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Published: April 18th 2008
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Unsurprisingly enough, confusion reigned supreme as our traveling triad attempted to suss out the best way to get into the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, in Kerel,a by way of bus originating from Mysore. On the map, it was a short distance by road, in the bus station, however, it took a number of conversations, fact-checking, board reading, and head scratching before we were relatively comfortable that the bus we selected would actually arrive somewhere close to our destination. To further complicate matters, I’m pretty sure it was “free-ride-on-the-bus” day because the public bus we chose to make the four hour journey was completely full 25 minutes before it was scheduled to depart. The next bus to Wayanad wasn’t scheduled to leave for several more hours (at least that is what MOST folks at the bus station were saying), so, with defiance and true grit, we boarded the bus ready to take on the challenge of whatever may come. Nicole, winning the heart of some random Indian dude, was straight away offered up a seat while Rozy and I walked to the back of the bus for our 6th class accommodation on the floor, in the aisle, sitting atop our rucksack covers.
Three and half ass-pounding hours later, Rozy and I screamed mercy and chose to stand for the remaining hairpin turns before our bus screeched into Sulthanbatheri amid the Wayanad Wildlife area. Our endurance test didn’t end here as it took nearly an hour of searching before we actually located a guesthouse that had a vacant room. We were lucky enough to finally stumble upon the Lucky Lodge (hmmmm…) boasting the smallest three-person bed in all of Southern India. This wasn’t the first (and certainly didn’t look to be the last) time Nicole, Rozy and I shared a diminutive bed for the evening. Either way, Lucky’s seemed slightly preferable to a roadside curb, so, we booked it without delay.
After unloading our stuff and swallowing down some parathas, we backtracked to the little village of Muthanga where we gained access to the wildlife sanctuary. With the hope of spotting some wildlife, we joined forces with a British couple and hired a Jeep, driver and guide in order to help us find some wild animals. Wayanad was supposed to be our best chance to spot wild elephants in India, however, to make a long story short, we rode around in some
guy’s jeep for an hour and a half and saw nothing but a couple of spotted deer. Our guide was also kind enough to point out some indigenous people roaming around the area, however, I felt conflicted taking pictures of indigenous people during our hunt for animal pictures. So, our hope for a big wildlife adventure ended rather quickly and we returned to the sanctuary entrance where I promptly took out my frustration by harassing the monkeys eating trash by the Ranger’s gate.
We may not have seen any cool animals with teeth, tusks or talons, however, we did have our first contact with Kerelans and their incredibly friendly demeanor. Throughout our travels in northern India, we came in contact with many friendly and curious folks looking for a chat, or even, simply to ask where Rozita hailed from. In Kerela, the desire for a handshake and a quick conversation hit a peak, as people were approaching us frequently even only if to ask if they could help us (with directions, bus numbers, etc). People were incredibly warm, and, discernibly more physically connected to the person with whom they were conversing Par example, one gentleman (English teacher, year 10)
I spoke with briefly on the bus shook my head at the outset of our conversation, and, didn’t let go for about 30 seconds. After the handshake, he placed his hand on my knee for a few seconds, then, as the conversation progressed, he touched my stomach when he asked me if I had already taken lunch. Kerelans are extremely engaging and friendly to foreigners, making a stay in the state feel truly welcoming.
Chalking up our failure to spot animals as bad timing (on the part of the animals, of course), we bounced out of Sulthanbatheri early the next morning in order to get to Fort Cochin in time for an evening dosa and a sip of the good stuff (aka: chai). Our previous adventures on long distance public buses apparently weren’t bad enough to seek out a relatively cozy, A/C private bus, so, we boarded another KSRTC public bus to make the combined (2 buses) 9 hour journey south. Public buses in India lack important things like windows (just holes in the side of the bus), A/C, cushion on the seats, regular bathroom breaks, maximum capacities, and scheduled cleaning, so, you are pretty much guaranteed a sweaty,
MY DEBUT NOVEL AVAILABLE NOW!
Visit me at www.danielshortell.com for purchase information. dirty, overstuffed, uncomfortable journey whether you are heading down the road or traveling for the day. We arrived in Fort Cochin exhausted, starving, filthy and soaked in sweat fully ready to lash out at the first rickshaw driver attempting to scam us. Fortunately for all rickshaw drivers in the Cochin area, we were desperately in need of a leg stretching and took to the streets for a brisk walk to our place of lodging.
STATISTICS
- Flights taken = 9
- Intercity trains rides taken = 15
- Intercity bus rides taken = 32
- Times lost = 18
- Total instances of diarrhea = 6
- Total number of requests for pictures with Daniel = 35
- Total megabytes of pictures taken = 29,690
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Rani
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Small bed for 3
Oi mister...leave my poor Rozie alone. She can take as much room as she wants. Its a shame you didn't see any exciting wildlife but hope you won't too abusive to the monkeys. Anyway, it was really nice talking to you guys. Miss you guys heaps and l seriously can't wait to see you guys. Take care. Lots of love: Rani