Incredible India (November 2005)

The Travel Journal of Natalie Harrison and Heiko Carstens
[Written by Natalie Harrison]

Tuesday 01 November 2005

After having snoozed for only 20mins last night (yes - due to our usual last minute packing!) we dragged ourselves out of bed at 06:45 to begin our journey to India. When we arrived at Schiphol airport there was a huge queue for check-in, it was chaos! When we got through security we bought a small bottle of Bacardi (apparently Heiko has been informed drinking this straight from the bottle last thing at night seals/lines the stomach preventing 'Delhi Belly'!) We actually didn't open the bottle at all!. Then we headed straight for the gate and were soon on the plane. The flight wasn't too bad actually - we left on time and arrived pretty much on time and were luckily able to exchange our initial tickets so we could sit next to each other. We had a mini TV each and there were plenty of films, TV shows and other such entertainment to help the flight pass quicker. Although due to extreme tiredness there was much snoozing too! I watched The Interpreter which I thought was good, then later Heiko and I watched Miss Congeniality II simultaneously, however, I snoozed practically all the way through the film! We later watched an Animal Planet documentary set in Kenya - Mad Mike and Mark two photographers getting top photos of the Big Five - and WOW did they get close! We'll definitely look up their programs when we get home! So we arrived at Delhi Airport and were met by someone from Indian Moments our travel agency. On the drive to the hotel, we couldn't quite believe we were actually in India! So we're now in our hotel room and definitely ready for some serious sleep! We have to get up at 05:00 though (in 3.5 hours!) so we can catch our train to Ranthambhore National Park for our FIRST jungle safari!

Wednesday 02 November 2005

Ooops! So tired were we this morning that we slept through THREE alarms only to be woken by a phone call at 06:45 - our driver was wondering where we were since we were supposed to meet him at 06:30! Of course, we thought it was 06:15 when the phone rang believing we were only four hours ahead, but no we are 4.5 hours ahead of Amsterdam time, and the phone rang again 15 minutes later to inform us it was 07:00 and to hurry since we had a train to catch! Luckily by that time we were just about ready to make our way downstairs!

The train station was not far away and our driver had allowed plenty of time in case of traffic so being half an hour late was not too much of a problem - thankfully!. We had two guys porters wanting to take our luggage to the train but Heiko insisted we were capable of carrying it ourselves, our driver reduced the tip from Rs100 to Rs50 and we allowed them to carry our luggage - Heiko was attached firmly to our camera gear tho!! As the train left, tiredness set in and I was soon lying down resting my eyes we had a sleeper compartment. Finally managed to fall asleep and Heiko woke me since someone was asking if we wanted lunch. Well I was awake then so moved back to the window seat to sit with Heiko - he later went to lie down though, whilst I fought with my heavy eyelids in the window seat. There was a family in the next compartment and a guy was on the phone several times informing people he was on holiday and on the way to Ranthambhore National Park - very proud he seemed!

Finally arrived in Sawai Modhopur the train station in Ranthambhore and again our luggage was carted off plus the two guys asked us for more tip than we agreed complaining this was because our luggage was heavy! We were then brought to the Ranthambhore Bargh our hotel. We had very little time till the start of our afternoon safari so we carried with us our lunch since we didn't have time to eat it on the terrace (spicy vegetables in naan bread - very nice!).

So we left in the jeep joining three others from Germany. The safari was for 3 hours. We were taken straight to a place where our driver had seen a tigress kill a deer earlier that morning but we saw nothing. There were plenty of deer spotted deer (local name: cheetal) and sambar, antelope and monkeys hanuman langur (also known as black-faced monkeys) though, and we also saw a spotted owl and a mongoose. We also drove through an area where the tigress with two cubs was spotted the evening before yesterday but again no sightings. We stopped briefly at a rest stop where we could get out of the jeep but were soon told to get back in - the guide had heard a warning call from deer/monkeys which meant a tiger was near. We drove towards the calls but the area was thick with trees and bushes, and had water on the other side, but we were not allowed to go deep into the forest (and we had already been told off earlier for venturing off the track). We changed our direction and not long after we heard the roar of a tiger. The guide asked if it was someone's stomach rumble but really there was no mistaking it! We drove back towards the rest point and it was confirmed that two tigers were mating (they have a special roar for that!) but we could not get close since they were deep in the forest. So no tiger sighting on the first safari - but we did hear a roar! Hope tomorrow brings us better luck (we set off at 06:30).

Once back at Ranthambhore Bargh and in our room completely drained of energy from so much travelling! we both snoozed a little and freshened up with a shower. We are sharing our bathroom with a geko - he's between the window and the net screen! Later there was a knock on the door and we were invited to have dinner on the terrace. We had thought we had slept through dinner so were quite glad to have something to eat. There was some traditional music when we arrived but they didn't play for very long. We must have been quite late joining the guests. It is a really nice night to be sat outside eating dinner and hearing the sounds of the wild.

Time to be getting sleep now though, its 23:10 now and we don't want to sleep through our 05:00 alarm!

Thursday 03 November 2005

The beds were so hard we could hardly sleep. That plus constantly aware we had to actually hear the alarm go off this time - so both of us were waking up to check what time it was. Well we did hear our alarms and we also had a knock on the door to get us up! This morning there was no jeep waiting for us. Instead, we had to join 13 other guests on a truck they call it a canter (for 20 people) but to us it's a huge truck - this was not expected since in this Park we had paid for jeep safaris for just the two of us (with the possibility that up to 3 others would join us if there were too many tourists)!. When we arrived at the entrance to the park we were again crowded with men selling hats, t-shirts, badges etc. And I gave in to one of them and bought a book - a field guide on Indian Mammals - knocked him down Rs95 too! :-)

Driving through the entrance we went straight to where there was a sighting of a tigress and her two cubs. The only good thing about being on the truck was the height it gave us to look over the wall! It was very hard to see but we caught a glimpse of the two cubs. Not as magical as the first sighting we had hoped to see... dreaming of our own jeep to ourselves and a tiger crossing the path in front of us, in the clear, and a perfect photo opportunity! But dreams are not always reality! Instead we were on a crowded truck amongst many other vehicles all fighting for a glimpse of the tigers!

Eventually, we travelled on, only stopping on the odd occasion for deer and antelope. We didn't stop for any monkeys and passed by loads of scenic places. We went quite high up at times so the drive was really interesting seeing the different types of landscapes and habitat.

Covered in sand, dust and gritty exhaust fumes I headed straight for the shower when we arrived back at the hotel. After a short snooze we went down for some lunch, and just after we had eaten we saw two crows attack the bowl of rice so we didn't go back for seconds!

Soon it was time for our afternoon jeep safari only to be disappointed as another truck turned up. There were only two seats available in the middle of the back row and it was such a squeeze. None of us could move and there was no hope for taking any photos. When we made our first rest stop in the park, the guide asked if one of us wanted to sit at the front - gladly! Everyone could breathe again! Huge sighs of relief were heard. I went to sit at the front on top of a hot bumpy engine there was a cushion but as I had the windscreen to shield the dust and the wind I was happy. We only made a few stops and again missed many photogenic places. We did stop by a lake whilst the sun was low creating silhouetted deer in the water, and we saw a baby crocodile there too. We drove through the Ranthambhore Fort too but didn't stop, and there were loads of monkeys there just begging for their photo to be taken! Instead, we went to the place where we spotted the two cubs in the morning. From what we gathered, there were definitely tigers in the bushes but after several minutes of waiting and no sign of tigers we headed back to the hotel where both of us had a quick shower Rajasthan is a desert area so everywhere is very dusty! before meeting the local Indian Moments agent. It turned out that he never received a copy of our final itinerary details so we provided him with the service vouchers. He guaranteed us a jeep safari for the next morning and confirmed our pick up from the hotel to the train station.

A little later we went down for dinner but since we were a bit early had a few drinks first. Once the buffet was open we had our dinner while the same group from the day before played their music and danced for us.

Friday 04 November 2005

Awake early again this morning. When we arrived at the lobby there was a phone call from our Indian Moments agent - apparently a jeep was not possible and we were booked on a truck instead! We were very disappointed since we were promised yesterday that a jeep was booked for us. We were almost considering not going since the truck was so uncomfortable and it was difficult to take photos. Then two guys rushed in - apparently the truck had forgotten to pick us up so they had come to take us to it. The day was turning into a disaster!

We reached the truck, and in fact it turned out to be the best safari of them all. I didn't snooze for starters snoozing is very easy to do when you're tired anyway, then are driving round in a truck for three hours inhaling dust and exhaust fumes and hardly stopping for the wildlife because the driver has to complete his prearranged route in record time, and with the guide hardly ever speaking to the guests! On this safari we stopped quite often and the guide told us about the forest, spoor footprints and alarm calls etc. We first stopped to see the spoor of a leopard. Later, on the same track, we saw tiger spoor and sloth bear spoor. We followed the tiger spoor until it stopped then waited and listened. We heard a warning call of the tiger and the guide thought it may be because it had come across the deer we had seen a little earlier so we turned around and went back towards where we had seen the deer and listened and watched for the tiger - tho we saw nothing.

We saw plenty of spotted deer, sambar, blue bull and monkeys hanuman langur. We saw a huge crested serpent eagle very close to the track, lots of parakeets - got great photos of the largest type of parakeet, can't remember its true name. We saw several crocodiles too and mongoose. We also saw an Indian gazelle, it was very small and supposedly the fastest of the antelope.

On the way out there were vehicles crowding round the place where we saw the tigers yesterday (we found they had made a kill there a few days ago). We drove to several gaps in the bushes but it was very difficult to see. We hoped a tiger would walk through a gap for us to see but had no luck and eventually left the park and headed back to the hotel.

We were both much happier leaving this last safari since the guide had talked with us a lot and clearly knew the forest life well - and he was even taking his own photos on some occasions so was very good at directing the driver to a good position for the rest of us. This safari was also nowhere near as dusty as all the others which also helped to make it much more pleasant.

Back at the hotel we showered, packed and ate breakfast. Later we sat on the terrace for some drinks and lunch before leaving for the train station. It was the same guy our driver that collected us from Delhi airport.

The train left at 15:00 and took 2.5 hours to reach Jaipur. We were then driven to New Delhi, stopping off on the way to stretch our legs and we bought some crisps Lays Spanish Tomato - if you see them buy them, they're great!. We arrived at our hotel West End Inn about 22:20. The room has a very strange odour and we're glad to be staying here for only one night. Another driver will be collecting us in the morning at 09:30 so compared to the previous days - we'll have a lie in!

Saturday 05 November 2005

The breakfast was cold this morning but the cup of tea was great! Not long after we checked out our driver arrived to take us to the airport. Check-in was really quick but our flight was slightly delayed. Our flight first had a stop in Vannassi before we landed in Khajuraho. Our driver was waiting for us and we arrived at our hotel Taj Chandela around 14:00.

At 15:00 we were taken to the Western Group of Temples. Our guide was very good, picking out the different sculptures on the temples to talk about them he had to also wait around a lot whilst we were taking photos - poor guy!. The detail was amazing. The first temple we saw took 20 years of labour to build. This one, we also went inside (after leaving our shoes outside). The second temple was the tallest temple built and took 25 years to complete. The detail and expressions on the carved statues again were amazing. After the third temple we left to visit the Eastern Group of Temples. Here there were only two original temples, the others were rebuilt with bricks and plaster so there was no intricate detail. The original temples were all built from sandstone, each part carved on the ground then carried up high via a ramp. At the Eastern Group of Temples we also walked past the rooms where the pilgrims go to, before calling at two handcraft shops on the way back to the hotel.

The first shop we visited was a Jewellers and here we saw the Star Ruby, also known as the Star of India as it is mined locally and not found anywhere else in the world. The guy brought out many many rings for us to see, amongst them there was a nice one for Rs1200 wonder how much of that is our guide's commission for taking us to the shop!! - it had two tiny diamonds either side of a Star Ruby. After this shop we visited a craft shop which sold many different items, from jewellery, wood sculptures, clothes to antiques and silk paintings, almost everything!

After a quick freshen up at the hotel we went back to the Western Group of Temples for a sound and light show. We were told the story behind the temples as they were lit up.

When we returned to the hotel we visited the small shops in the lobby which were still open. We were admiring the Star Ruby once more and did in fact buy a small stone as a reminder of our trip to India! We also visited the bookstore and admired the books on tigers. We considered buying one of them - the same one we have on loan from Neal's wife. The guy offered us a good price but we decided to think about it and maybe return later. I think he was a bit miffed by that since he abruptly took the book from us and put it back on the shelf saying he would not push us to buy it. I guess he thought we were trying harder to get him to lower the price but we generally wanted to think about it! The guy found us at reception the next morning and came to tell us he would offer an even better price for us, but we put him straight and told him it wasn't the price that was stopping us from buying it (it was in fact his attitude, but we didn't tell him that!)

We later relaxed in the room with room service - can you believe they had fish and chips on the menu?! So of course that is what I had! Heiko had Cajun Chicken - chicken, what a surprise the only meat Heiko ever seems to eat is chicken!

Sunday 06 November 2005

After packing the suitcases once again we went for breakfast not too long after 07:00. And they had a continental breakfast laid out! Sausages, eggs, hash browns, baked beans, it was great! (They also had a selection of Indian foods but the continental breakfast was very welcome and was also very good too!). We changed some more Euros to Rupees and then met our driver who would take us to Bandhavgarh National Park. He was very pleasant but his English was only little and so sometimes it was difficult to understand. He asked a lot about the Western culture, particularly about marriage and sex (I think because he must have seen Heiko and I holding hands - the Indian culture is much different and affection is only shown in private, outside the home there is no touching - we did try this no touching business but its damn difficult!)

We drove on very bumpy broken roads which had been severely damaged by the monsoon. We passed through rural India, way off the tourist track, driving through many poor villages it was quite difficult to see people living this way. We saw many camels in the villages and there were lots of cows roaming about the place. Many people were carrying large and heavy items on their heads quite unbelievable, they made it look so easy and made the items look such light weight (especially the women) when clearly the items were very heavy!, and all the women were working hard in their sari's somehow managing to keep their sari looking clean and elegant even when they were fixing the roads in the very dusty desert parts.

We stopped briefly at a hotel roughly half way. The next stop was at a small roadside café where the driver had his breakfast. We eventually reached the camp Royal Tiger Resort around 13:50. The owner came to meet us whilst we were looking round our tent! Yes, we are indeed staying in a tent! There is like a porch/veranda type of area inside the entrance of the tent which leads to a bedroom. The bedroom then leads to a dressing area and then to the bathroom (which we are currently sharing with a geko!). It is really quite nice! At 14:30 we met our driver and left for our first jeep safari in Bandhavgarh National Park.

At the gate we were joined by a guide before heading into the park. This time it was just the two of us in the jeep which was so much better. We also felt like we were tracking the tigers since we found their spoor and their claw marks on the trees. We stopped several times in places where they had been sighted earlier in the day and listened for alarm calls. We also visited the burial site of Charger. Charger was the dominant male tiger in the park for about a decade, but he died in 2000. Charger actually has charged at the jeeps roaring so his name was quite fitting! What a great but scary moment that must have been to see that! Now, the dominant male is B2. He has a son named Challenger. Unfortunately, we saw no tigers on this jeep safari. We did see spotted deer and sambar, and just a few monkeys (hanuman langur).

When we returned to camp we soon fell asleep, it was very cosy in the tent. We woke just before dinner and I had a quick shower - it was quick too, since it was not long till the hot water ran out and when the water was cold it was freezing! I came out shivering. The temperature had dropped by quite a lot and it took a while before I warmed up again, still the tent was much warmer than outside!

We had a very nice dinner and later another couple joined our table to chat over tea and coffee. They are staying in the tent next to us! Joe and Anne wanted to hear all about our afternoon safari since they have their first safari tomorrow morning. They are a very pleasant couple and have some good stories of their travels which they shared with us. Apparently they had recognised us from the hotel this morning in Khajuraho, and when they saw us exchanging rather a lot of money at reception there are only a few places where you can change money they had guessed we were travelling to Bandhavgarh (and now here we all are!).

Our safari begins at 05:30 tomorrow so very early morning! Thankfully our tent is VERY much warmer than the outside temperature so should sleep well!

Monday 07 November 2005

We both woke up a few times during the night to check on the time. Then the alarm went off at 04:45. We were quite alert really for the time we got up! The owner came along at 05:00 to make sure everyone was up. We had tea, coffee and biscuits with Joe and Anne (who are from Australia we later learned Joe is originally from London but moved to Australia when he was 28), then at 05:30 we all went off to meet our drivers.

We were one of the first few jeeps at the gate (which is only a couple of minutes away since we are staying at the nearest resort to the park). We had to wait in the cold till 06:15 which is the time the gates are supposed to open - it was actually a bit later than this when they opened the gates. Our guide joined us and we were given a route to follow to reach the centre of the park. We saw a few wildlife on the way: spotted deer, sambar, wild boar, monkeys (langurs), kingfisher, vultures and several tiger spoor of adult and cubs! And we saw claw marks in the tree - more defined than the tree we saw yesterday! The tiger chooses trees with sharp bark to scratch and does this to sharpen the claws and to clean them after a kill. We made our way to the central rest point, once there we received a token for an elephant safari. An elephant safari is only possible if there has been a tiger sighting.

We then drove to an area where tigers had been seen earlier this morning. Here we could see the elephants. We drove down a road which is not normally allowed but since there was a tiger sighting the road was opened. The animals in this area are not used to vehicles being here and we scared off some spotted deer - they quickly bounced across the track into the distance. At the end of the road was the Park Official. We gave our elephant token to him and he confirmed our elephant safari was possible!! We then waited for the elephants then climbed onto their backs. There were only two elephants and we were first in the queue - very lucky!

We rode not too far from the jeeps and at the top of a hill, quite some way from us, first appeared one tiger soon followed by three more - WOW! Even though they were quite far away it was a very special moment. Since they were so far away the elephant safari lasted only a short time. When we were back in the jeep we travelled further and then walked up to see a 10th Century Statue, the God of Preservation, reclining in a bed of coils of the seven hooded serpent.

Just after we were back in the jeep, we heard a whistle - this meant one of the other jeeps had come across a tiger. They were not far from us and we were the second jeep there and WOW! A lone tiger laying on a rock not far from the track! Cameras went instantly into action, it was amazing! Was very hard to hold my 100-400 zoom lens still, especially with the movement of the jeep, so often I just held down the shutter hoping at least one would be in focus (checking later I'm very happy). We were soon surrounded by many other jeeps; we definitely had the best spot! Unfortunately, someone made a sound and the tiger moved away. What an amazing experience! We then all drove back down the hill to allow the tigers (who are very shy) to come out again.

On the way back to the gate we saw a sambar deer with a huge gash in its side - wonder if that was a tiger's doing?! Oh, almost forgot, at the gate we had a look at the shop there and bought a set of 12 postcards for Rs240 (they are amazing images) and also bought some magnets for Rs60 (one for Neal as requested!).

Back at the resort we went for breakfast, and once again the meal was a feast! So we requested something small for lunch since otherwise it would be simply too much to eat (but the food is very good). So at lunchtime we only had soup. We were joined by Joe and Anne, and after the soup they were brought a whole range of foods and were wondering why we had none - they were impressed by our sneaky trick of asking for something small whilst we were at breakfast - they will be doing the same tomorrow!

At 14:30 we went to meet our driver and was taken to the gate where we were joined by a guide (he rarely spoke to us though; maybe his English was not good since the driver spoke to us quite a lot instead). We went straight away to the place where we saw the tigers earlier and listened for any alarm calls but we were unsuccessful. There were plenty of monkeys (langurs) around us though so we took quite a few photos of them! On our route we saw a large group of wild boar with young ones too. That was really all we saw (apart from the usual spotted deer and sambar).

When we arrived back at the resort we met Joe and Anne for tea and coffee with biscuits. They had asked to see our photos earlier so we took the Flashtrax with us. All the lights went out at least twice and of course it is really dark then! We all wanted showers before dinner and wondered if the lights would go out during the shower - they didn't tho! Afterwards we sat around an open fire with some drinks and snacks. We ate our dinner quite late really and were very full going to bed.

Tuesday 08 November 2005

It was much harder to get up this morning and I'm sure it was much colder too! I put an extra layer of clothing on (total of 5 layers!) and I am glad that I did, wish I had something warm for my knees! We were a bit late arriving for morning tea, coffee and biscuits, and Joe and Anne had already left.

We went to meet our driver not too long after 05:30. There had been a problem with his jeep so we had a different one. The seats were set out different though and there was absolutely no leg room. When we arrived at the gate we were luckily able to exchange it! (This brought other problems tho which I will come to later!).

Joe and Anne also had problems with their jeep - they were in the queue just ahead of us with a flat battery. They had several guys pushing the jeep back and forth trying to get it started again - luckily they succeeded! Soon we were off and through the gate.

We stopped first to see a very large stork standing in the water. Then we headed off to the central point to collect our token for the elephant. When we arrived there, apparently there had been no sightings of the tigers yet. We had seen footprints of the male tiger so knew he was in the area somewhere. The mother and her cubs were also near. We drove to the area where we stopped for breakfast yesterday. The Forest Official was there and apparently there had been a sighting. We set off to look and just seconds later saw a shape moving in the distance. Heiko said "Tiger" first, then "No" since he thought it was a deer, but our driver and guide also saw and confirmed a tiger. It soon disappeared tho and I was not quick enough changing the lenses on my camera! We then drove really quickly to an area where we thought the tiger would go to (driving over an area of the track that had been closed off with branches due to repair work - the driver and guide didn't seem to bother about that and just drove around the branches, quicker than the diversion! Other vehicles also did the same). We didn't see anything though but when we stopped back where the Forest Official was we noticed the jeep was smoking out of the vents near the glove box. The driver and guide lifted the bonnet to look but couldn't see what the problem was.

Then a sighting of a tiger meant the bonnet was closed and we were off again, but we broke down half-way up the hill and started smoking again. We were also blocking many other jeeps so tried to manoeuvre out of the way. The bonnet went up but the driver and guide were still unsure of the problem. The other jeeps then came back down the hill. We managed to get going again and went back to where the Forest Official was and had our elephant safari confirmed. Apparently a guy in the first jeep up the hill had seen a tiger in the distance then shouted and waved his arms scaring it off so many others were not happy since they missed the tiger.

We drove to the area where the elephants were. We were the second to go on and were joined by another couple. We went through a very dense part of the forest (which was excellent in itself) then we heard two cubs snarling. WOW! But that was not it; we came to a dip which was like a basin shape. At the bottom we could see two tiger cubs, there may have been a third one also there but the area was very thick with foliage so it was hard to see.

*As I am writing this I am speechless, just no words! We had such an excellent day!*

One of the cubs was lying under a bush when we approached but got up and took quite an interest in us. He (or she) walked around to the other side of the 'basin' - this meant the cub was much closer to our level and since we didn't want to be pounced on, the elephant moved away to a slightly higher level and the cub returned to its place under the bush. It was unbelievable, really amazing and we just couldn't stop smiling as the elephant made its way back to the jeeps. Just out of this basin area though and he the elephant decided he wanted to sit down! We slid backwards a bit but he was in trouble with the rider and was soon on the move again! That was so fantastic to see the cubs so close, and one was moving around instead of hiding, excellent!

We pretty much returned straight to the gate after that, probably because there was this unknown problem with the jeep! We relaxed for a bit and downloaded our photos then went for breakfast with Joe and Anne. Anne was feeling a little dizzy (and had been suffering for several days with this but had now got a little worse) so she had decided not to take the elephant safari for fear of feeling much worse. Joe wasn't going to go without her but she persuaded him to go and he saw one of the cubs roll over! The magic wasn't there for him without Anne by his side though, it was a real shame she was too ill to join him.

Anyway, we all remembered to ask for a light lunch, and then went back to the tents for a long nap. After soup and toasted sandwiches we were off back in the jeep - yet another new one!

Our driver took us straight to a place where the domestic elephants are kept, and there were two baby calves there too! We fed them treats - a kind of flour bread. I fed a baby, and Heiko fed its mother. Excellent again!

We then drove back to the area where we saw the tiger cubs earlier. A little further away we came across several jeeps reporting they had seen a tiger, and watched for over half an hour, walk across the road, spray, sunbathe, but of course having so many jeeps around it soon got fed up, snarled at one jeep that got too close, and wandered away, so all these jeeps were now leaving the area. By the number of jeeps driving past it seemed that all but our jeep had been there!!

We continued on anyway and so glad that we did. There was the tigress, the mother of the three cubs, and she was huge! She was walking behind the bushes and trees ignoring all the jeeps - there were only about four jeeps at that time - every now and then she walked through a clearing. We followed and followed.... It was really amazing. We couldn't believe it, this was exactly what we had come to India for, now all we hoped for was for the tigress to cross over the track and sure enough she did. Fantastic! Absolutely amazing! So incredible! We watched her disappear into the forest after taking hundreds of photos then we drove further round since the cubs were supposedly not far away. We stopped the jeep and watched for movement and listened. We couldn't see anything of the cubs and we drove on and soon arrived back at the gate.

I commented that the dusk hour seemed much warmer than yesterday and neither of us had put our jackets on - was probably the adrenaline! It had been such an amazing day - perfect!

Before we went back to the resort we were driven to a gift shop. There were some amazing silk paintings and we ended up buying one of a tiger's eyes. Don't know where it will go but it must be put up and not kept hidden away! Back at the resort we wrote a thank you note for our driver (his name: Nareesh Kumar Singh). He said he would email us next time he was with his brother since his brother has an email address, and we will send him some of our photos.

Joe and Anne were just finishing up their tea and biscuits when we arrived back and they showed us some of the photos they took of the tigress. We then went to have a shower before dinner since we felt really grubby with the dirt. This time my shower did not go cold! And the lights didn't go off either (they were off for ages whilst we were having tea and biscuits). At dinner another group had arrived and since there were so many guests there was a buffet for us all. The food was delicious once again (and we're now so full). We also showed Joe and Anne our photos that we took of the cubs and the mother, and also some of the elephants.

On the way back to the tents we had a look at the moon through Joe's binoculars. Heiko couldn't find the moon for ages and could only see black so I mentioned to first find our tent, and then move upwards - and yes he soon could see! I had a look next and you could see all the craters - so much detail!

Back in the tent we had to pack everything and clean our camera gear. I had finished packing my big suitcase then realised I had left my tripod out so I had to repack! We have an extra hour in bed tomorrow. We will probably leave around 07:00/07:30 to reach Kanha National Park for our 14:30 safari. We have the same driver that drove us here from Khajuraho. So here's to some much needed sleep! And hope we find Kanha just as amazing as Bandhavgarh!

Wednesday 09 November 2005

We were up, packed, and eating breakfast by 07:00. We exchanged email addresses with 'Mr Singh' our host / the owner and we asked if he would pass ours onto Joe and Anne if they wanted it. We left the resort at 07:30 and had the same driver that had brought us to Bandhavgarh. We drove 250km on some very bad roads and reached our hotel Tuli Tiger Resort at Kanha not long after 13:00. Another car arrived at the same time as us - a nice comfy looking land rover but the woman who got out, blimey what a face she pulled! And we were next to the family as we checked in and she asked if they "served Indian or Chinese food"! Couldn't believe it! They said Indian of course (obviously!) and she replied with "can't have Indian or Chinese food, must have nothing spicy" - how rude! She was so abrupt! Turns out they are staying in the room across from us.

After a quick freshen up we went for lunch; it was a buffet, and very nice. The moaning family were there too with such grumpy probably tired from a long bumpy journey faces!

We left for our safari at 14:30. We have a driver and a Naturist (Dr Shiva Sharanagat) from the hotel. We had to drive though a small village to reach the entrance to the park, and were then joined by a guide. We drove through an area where a tigress and her young cubs had been seen earlier this morning by elephant. We didn't see any tigers but we saw a cub's footprint and the Naturist and the guide both heard a sambar alarm call so we listened and waited but nothing. We saw an Indian roller also known as a blue jay and a changeable hawk eagle. There were lots of spotted deer and a few sambar, and also some egrets. There was a birds nest close to the ground, really small. And we saw a large Indian bison (also known as a gaur, it's a bit like a buffalo/bull) on the way out of the park. I also took some photos of the sunset.

Just after we left the park, there were a few jeeps together on the road looking into the forest; apparently one vehicle had seen a leopard. They thought it had planned to cross the road but on their arrival interrupted it and it retreated back into the forest. We waited to see if it would come back and try to cross the road again but after a while, and there was no sign of it, we continued on back to the hotel where they had face cloths waiting to clean off the dust - excellent, but they needed to be hot like you get on the plane!

After a shower we went for dinner which was a buffet. My knees were suffering with the cold so I borrowed a blanket since the restaurant is outside. We were asked by our Naturist (Shiva) - who is looking after us during our stay - if we wanted our beds pushing together and a heater - yes, lovely!

Back in the hotel room we organised our laundry and housekeeping came to collect it. Not much later there was another knock on the door, some hot water bottles for us! The room opposite were given some too; wonder if everyone here has them! Seems to get colder here the further south we go... Well, its time for bed now (its 21:30 but we have to be up by 04:30 at the latest since we leave for our safari at 05:00)! I hope we see tigers tomorrow!

Thursday 10 November 2005

The phone rang at 04:15 this morning - our wake up call! Oh it was early! And freezing too! We were very glad of the heater and the hot water bottles last night. Unfortunately, the cold still got to us and we didn't sleep as well as we could have done. At 04:45 we met our driver and Naturist, Shiva, and clambered into the jeep where there were two blankets waiting for us. I had the blanket over my knees to keep them warm, it helped quite a lot! But even though I was wearing five layers of clothing I was still cold, and my head - with a buff and a hat - was absolutely freezing!

At 06:00 we were allowed into Kanha National Park and collected our guide. We hadn't been in there very long when we saw fresh tiger prints. Shiva said to get our cameras ready "Tiger on the road". It was exciting following the tracks (driving pretty fast) and I was trying to switch my lenses so I had my 100-400 zoom on! We didn't manage to catch up with the tiger tho! Apparently the footprints belonged to a large male tiger. Maybe the elephants would find him for us...! But when we stopped to collect our elephant token they hadn't seen any tigers yet. So we drove back to the main gate where there are more elephants searching - they had found a female tigress so we collected our token and waited in the queue for ages, and ages, and ages! In fact we waited so long that we had our breakfast and drinks, baked in the sun till it got so scorching hot that we asked our driver to move the jeep into the shade. He parked it near an area where the monkeys (langurs) were playing so we put our cameras to work.

Then it was our turn on elephant back. We drove about 4km to meet the elephants. There was only me and Heiko this time and apparently Shiva had told the rider that we were photographers and would like to get good shots. And we did! This beautiful female tiger was lay down under a tree and we were clicking away whilst being moved into good positions then the guy rider started hitting the grasses and trees with a stick and the tiger opened an eye and pricked up an ear. Then she sat up and snarled at us! WOW! Didn't catch it on camera but what a sight! We came back with some excellent photos!

We went straight back to the hotel after that since it was about 12:30. After lunch we got ready to head out again at 14:45.

Oh, forgot to mention earlier, we ended up taking lots of photos of birds this morning - a yellow footed pigeon (male), white-bellied drongo, white throated kingfisher, crested serpent eagle, and a changeable hawk eagle. We also saw a type of chat but they were too quick to get photos of. We saw a grey hornbill in flight too. And after stopping at the first rest point for the elephant safari, we drove out back into the park and came across a pack of six wild dogs, and that is quite a rare sight! We also saw a few swamp deer - they are extremely rare now and are declining in numbers so were kept behind fencing to prevent poaching and becoming prey. Of course we also saw lots of spotted deer and also saw on one tree, both old and new claw marks from a tiger (likely cleaning their claws after a kill). I looked up the monkeys in the mammal book I have, their real name is Hanuman Langur (much simpler and quicker to call them monkeys!). They were so close to us today that you could see all the detail in their faces and not just black - they're really quite cute!

So this afternoon we were allowed into the park at 15:00 and went a new route through many different areas - forest, grass meadows, bush land and streams. It really is a jungle like you'd imagine it! We went through an area where many leopards are spotted but they were all shy today! We came across a strange looking rock which was nicely balanced on another, looked like one gentle push and it would fall over! Well we had no luck finding tigers; in fact most of the animals were in hiding. We only saw a handful of spotted deer and the monkeys (which is unusual). In fact there were hardly any birds too! (We did see a lapwing tho). Our highlight of the afternoon was a male swamp deer - a rare sight. He was in the perfect position, light, everything, but refused to look towards us! Eventually he did though, but only briefly!

We had a snooze back at the hotel before showering. As we arrived for dinner we were called over to a table by some other guests and asked if we wanted to see some photos. They had seen four tiger cubs cross over the road whilst they were in the jeep - how bleeding lucky!! Absolutely amazing! They had seen a large herd of Indian bison (gaur) too! And what had we seen - basically one deer! Shiva was also there and we agreed with him not to wait around for an elephant safari in the morning and instead we would spend much longer in the park, in the areas where the tigers are often located. I really hope we get lucky. Tomorrow is our last day of safaris!

After dinner we made sure all the batteries were charged and got out the extra memory cards - I hope we need them! Its 22:10 now and we have to be up by 04:15 so really its time to sleep now! Hopefully our laundry will be delivered tomorrow since it did not come tonight. I really could do with an extra few layers of clothing, and we've both run out of socks now!

Friday 11 November 2005

Our wake up call was at 04:25 this morning and we left in the jeep (with three blankets this time) just after 05:00. Although this morning was cold (5°C) we were much warmer than yesterday - I was now wearing seven layers of clothing and my polar buff, Heiko was wearing five layers and had borrowed my normal buff. We were both wearing pyjama bottoms under our safari trousers too! And with a blanket each around our knees and one across both our backs and shoulders we managed to fight off most of the cold air!

At 06:00 we were allowed into the park and a guide joined us. Our prime objective this morning was to see tigers by jeep! We visited the places where tigers had been spotted yesterday afternoon and drove through many different areas of the park seeing dense forests, steams and meadows... but all we saw was a changeable hawk eagle!

We were among the last to arrive at the breakfast stop. There had been a sighting of four tigers a mother and three cubs by the elephants and the elephant safaris were already taking place by the time we arrived. It was decision time for us - we had planned to miss the elephants since it was more exciting to see a tiger from the jeep and when you see them by elephant they are hiding in the bushes so its hard to get great photos.

We decided to take the elephant safari then had our breakfast and visited the museums and photo galleries at the rest point. Then we headed off to see the tigers (a mother with three cubs).

On the elephants we could only see two of the cubs; one was in bright sunlight chewing on some meat but partially hidden by grasses. When we moved round to the other cub, Heiko's camera showed an error and wouldn't take any photos! So frustrating! The second cub was being very sleepy but was a little irritated by the elephants and sat up partially - didn't snarl tho and I was ready waiting for it! We were a bit disappointed by there being so many bushes and trees hiding them all and especially that Heiko's camera gave up. Shiva arranged for us to go again (I think he paid for us) and said to get good photos.

Well we were the last ones to go in the forest to see them. There were also two other elephants and they stamped on the bushes that the cubs were in and eventually they showed their faces - so gorgeous! Tigers are so beautiful! One of the cubs came to see what we were up to destroying their den and walked across a tree branch towards us - totally amazing, and so perfect for photos! The cub took my breath away as it looked directly at us. Seeing the face so close through the viewfinder made my heart beat so fast and I couldn't press the shutter! I took my camera down and gazed in awe, then carried on with taking photos. It was just so amazing! We saw all three cubs (one went for a walk further into the forest) and also the mother. The mother didn't move at all whilst we were there but two of the cubs were very curious and made excellent models! We gave a big tip to the rider of our elephant and climbed back into the jeep with huge smiles! On the way back to the gate we stopped to take some photos of a jungle owlet. Then soon we were back at the hotel for lunch. We had such a great morning and to think we almost didn't go on the elephants! Now we know how the pros get such great photos!

On the afternoon safari Shiva didn't come with us since he was greeting some new guests. We were at the park by 15:00 and a guide joined us. We soon saw monkeys (langurs) and spotted deer. We also saw our first wild boar in Kanha! We came across sambar (which seem to be rare here). We also saw swamp deer in the distance; they are kept in an enclosure to protect them from predators - the tiger - and poachers. We also saw pond heron and we saw a hoopoe - I was so happy to see one (and its apparently a common bird here) that I took ~120 photos! I've wanted to see a hoopoe since I saw its picture in a bird book when I was about eight years old!

We then caught up with a jeep that had been following tiger footprints and had heard an alarm call so we stopped and listened but heard nothing so we moved on.

It soon came time to leave the park but we were travelling on a very dusty track the dust wasn't pleasant! following the other jeeps. So we turned off onto a track that wasn't dusty but since it was a longer way to the gate, we had to go a bit faster in parts. Then we heard an alarm call from a deer. It was really loud and really close. Then on the other side of the track a monkey joined in, also really loud. They were both barking alarm calls for ages and we waited to see if something came - there could have been a tiger or a leopard close by! The time was ticking tho and we had to be at the gate by 17:30 so we had to get moving. Only wish we could have stayed there another half an hour or so!

Back at the hotel we saw Shiva and he asked how our safari went - I told him we'd seen a hoopoe! After a shower we changed into fresh clean clothes (our laundry had arrived!). When we arrived for dinner one of the Naturists (who uses the Canon 10D and 70-200mm) was showing some of his photos on a projector. Some amazing images and amongst them were some of the tiger cubs that we saw this morning!

After we had soup by the fire, Shiva showed us some prints photos that the other Naturist had printed to sell. Some were the same as he had showed us earlier on the projector. Shiva then wanted to show us the luxury tents they had recently built. They were fantastic, extremely luxurious! I would say they were for guests on honeymoon! There were 8 tents (4 double and 4 twin) and a bar/lounge/dining tent, and a huge outdoor swimming pool that backs out onto wildlife! Excellent!

We then had the rest of our dinner (the roasted vegetables in white creamy sauce were delicious - I'll have to make that at home!). After dinner we went back to the room to pack our suitcases. Finally crawled into bed at about 23:00 and knowing we can have a lie in tomorrow is excellent!

Saturday 12 November 2005

We both woke up before our alarm this morning but didn't get up till after it went off! On the way to breakfast we stopped at reception to find out what time our driver would arrive and when we would need to leave. Whilst they were trying to find out for us our driver arrived. We decided to leave at 10:30 so then went to have breakfast, did our final packing, settled the bill also wrote in the Guest Book and then eventually left at 10:50.

Our driver stopped briefly a few times for water and fruit. One of these stops he parked outside a house and disappeared inside to collect some strange looking fruit (looked like a cross between an apple and a pineapple, he called it a 'cheetapple' or something that sounded like that). Anyway, right across the road from where we were parked was a little boy having a poo on the side of the road. He looked so casual and natural there. Didn't quite believe it till we saw him clean himself with the jug of water he had with him. Then he trundled off back into the village!

We arrived in Jabalpur around 14:00 and met an Indian Moments representative. He took us to a nice restaurant for lunch and met with us again at 15:20. Heiko went to the loo and whilst we waited outside for him an Indian lady came up to me and said something in Hindi, when she left us the representative told me she had said she just wanted to say hello to me.

The train station was not far away and a porter carried our luggage (2 large suitcases on his head and the little suitcase in his hand, Heiko had firm hold of our camera gear as per usual) across the footbridge to our train - and it was hard work going up and down the footbridge slopes without luggage, never mind with! We had two sleeping berths in a curtained off section for four people. The other two berths were occupied by an Indian couple. It wasn't long before we made the bottom berth into a bed and put all the sheets on same with the top berth. We were soon snoozing every now and then but there was a lot of noise - talking, shouting and many people walking past and dragging our curtain with them! As it got later, more and more people were going to bed and turning the lights out. But with that came bloody noisy snorers! OMG! There was one person who was so loud they sounded like they were in the same berth as us, but this snore was like an animal noise, like a snarl - it was so crazy I listened in awe, I couldn't believe it and can't believe they didn't wake themselves up they were incredibly loud!!! There were many people snoring tho, and all of them very loudly too!

Sunday 13 November 2005

Well there was not much sleep last night! We both snoozed on and off but laying for so long (~14 hours) and all those loud snorers was not so great. We actually had gone to bed at 18:00 and got up at 06:00. We also successfully managed to avoid going to the toilet on the train. Although in general, the overnight train ride was actually better than we were expecting!

We arrived at Agra almost an hour late, our Indian Moments representative was waiting as we stepped off the train and took us to the car. We arrived at the hotel Howard Park Plaza about 08:00 but had to wait just over half an hour for the room to be cleaned and ready. After a quick freshen up we went down for a 'continental' breakfast then returned to the room for a shower.

We met our guide and the driver at 11:00 and first went to see Agra Fort. Much of it is used for military so only 25% is open to the public. The whole place is built of red sandstone. We visited two palaces and the gardens within the fort walls (there is an inner wall and an outer wall). We then stopped for a light lunch on the way to the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in the memory of his beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal (his second of three wives whom he had married for love, he was 21, she was 19. She died aged 39 whilst giving birth to their 14th child). She had two dying wishes (1) to build something beautiful above her grave, and (2) to remarry. The Taj Mahal was his expression of love for her and it is immensely beautiful. The work that has gone into building it is amazing. The delicate engraving and the inlaying of the stones is incredible.

We went inside to see the tomb. In the centre lies the Empress, and by her side lays the Emperor. The tomb was not built for the Emperor, however, since he wanted to build an identical building across the river made of black marble for himself. The work was started but the Emperor's son was not happy since there would be no fortune if this second building was completed and so he had his father imprisoned. The prison was a tower within the Agra Fort which we visited whilst there. The Emperor died during his eighth year in prison and so was laid to rest in the Taj Mahal. This was the doing of his son. To see a mirrored black marble replica across the river would have been an amazing sight but sadly was not achieved.

After our visit to the Taj Mahal, our guide took us to the factory where they traditionally make marble pieces with jewels inset - done the same way, and using the same tools that where used when the Taj Mahal was built. A design is drawn on marble, then the jewels after being shaped and polished are laid out (some jewels are combined stones glued together), the outline is traced then the marble is engraved. The jewels are then fitted and if the surface is not smooth the marble is altered. Then the jewels are removed and a layer of glue is put on the marble. The jewels are then re-laid and filled with a powdered substance. The piece is then sanded so it is completely smooth and no joins can be felt.

We were invited to have a look in the shop and were both immediately drawn towards a green marble with mother of pearl chessboard table. It was lovely and really stood out from the rest! There were many lovely pieces but the green marble was certainly the nicest. We had a look at some coasters and some marble boxes since we wanted to take away something as a souvenir and reminder of our visit. This chess table we'd seen as we walked through the door soon came back to our minds. It is truly beautiful but we came in not intending to spend any money at all yet this was screaming for us to buy it! It was a lot of money though and we also couldn't imagine where we would put it in the flat!

We were so indecisive, wanting it and not, that they left us to talk about it amongst ourselves. They actually left and went outside, they were not pushing us to buy at all; it was this table doing all the talking and wanting us to be its owner! When they came back in we soon agreed we would take it and they lowered the price quite significantly and threw in also a set of checkers (draughts).

As we were writing the delivery details (they send it via DHL within 10 days) I was asked which of several elephants I liked the best. Thinking he only wanted my opinion I selected one and he then gave it to me and said it was mine, a gift!

We were able to have an inscription on the back of the chessboard so I wrote our names, the place and the date, and one of the workers came to engrave it there and then! We were asked, once we were home, to send a photo to them showing where we have placed it in our home, and since we had told them we had visited the National Parks to photograph tigers they also requested we send a photo of a tiger too! If we want any other item, or wish to resell the chessboard table we are simply to email them. They can commission any design or locate an existing item (every item they make is unique) and will send a photo of the item by email and we can buy extra items in this way. They say they have a website so we'll have to look when we get back home!

After this rather expensive visit, our guide took us to the rear side of Agra Fort to show us where the Emperor was imprisoned, then across the road we could see the back side of the Taj Mahal from the almost 'dried up' Yamuna River so took some more photos there. Our driver will take us tomorrow to a place directly behind the Taj Mahal to take photos by moonlight and then the sunrise. We leave the hotel at 05:30!

Back in the hotel we relaxed with some drinks from the mini-bar which only stocked soft drinks and water. I was going to go swimming since there is a pool here but I'm so exhausted that I snoozed instead. Later we went to look at the shops at the side of the hotel, then came back and ordered room service for our dinner. After flicking channels on the TV and watching the last half of the film Twister, it was quite late and definitely time for bed!

Monday 14 November 2005

Our alarm went off at 05:00 and Heiko got up first. Only a few minutes later our phone rang, it was reception saying our driver had arrived. We weren't expecting our driver to arrive until 05:30 so I told them we would be down then.

We found our driver snoozing behind the wheel. It was a different person to yesterday and we were definitely expecting yesterday's driver. We mentioned this and the new driver spoke with the porter, and then we set off to the Taj Mahal. We arrived near the main entrance where our driver told us to take a rickshaw to the entrance but this was not the plan and it took some time for him to understand we wanted to take photos from the Yamuna River side behind the Taj Mahal. And that is also what our itinerary stated - we didn't want to pay once more to be amongst the crowds inside! He eventually drove us to the river side, stopping first at his office. He picked up another guy - it appeared he did not know the way since the other guy was directing him - I could be wrong tho. When we arrived at the river entrance yesterday's driver also showed up and there seemed to be a mini argument between the two drivers. Since the sun was already rising, and we'd be mad if we missed it, I asked if we could go on. We took quite a number of photos at the top of the dunes and also lower down where you could see the reflection in the water.

There were quite a number of people interested in what we were doing and trying to see the photos when they displayed on the back of the cameras. Shortly before we left we got talking to a guy from Holland (near Utrecht) who was also taking photos - with a film camera. He was travelling round India for a month with his girlfriend - she had chosen to stay in bed instead of seeing the Taj Mahal at sunrise - something I half wished I could have done. When we arrived back to meet the driver, yesterday's driver had gone and so was the guy we picked up. This new driver was also to take us to the airport tonight. We arranged to meet him again after lunch to drive to Delhi. Back in the room I got straight back into bed, I was really tired. It wasn't long before Heiko lay on the bed too although I had hogged all the blankets - again! Seems I did that during the night too and managed to tuck it underneath me! Just after 09:00 we got up and showered and went down for breakfast at 10:00. After a large breakfast we packed all the suitcases and watched Animal Planet Mad Mike and Mark was on! till it was time to check out at 12:00.

We had to complete a questionnaire for Indian Moments which asked us about our favourite experiences during our trip - obviously our time in Bandhavgarh and Kanha National Parks! For disappointing moments we put the apparent lack of communication between the Indian Moments office and representatives, hotels and drivers since we never had pick up times confirmed properly. We often had a very early morning phone call to say our driver had arrived - especially this last morning where there was much confusion or had no phone call at all! If we had known this information earlier we could also have planned our relaxation time much better.

The questionnaire also asked how we found the accommodation (all were great except the West End Inn in Delhi), our vehicles, drivers, etc. Oh, just remembered I put our least enjoyable moments being Ranthambhore National Park were we spent three out of four jeeps safaris in this huge "big ass truck"! That was extremely uncomfortable and very disappointing!

But overall we've had an excellent trip, it's been great in the National Parks, and all the accommodation and food has been excellent, plus the Imodium has hardly been used! We are even thinking of returning (to Bandhavgarh NP and to Kanha NP)! We're both very glad to be going home tho. Especially to be with Eddy and Freddy our cats, we've really missed them!

We set off from the hotel at 14:30, the drive was a mix of snoozing, reading and moving positions to straighten our legs it was quite cramped in the car for us tall people. We hit heavy traffic in Delhi, it was crazy. There appeared to be no traffic lanes and everyone was zigzagging to get in front, a mix of cars, buses, bicycles, motorbikes, rickshaws, tractors, cows, camels - in fact pretty much anything that moves, both with and without lights and many sounding the horn. It was total chaos!

We eventually reached the airport just before 21:00 (I think) which was very early for our flight at 01:30. We had our hold luggage x-rayed and sealed then wandered past the little shops - that didn't take long since there are not many. We sat and read whilst waiting for the check in desk to open. At 22:00 we checked in and were able to book seats together and also with extra legroom. After an immigration check there were a few more shops and we stopped for a chicken and ham subway sandwich on Italian bread, it was very nice! Further wandering and we bought some crisps - one packet turned out to be really spicy and we could not eat them - Heiko had a good try tho! Then we headed off for the security check.

Once through there was nothing much to do except sit and wait at the gate. I headed off for the loo but unexpectedly found it was one with a hole in the floor (I'd managed to avoid them for the entire trip so far). There was a toilet attendant and she was trying to explain to me that there was also a "European Toilet"; she was pointing madly at it - phew!

Eventually it was time to board. We had to wait quite a while since we were sat near the front and our seats were called last. We also found we had no extra legroom! We did have the three seats for just ourselves though, and so did the couple in front of us who kept their chairs fully reclined for the entire flight (except the middle one which, when I got so ticked off with the pain in my knees, I leant over and returned it to its original position - there was no one sat there)! We watched several films during the flight, and also slept a bit too. It wasn't too comfortable tho, could have done with that extra leg room! Also the reclined seats in front of us were hugely annoying!

I watched Bewitched, The Wedding Date, and A Lot Like Love (all chick flicks!). The third film, A Lot Like Love, though not fantastic was almost finished, and there must have been about 15 minutes left, when the flight attendants collected the headsets - I was ok since I was using my own but Heiko had to give his up! There must have been only five minutes left when the film was paused because there was the announcement that we had landed and thank you for flying etc etc. Then when they finally switched off the screens there must have been only two minutes left or something ridiculous like that! Ah well, I'm not buying or renting it to find out what happened though it's pretty easy to guess the ending!

We were quickly in the airport and ready with our luggage. We decided to stop for coffee and cake before catching the train (to make us feel a little more like we were alive rather than like zombies)!

The train to Holland Spoor arrived before Den Haag Centraal and eager to get home and see the boys our cats we jumped on that. We then got a taxi home since it was easier than the tram with luggage (plus the trams were packed and it was raining).

We arrived home just before 08:30 (after buying some milk from the petrol station). Eddy and Freddy our cats came to the door to see who it was but they didn't come up to us for cuddles like they usually do (obviously annoyed with us for leaving them on their own)! They then hid from us and took a little while for us to coax them out. They didn't stay mad with us for long tho and they soon received lots of hugs from us. It is so good to be home, we have REALLY missed them. They followed us round wherever we went and after a while we crashed on the bed (extremely tired) but they meowed and meowed, so Heiko got up to entertain them for a short while.

It's so nice to be in our own cozy, comfortable bed, bliss!

Tuesday 15 November 2005

It was late in the afternoon when we got up. Both Eddy and Freddy have spent most of the day in our bedroom, either on the cat tree or curled up on the bed with us. They're definitely happy we're back home!

We downloaded our photos onto the PC but have not had chance to look at them properly. I made the dinner and not long after we'd eaten we went out for the IMAGES Club Night. The entrance to the BWC (British Women's Club) had been turned into a film set (they are filming The Black Book - a war film) so we had to go in by a side entrance.

We were really tired by the end of the evening but before we went to bed we had a look at the tiger photos. We couldn't go to bed without seeing them first!

Wednesday 16 November 2005

Heiko went to work today. I got up really early (which is really unusual for me I'm normally a night owl and like to sleep in!) since I was wide awake - obviously my body clock is still on Indian time! Both Eddy and Freddy were under my feet the whole day, following me from room to room as I unpacked and settling down whenever I did! I sorted our photos to separate directory folders (separating mine from Heiko's) but I haven't looked at them since really we wanted to look together. Instead, I began to type up this journal....