Blogs from Mudumalai, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia

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Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Mudumalai April 13th 2017

Muthu is worried. We are off to a wildlife reserve but he keeps saying 'Keep expectations low Happy G, keep expectations low'! The hot weather and time of year means it's less likely we will spot the exciting animals listed for the Mudumali Wildlife Sanctuary, but this just eggs us on to demand tigers, elephants, bears, tigers and more tigers, oh and maybe a unicorn thrown in for good measure. 'Oh god, keep expectations low Happy-G!' We have a jeep safari to look forward to later on in the afternoon once we've arrived at our lodges but we are all scanning the scrubby woodland on each side of the road as we drive through the reserve in our minibus in the hope that an elusive tiger will pop its face out from behind a bush. Muthu ... read more
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Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Mudumalai January 21st 2017

Geo: 11.583, 76.5843 After 36 hairpin turns descending the Niligiri mountains, a drive through a very dry Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary with no elephants or other wildlife in sight, we eventually arrived at the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve where the driver told us to transfer from our teensy weensy car to a jeep. No one had mentioned this but we trustingly did as we were told. Good thing. The road into The Wilds (www.serendipityo.com/thewilds/index.html) was the bumpiest road I had ever seen with ruts that were over a foot deep throughout most of the kilometre drive. And nothing, up to this point, in all our travels around the world had beaten the bumps of Costa Rican roads. The warm breezes, bird songs, monkeys scurrying, Chital deer chomping in the surrounding coffee plantation and the pretty gardens (even with ... read more
Woodpecker - almost prehistoric looking
We think this is a green bee eater
The dining room

Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Mudumalai March 21st 2015

Another totally awesome experience. From Ooty we travelled by car through more winding roads and 36 hairpin turns on the decent to Mudumalai, which is still in the Nilgiris, but at a much lower elevation. We had booked a one night stay at Forest Hills Farm and Guest House, located of the edge of the sanctuary. Well were greeted at the gate by the owner Savita and her son Sameer. We felt like we were old friends returning after a long absence. Shortly after arrival they arranged a driver and jeep to take us on safari. He took us around the boundary of the park,then into the sanctuary where we boarded a bus to go deeper into the forest. We didn't see any tigers, but we did see a large herd of gaur (Indian bison), chitral ... read more
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Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Mudumalai January 13th 2015

HE SAID... We were leaving Ooty and travelling north to Mudumalai National Park. We woke at 6.30am in our freezing bedroom and headed out for a warming chai(tea) on the street at our favourite local chai shop (Shri Ragavendra Bangalore Iyengar’s Bakery and Sweets). We jumped into our minibus at 9am and headed off on our journey to the small town of Masinagudi. It was a very steep descent out of mountains, and it was a fantastic drive. We had to negotiate 36 hairpin bends, and there were countless signs saying how many car accidents had occurred on each particular stretch of road. A few signs even had a running tally of how many people had died. This wasn’t the best reading for those who don’t like steep drops without guard rails. Ren had banned me ... read more
bison valley viewing point
jungle retreat
jungle retreat

Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Mudumalai December 27th 2014

Day 6 Today we leave Munnar. It is a 6am alarm, for a 6.30 leave. We decided to go to the reception a bit early to allow time for last minute Facebook and messages whilst we still have wifi. Tom and I aimed to get some breakfast before leaving, this task didn't prove to be easy! The restaurant didn't open for ten minutes, the guy really struggled with us wanting to pack up bread and go! Although we got there in the end! We have the pleasure of a 200k drive which will take about 9 hours. In UK, that seems a bit strange, but the reason it takes that long is because of the very narrow, winding mountainous roads. We are heading for Mudumalai where we have a jeep safari booked at 4.30pm. On the ... read more

Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Mudumalai January 14th 2014

14 Jan We were loaded into two seven-seater vehicles which arrived a bit late - on Indian time. Smaller vehicles were handy because the roads became quite tortuous. Thirty six really tight switch-backs to be exact, coming down off the plateau after Ooty and towards Masinagudi. The terrain changed from lush rolling hills to dry open savannah. Between those we dropped perhaps 1000 metres down a steep ravine. Looked a bit like Africa except for the eucalypts and low undergrowth like lantana. The heat increased as well. The switch-backs were numbered and many turns showed announcements for free ambulance services, discouraging excessive speed. Even a sign advertising a free mortician van! At the bottom we were following narrow bitumen roads and dodging traffic. The savannah opened out a bit more. Outside Masinagudi village the forest thickened ... read more
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Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Mudumalai February 17th 2012

Ruth and I woke at 3.30am and were checked out and in a cab to the airport by 3.45am the trip at this time of the morning was fast and hassle free. We both leave from the same terminal at Delhi Airport which is a real bonus. On arrival we checked in Ruth's bags for her Singapore flight then lodged mine for Chennai which took significantly longer. I then walked Ruth to passport control we said our semi sad farewell as I know she is keen to go home and then watched her through the glass until she moved beyond and out of sight. I then headed to domestic departures (where I met my girlfriend LOL) and made my way though having a few moments panic when I forgot to retrieve my small pack after putting ... read more
Tirumalai Nayak Palace
Tirumalai Nayak Palace
Tirumalai Nayak Palace

Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Mudumalai October 30th 2011

I can’t count the number of times that I have been at a party, at church, at a football game, or even in my office at work, when someone has approached me with the question of how you go about feeding an elephant. Now, I know what you are thinking: “Anyway the elephant wants.” But, actually it is not that simple. This fact was illustrated on a recent trip to India. Frances and I had traveled to the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu to observe some ecological research being carried out by scientists from the Indian Institute of Science. We were spending time in the forested areas in and around the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, a region containing all manner of wonderful animals and plants, including wild and domesticated elephants. But, I digress. So how do ... read more
Careful Cooking
Making Balls
Please Stop!




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