The Blessings of Ganesh

I was in Mysore, the city of the Maharaja (well, one of them). The next morning I went to the great palace as soon as it opened for a morning view...





While looking around the outer gardens I heard someone playing scales on the clarinet. I found this guy...




I met a very nice couple from Lithuania and palled around with them at the palace. One of the security guards took us to an area that was "no public allowed" ...the place where they keep the elephants. They let us pet and ride the elephants...







Riding an elephant was on my list of things to do in India. Check!









Of course, we knew the caveat was that everyone would be expecting some money, so we paid them what seemed reasonable (to us, not to them) and went on our way.

The inside of the palace was amazingly ornate and beautiful, but photography was prohibited.

After visiting the palace I went to lunch at a busy restaurant and sat across from an English fellow who lives in Mysore. He was very nice and gave me some great tips about some of my future destinations. He even paid the bill!

Soon it was time to leave Mysore...




I took two-hour bus ride out of the city and into the Nilgiri Hills to the Mudumalai National Park. Just on the bus ride into the park we spotted spotted deer, wild peacocks, and even a wild elephant.

The bus dropped me off in the park and I found myself the only westerner around. There were only a few modest accommodations in the park and all were booked. I was starting to get worried. The area around the park station, however was beautiful, with elephants bathing in the river, monkeys, and wild boar running around...




Luckily there was a village nearby and I managed to get on the local bus. In the village I was able to find some lodgings and a hot bite to eat. I was even able to book a trek for the next day.

This is tiger country, and though spottings are rare, hope springs eternal. I woke up at 6AM and met my guide. It was just the two of us as we set off into the jungle to see what we could see.

Dawn revealed a gorgeous landscape with birds of all sort singing and fluttering about...




We passed the bones of a buffalo that had been killed some months before by a tiger...




It was never quite clear to me what we should do if we encountered a tiger, but my guide seemed not to be worried. We kept our eyes peeled. Is that a tiger??



No... I guess not...

We did sight a mongoose running around, and several beautiful spotted deer, including this buck at a water hole...



Three hours later and no tiger, but it was a beautiful, refreshing trek and well worth the effort spent.

Back at the ranger station an animal-sightings board is posted. Turns out someone saw a tiger the day before...




At the ranger station was a group of local boys who had spent the day picking up trash in the park. They were really nice and wanted to know all about where I am from....




I spent the rest of the Sunday afternoon relaxing peacefully around the park station. The river side was particularly beautiful...












I even saw a wild peacock on display!



And of course, there were plenty of monkeys...



It was so nice to be out of the big cities for a while and in Nature. Though I didn't see a tiger, I did see a lot of wildlife and had a tremendous time in the wilds of southern India.




Oh... and by the way, here is a map of where I have been so far and where I am now (Cochin, in Kerala)...




View India 1 in a larger map

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