his whole weight on 3 very pointy spears.


I said the thing I'll remember most are the sunsets so I'll end where I began.