A long way to go

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The trip to Bandhavgarh National Park was a long one. I took a 2 hour flight from Delhi to Khajuraho and met up with my driver for a 7 hour ride into the middle of nowhere. By the time I arrived at the Jungle Lodge it was pitch black and so quiet. They gave me masala tea and some cookies which was so nice after such a long trip. I settled into my room, which was a cute little cottage. It was lovely, and the bed looked so comfortable. One of the staff members came and took me to the dining hall where a very hot dinner was waiting for me. My naturalist, Vi, was waiting for me, the hotel pares you up with a naturalist during your stay which is pretty nice. Since there was only one other guest who was staying at the hotel Vi asked if I would mind sharing the tours with the other guest. I had no problem with that, I’ve found that it can be more fun if you’re in a group. Apparently, all of the hotels in the area have been hurting for tours since the attacks in Mumbai and the economic downturn. I actually was glad that it was slow since it wouldn’t be so crowded, but I did feel for the people working at the hotel, too.

There’s only one problem, the rooms have no heaters and the nights get so cold. They put hot water bottles in our beds at night. So I spent the night curled up around the hot water bottle! Now that’s a sight. But it wasn’t too bad; I just didn’t want to get out of bed at 5am the next morning.

After we returned from our morning safari I was able to get a good look at the place. It is truly lovely. There are flower gardens throughout the grounds; you can see butterflies and birds all over the place. The rooms are still cold from the cold nights so I stayed outside in the nice warm air trying to warm my bones. It was so nice and quiet. The food is wonderful; I don’t think that I found anything that I did not like. Plus they were constantly filling your plate or drink as soon as it got low. I had to finally tell them no more, or I would end up rolling out of the dining hall.

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Comments

[Mom]

How beautiful!
The tigers are beautiful - from a distance! A three foot wall huh? Your cottage looks so inviting, I love it!

[Jen]

I absolutely adore the flowers... So lovely! And it looks like a great place to stay as well!