Monday, January 26, 2009

Silence in the Wild...Not with Ro and V Around



So, apparently taking young children on a safari is not common practice in the world and this weekend we found out just why! This weekend we headed to Kabini which is where Rajiv Gandhi National Park is. It was our first long road trip ever. I was expecting for 3 stops at the minimum. It took us around 4.5 hours to drive 150 miles and we only stopped once. We, of course, were met with our share of ox, cows and chickens.


Needless to say, it's not like driving back home. I can't imagine how long it would have taken us if the kids didn't have the DVD player - what a GREAT invention!

We arrived and got settled into our cabin. Of course the kids found the one thing they were not suppose to be on and of course, it had the key in it AND of course, they were trying to turn it on. We didn't get kicked out, but let me tell ya "they" thought about it for a second :-)



We then went off to a boat safari. Sometimes I wonder why we bring our young children on these things :-) We had to cross on this very wobbly bridge and get on the wooden boat. And of course, the four year old had to do it himself. I watched my son walk across this "so called" bridge over this suspect lake water that was very brown. Anyway, he got across without getting wet- phew! The kids got their life vests and we were off.





The safari was great! We saw elephant, big birds, small birds, spotted deer, sambar deer, gaur, mongoose, osprey, eagle, and boar - all in the wild. It was really funny, but every time we were approaching any of these animals the guide would look at all the children and say "silence". Ummm...seriously, does he know who he is taking to? Let's just say that EVERY time the guide would say that Veda would talk louder or sing a song. Yes, it was GREAT. Oh and then best part...so, we see in the distance a big giant rock. Well, the rock is actually a huge croc! It was amazing, so just as the boat is about to swing around closer to the where the croc was Veda screams "Crocodile!" and the darn thing goes in the water. Needless to say...everyone gave V a dirty look. What can I do the two year old has got a set of lungs!





The next day we got up at the crack of dawn and went on a morning safari.

Long story short...cold, foggy and colder! BUT then we stopped at a little village where they lived with elephants. It was kind of crazy. We just showed up and we were within inches of a big giant elephant. We were able to pet the big and baby elephants. The baby elephant was very sweet! You just wanted to hug it...well, except for the fact that the baby elephant would kick your "you know what" if it didn't like what color you had on or smelled like. We also got a to ride on the elephant. I have to say I wasn't really up for the whole thing, but then we were there and I was like "what the heck!". Well, the highlight of that little trip was the fact that the in the middle of the ride the elephant stops and pees and takes a dump. SERIOUSLY, it sounded like someone just opened a water dam! It was so loud! Yes, I am a child and yes, it was very funny!







We rounded out the weekend with a hike through the grasslands and a bonfire. It was very fun! And it was nice to smell the fresh air of our surroundings and enjoy the beauty of the countryside.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Love the polka dot vests....I need to get some for our boat. What a funny elephant experience......see I know that you wouldn't get it here. The pics were great.

tlmack said...

Charu,
This is so awesome! I hope that your children will remember these wonderful experiences in India. There's always the pictures too! Absolutely gorgeous and worth the 4.5 hour ride. I can't believe it took 4.5 hours to get 150 miles. Yikes! Who really wants to see a crocodile up close and personal anyway! She did the boat a favor. ;-)