Tigers and Elephants

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Off we set to Margao railway station to catch a train to Udupi in Karnataka (another state). We soon found out that Indian trains are different, they're grubby, uncomfortable and windowless but it was better than travelling third class where just had wooden benches. For the next five hours we travelled through some very beautiful countryside, mostly small farms growing rice and bananas with small fields of pulses and potatoes. There were many plantations of coconuts and betel nuts. At each station we saw women and children in their brightly coloured saris and occasionally by contrast women dressed in black burkas. We arrived at our destination tired and dusty and needed a good shower before we could eat. Next day we travelled through the lush green jungles and forests of Karnataka observing all manner of wild life from monkeys to parrots. We passed through small villages much cleaner and tidier than in the north and arrived at the elephant sanctuary where we observed elephants in the wild and had the opportunity to wash and feed those elephants that were being reintegrated. Next on to a type of wildlife park where we saw tigers in the wild and several types of deer and lions. Final port of call was at a magnificent Krishna temple in Udupi (where the Beatles and Boy George got their inspiration) and had the opportunity of seeing many of the Hindu ceremonies including watching a huge brightly painted elephant lead a parade of hundreds of people pulling a magnificent tower of Krishna relics.

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