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Published: March 5th 2007
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On Safari
Panna National Park Sorry we haven't had the chance to blog for a while, got quite a lot to fill you in on but we will try to keep it brief.
From Khajuraho we travelled to Panna National Park. We were out in the countryside, surrounded by jungle and forest, had our own lodge and dined in treetop restaurants. This place was beautiful and a welcomed change to excape the hectic hustle and bustle life in the cities. We spent the afternoon on safari in open top jeeps in search of the bengal tiger. Unfortunately we were unlucky in spotting one but over the two hours we spent in the jungle we saw antelope, vultures etc and had the chance to interact with the elephants which was a definate highlight. Panna was actually the place where the Jungle Book was based which we thought was quite exciting. HA!
That evening we hosted the gathering, so everyone made their way down to "the Brits" lodge, where we had a couple of drinks or more. The next morning we took an early boat safari on the Ken river which was a good chance to chill out before our journey to Chitrakoot. This was basically
a quick stop off before going to the bigger city of Allahabad. We joined the locals on a barefooted pilgrimage around the town.....avoiding annoying local lads, agressive monkeys plus their poo!
In Allahabad we were staying in a very posh hotel and Micky was lucky enough to have a queen sized bed and room to herself! Our first stop was the Nehru family home who we knew nothing about but after coming away discovered he was the first Prime Minister of India and greatly helped the poor. Shows how knowlegable we are!! In the evening we took an afternoon boat ride to the point where the river Ganges meets the Yamune and had a go ourselves at rowing but all failed pretty miserably.
The next day we took a local bus to Varanasi which was pretty eventful as after being delayed for 2 hours, the group nearly left without our guide and luggage. Apparently this is all part of the "Indian Experience"! In Varanasi we basically had three days free to do whatever we fancied. One the first day we familiarised ourselves with the city which was even more crazy than Delhi. We sat in gridlock on cycle
Sunrise Boat Ride
Watching the sunrise on the Ganges rickshaws for ages. We were shown the ghats (steps leading down into the river ganges) where people take holy naked dips, which wasn't always pleasant to see. The ones which shocked us the most were the burning Ghats where we quite literally saw dead bodies wrapped in foil being burnt on open flames. The ashes and remains are then put directly into the Ganges....it was all quite disturbing. The next couple of days were mainly spent shopping and doing our own thing. Kim visited the Buddhist temple with a couple of the Aussies while Sarah and Micky chilled on the terrace. On the last evening we took part in a flower ceremony, where we took a boat out onto the Ganges at night and then lit 108 candles and released them on the water. With the citar and drums in the background the atmosphere was beautiful.
ON friday evening, we had an overnight train back to Delhi for our last day of the tour! Micky and kim spent the day exploring the bazaars and enjoying a western meal in Pizza hut - much needed! Meanwhile sarah was tucked up in bed.........fighting the old Delhi Belly which resulted in a
visit to the local hospital and a 2hour session on a drip! we knew it was too good to be true that none of us had yet been ill! But the next day she woke up almost feeling as good as new!
Yesterday we flew to Mumbai expecting an even more intense city than delhi but were actually relieved to find that this was not the case. We arrived to a calmer, more metropolitan and developed city - a pleasant suprise.
Today we were Bollywood stars in a mobile phone commercial. This involved dressing up in "western clothes" (we looked hot!!!??) and repeating the same take more times than we can remember. All the same it was a laugh and something to remember.
We have one more day in Mumbai, when we plan to visit Elephant Island then it is off to Oz on Wednesday. There is no doubt......we will miss the sights, smells and people of India but role on the sun, sea, sand and ........... STEAK!!!! and of course seeing Ally!!!
Thats all folks.
(Sorry there are no photos...will be on next week)
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Mum, Dad & Alex
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Missed You
Hi Girls, I hope you're all getting plenty of sleep and drinking lots to rehydrate. You were missed by all the family at nan's 75th on Saturday Kimberley, as were Louise and Chris. Dani kept asking me over and over again if you were back yet!!! I don't know how I'm going to decide what to wear for Emma's "funky flares and glitzy glamour" party, without you (or Louise) to help. I think I'm past hope! :-) Lots of love to you all xxx P.S. I hope you've recovered now - Sarah's experience sounds scary. P.P.S If you need me to come and look after you all, just let me know! :-)