Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Tadoba Tiger Reserve

Day 1 - Hyderabad to Tadoba National Park. 

Distance: 480 km via AH43/NH7
Road Condition: First 350 km absolute carpet like road. Bad stretch of 100 & 30 km very bad stretch. 

The best part about any road trip is the food one could enjoy, and NH7 offers plenty of desi dhabas for the foodies.

Tadoba is the largest national park in Maharashtra covering 625 sq kilometers. Spot booking for jungle safari can be done at any of the entry gates for Rs.3250 per jeep. Jeep charges Rs.2000, camera lens over 250mm are charged at Rs 200, guide charges Rs.300 & entry fee is Rs.750. Entry fee is Rs.250 more on weekends. One can also take their car into the park which would cost around Rs.2250. Safari bookings are payable only by cash. Do plan your trip keeping in mind the weekly holiday of the park that falls on every Tuesday.

Basking In The Sun

The park has abundant teak that adds more charm, and the primary source of water is a huge lake that is beaming with water even during summer. This is one of the few parks where entry is not restricted just to the buffer zone. They have multiple entry gates for buffer and core zone. However, the best zone for wildlife sighting is Morhali.

Wild Dog

We were left intrigued by the stone pillars at the entrance of Morhali zone and we were informed by our guide that these used to be antique lamps posts during the Gond period.

Malabar Pied Hornbill
Star attractions of the park are Tigers, Leopards, sloth bear, wild boar, nilgai, barking deer and more. We stayed for 2 days and had great safaris. Spotted highly camouflaged Savanna Nightjar with chick, sloth bear, wild dog, bison with calf, beautiful Indian roller, malabar pied hornbill, jackal, woodpecker. It is a great experience to see wildlife in their natural habitat. The silence inside the jungle is golden and soothes your ears that are constantly exposed to high levels of noise pollution. The birds chirping, warning calls from potential prey, mating call... they all seem to be music. Once inside the park, one would not have the heart to leave.

Savanna Nightjar With Chick

There is never a dull moment inside the jungle and every experience is unique. One would never know what surprise nature has in store.


True That
We checked into Royal tiger resort which is only 500 mt away from the entry gate. Rooms were reasonably priced and food was exceptionally good, the service was also good. They have car park and lawn. Downside being - they don't offer complimentary breakfast. Cleanliness standards of rooms could be better.

After our sojourn in Tadoba, we headed to Pench National Park.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Story Of My Life!

Life is not about the Destination, but Journey!

Wanderers

Travelling liberated us from concrete jungle, a 9 to 5 desk job with a lot of perks/big pay check and many more creature comforts. We believed these kept us happy for over 7 long years.

From an early age we are tricked to believe that 'THINGS' give us happiness and one has to earn money to satisfy our materialistic needs and wants. As I started to earn and was able to fulfill those needs the list kept growing and I realized that at no point I'm going to be genuinely happy and satisfied with what I have.

A deep sense of missing the most important aspect of life was always lingering, ie living life! I wanted to break free from the monotonous life, set an alarm - wake up - eat breakfast - act busy - eat lunch - act busy for some more time - get back home - dinner - sleep. Do this over and over again for 5 days and wait for weekend to have fun.

It was at this point the most beautiful thing happened - I fell in love with the right person. Our mutual love for offbeat aspects got us together the bond flourished and it grew stronger as our mutual hatred towards materialistic things multiplied, magic happened we fell in love, got married and thus the journey started. Special thanks to Reshma for all the support, else I would be sitting behind a desk working on excel, repaying home loan.

Today we both have quit our jobs and are starting a new chapter in our lives. A business venture interlinked with travel. It may not be lucrative but it sure will keep us happy. 'Two Roads Diverge In a Yellow wood and we are taking the one less traveled...'

Before we could get remotely serious with anything in life we are planning to travel set ourselves free and take the leap of faith!

You have one life- Live it to your heart's content!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Drive Across Madhya Pradesh!


The Route Map
Call it fate, destiny or good planning, our second wedding anniversary was just around the corner and we decided to spend the whole month away. Living up to the tradition of month long anniversary celebration, last year we had toured Gujarat and Rajasthan by road and it was time for MP.


4 Wheels & 2 Souls
When you travel to a place, any misconceptions you have will turn out to be exactly THAT - "misconceptions!" After covering 4270 km and spending 43 daysMP truly took us by surprise. Right from the start we were shown great hospitality, greeted with smiling faces, got taste of traditional Indian Namaste everywhere. Best part of MP were the people - friendly, kind and helpful, making our trip even more memorable.

We were glad to meet a lot of like minded people who had quit their jobs to purse their passion. A marketing head from Bangalore & a vet doctor who decided to leave all creature comforts behind and have made the jungle their home.

Trip O Meter
Road trip to Heart Land of India - Land of the Royal Bengal Tiger, monuments, temples, holy Narmada, masjids, stupa, vindhya/satpura ranges & representing the land of Kamasutra, iconic Khajuraho temples. We covered 15 places, 3 world heritage sites, and 6 national parks. The sheer diversity of MP is awe-inspiring. It offers everything a tourist could dream of: wildlife, pilgrimage, historic monuments, adventure activities, prehistoric cave paintings, very first stone monument in India and the list does not end here.

Glimpse Of MP
We will soon be dedicating individual posts for each destination!