Blogs from Bandhavgarh NP, Madhya Pradesh, India, Asia

A Sarfarmie & A Train Day 16. 16th December 2017 Our last day at Skays Camp. Satyendra & Kay have said that Bill & Shirl can send the kids over, on their own, any time & they will be well looked after. The kids seemed keen too so that’s a possibility for the future if Bill & Shirl need a break. To keep us all occupied Satyendra drove us all (except Mal) to his nearby farm about 5 miles away. On the way we passed many small farms often with kids waving and shouting “hello”. We were on the edge of the reserve here so there were forests on one side & farms or open ground on the other, all very picturesque. When we arrived, we were greeted by 2 dogs (collie style) who seemed very ... read more

Day 13 (1st in Tala) 13th December We arrived tired & grumpy in our posh taxi at about 7am to be met by our host Satyendra who asked if we wanted breakfast. We declined and all went to bed. We all have nice rooms. I awoke around 11am and went to the outside dining area, where the others were already having brunch. There I met Satyendra’s English wife, Kay, who had been on the safari that I had originally booked this morning but was apparently unchangeable (I feel that we should pay extra as they have had to meet the costs for our train debacle). They are both in their early 60’s, so around the same age as us. But what a couple. Satyendra is quite a character, always laughing and joking. Ready with a tall ... read more

We arrived back into Delhi mid-day and once we'd found our taxi (which is not an easy feat at Delhi airport!) were whisked away to the hotel. This was different from the one we had previously stayed in, closer to the airport and in a completely different part of the city which actually felt like a different city as it was much calmer and quieter. The hotel was quite pleasant and strangely owned and run by French people. We spent our couple of days there largely catching up on admin and washing but we did pop out to Qutb Minar, an old Islamic complex south of the city which has a very beautiful brick minaret. The second evening there we met the other couple that were also going on our big cats trip - Rick ... read more

It's been a while since I've been anywhere with internet, and unfortunatley the small local cafe that criminally attempted to charge me 100R p/h has some very poor computers, and so though I have 3 hours to kill before my train to Bhopal, I can't access my hotmail or upload photos to flickr. I've now got 6 books in my backpack that I'm steadily working through, so at least I have reading to occupy me during the long transit waits. Sorry to any family or friends who have emailed me recently - I'm unable to reply at the moment! Khajuraho was a noisier, more 'touristy' and less friendly town than Orchha, and though the temples were in near-pristine condition and the carvings were superb, I was after 24 hours already looking to leave. The international airport ... read more

Today is the longest drive ever - 12 hours on this god damn truck! I'm certainly learning to be more patient as the days go on. We get lost several times due to diversions, yet when we ask for directions everyone tells you a different thing!...It seems no-one in India is capable of saying "no", as they want to appear helpful so instead they'd rather lie or just make stuff up; "8km then turn left.." says one man...."2km then turn right..." says another, with their funny little head wobble. Everytime we stop we have a swarm of people around us staring at this big dusty truck of white people arriving in their village - everyone is very friendly and we have some fun with them...They want to take photos of us (especially the blonde hair) so ... read more