Travel Story Book

Bhedaghat is just 33 Km from Jabalpur and is ideal for a day trip from the city. We reached Bhedaghat continuing on our trip from Kanha & Bhandhavgarh. It was the final destination of our trip before we board the train for Howrah from Jabalpur.
As we reached Bhedaghat in the evening, there was not much scope of going anywhere. The Marble Rocks are just adjacent to the MPT hotel where we were staying. Night boating on the Narmada can be done only on full moon night and four days before and after it. As full moon was not nearby, the whole area would soon be plunged in darkness immediately after sunset. We took an auto to Dhuadhar Falls. But after reaching there, my daughter started complaining of stomach pain and we had to come back after a glimpse of the falls from a distance.

Marble Rocks

The next morning after a quick breakfast we visited the Marble Rocks. Early morning and tourists were few. Shopkeepers selling decorative items of stones and soft marbles were setting up their shops and getting ready for the day. A boat ride on the waters of the Narmada through the Marble Rocks is a must-do activity at Bhedaghat. As hardly any tourists were there we abandoned the idea of going on a shared boat and instead decided to reserve a boat. The roof cover of the boat was quickly drawn overhead, the red carpets on the floor rolled out and we were ready to board our vessel – a big boat, three persons on a boat that can accommodate at least twenty!! And for three of us, there were two persons rowing, one person controlling the boat sitting at the hull, one guide and another two attendants!!

 

 

Charm of a guided tour

I cannot think of visiting Indian tourist sites without a ‘guide’. Many may wonder why, but to me the guides add a different dimension to the tour. Their narrations of history, which may be mostly incorrect, helps in transforming you to the historical period. Our tour of Marble Rocks was no exception. We came to know of the length, breadth, height, depth and all possible facts about the rocks. He came out with a big list of Indian movies that have been filmed there, occasionally spiced up with dialogues from those films. Enchanting!! The way they can capture the interest of the audience.

Extending the ride

Even before we realized, it was time to go back. But we want a longer boat ride!! Its possible, but at a cost – well exactly double. We decided to carry on – there is no point in not doing the entire length of the ride. It was a good decision – as the rocks along the shore became higher and higher. The stretch looked beautiful – vertical white marble cliffs along both the shores of the Narmada. By this time I was seated at the front of the boat, with my legs dangling out over the waters. We went as far as we could – till mini Dhuadhar falls. The mini Dhuadhar falls is a local name given to a small waterfall, that is created from the main Dhuadhar falls. 45 minutes over, it was time to return back to the jetty.

Strange means to earn money

While returning to the jetty, we noticed some local boys jumping(diving) in the waters from the top of the vertical cliffs whose height would be around 50 ft. They were shouting something which we could not understand and were jumping in the water. The guide informed that they do this feat on request from the visitors in the boats for Rs. 20. Surely a strange way to earn money.

Back at the jetty, we had a final glance at Marble Rocks and proceeded towards Dhuadhar Falls – about 1 Km away and 5 minute journey by auto.

Kanha

A grand welcome

‘I have seen five deers’ – My daughter triumphantly announced as soon as I came out of the reception of Baghira Log Huts at Kisli after completion of checking-in formalities. ‘Deer? From the hotel? You must be joking’. She surely was joking!! As soon as we moved in our room, we saw not five but maybe fifteen of them outside our room. Have you seen a beauty pageant of deers? That is what gradually unfolded in front – pristine beauties strutted from one side to the other in front of us. A few peacocks joined them occasionally. What a place to stay!! And what a welcome!!!
After a long journey to Kisli, Kanha we were late for the evening safari. If only the train was not late by an hour! A quick stroll around the hotel ensured that even it had something even for those who did not want to go for safaris. A decent amount of wildlife viewing could be done sitting here. Deers, monkeys and peacocks roam inside the hotel premises or around the virtual periphery of the hotel all the time. A small watering hole within attracts a lot of animals – recently a group of bisons have been visiting it in the evenings almost regularly. In the early hours of the night the deep roar of an animal was heard for around 5 mins. Is it the tiger? Need to confirm it the next morning…

The Jungle Safari

In the meantime, while enjoying the surroundings, arrangements were done for the safari the next morning. The jeep will come at 5:45 AM and we would be sharing it another group staying in the same hotel. The morning was exceptionally cold and left us shivering and wearing not only one but a couple of shirts. I had no idea that it would be this cold and we were caught unawares without any warm clothing. Within a few minutes of entering the Kisli gate, we were on one of the dirt tracks. Our guide said that there were fresh bear foot marks on the ground – most probably a bear was nearby. For us, there could not have been a better start. We were tense and silent and within a minute a big sloth bear was viewed – some distance away under a mahua tree, busy relishing the fruits of the mahua tree. Barely had we seen enough of the bear, the guide signaled us to move on. He could hear the alarm calls of deer, indicating that a tiger could be in the vicinity. Our jeep moved on and about 50m ahead, we were stopped by the vehicle in front of us. A leopard had run beside their car, crossed the road and raced into the forest!!! Wow, that’s luck!!
We had a very rich experience for the remaining part of the safari. We saw herds of bison (gaur), barasingha deer, sambar deer and of course spotted deer. Its the default at Kanha – with around 21,000 of them. A tiger was spotted just around 30m off the road. It was resting in the shade beside a small pool of water. We waited for about an hour for it to make any movement, but it just lazily remained there, enjoying the water and the shade. The evening safari was equally enjoyable, although the duration was less.

Another two safaris the next day – we saw wild boar, barking deer, the barasingha from very near and a variety of birds. With the nearing of the mating season, the guides taught us the difference between the alarm call and mating call of the spotted deer. We were lucky to see two tigers and a leopard on this day. Both the tigers that we were able to view had been tracked by the elephants and a short elephant ride was required to go near the tigers. The first one hid itself among the long and dry grasses, but the second tiger was sitting just a couple of feet away from us. It remained calm and was not at all bothered by the elephants moving in its vicinity. Seeing the tiger from a distance of 2 ft was quite an experience.

A leopard was viewed in the evening – perched on top of a tree trunk. I felt the need of a good zoom lens, something which I did not have. And I felt jealous of the people around me who were carrying lenses like machine guns and capturing the leopard as if sitting 1ft away. Again a patient wait for an hour for it to move was futile – as it decided to maintain status quo, at least till we left. Our wait was not in vain – we were rewarded by a beautiful sunset with the sky flaring up in shades of red. A big herd of bisons had visited the watering hole adjacent to our hotel, but when we returned from the safari, only two of them were still there.
After spending three wonderful nights at Kisli, it was time to move towards Bandhavgarh. There are two Nature Trails from the Khatia gate – one 3 Km and another 8 Km. I had planned to do the 8Km trail on the morning of our departure. Unfortunately the car which was supposed to come in the early hours of the morning arrived late and we could not go to Khatia, which was 3.5 Km from Baghira Log Huts. May be next time….

 

Arrival at Hanoi

I was in Hanoi with two of my colleagues, Brijes and Goutam for official work. When our schedule provided us with a free weekend, the obvious destination for the weekend was Halong Bay. We did not have much information about what was in store for us, but few facts about Halong Bay were attractive. That it was located in the seas and we had the option to spend the night on a boat in the middle of the seas was strong enough reason for myself, Brijes and Goutam to go ahead with our trip.
Initially we scouted around the Hoem Kiem area for a reliable tour operator and get an idea about the cost of the trip. The price variation ($30 – $200) for a 2 day trip was enough to confuse us. Also, being the peak tourist season, the operators that looked reliable to us were sold out for the weekend. So, without going into any complications, we arranged for the tour through the hotel travel desk. The price was an affordable $57/person.

Journey Started
We were picked up from our hotel early in the morning at around 8 AM in a mini van. The van was full as expected.

Our guide for the trip was a gentleman named Kong – who worked full time as a travel guide. He knew three languages other than Vietnamese and worked with the European tourists.

On the way
Within half an hour we were outside the city limits and the road went through green farmlands. It was a welcome break from the crowded streets of central Hanoi. Men with their traditional big straw hats were working on the farms. Past a number of small Vietnamese towns, it was break time after around 2 hours of travel. We stopped in a big shop on the highway which sold traditional Vietnamese handicrafts. Some of them were really good and the price was tempting. Specially paintings made by thread weaving – something unique and really wonderful.

At Halong Bay
At last we reached Halong Bay at around 11:30 AM. The reception area was quite big and organized. In fact it was comparable to any other international tourist spot. For the first time, we realized that it was a famous tourist destination among the Europeans.

It was crowded and we had to wait for another 30 minutes while our guide Kong went to buy the tickets. In the meantime we purchased some water and a cap with Vietnam written on it in red. Later on, when I was trekking in Nepal, one of the hotel attendants one day fearfully asked me ‘Are you a communist?’ Later I realized that he had seen the hat lying on the table and thus the question.

After a short wait, we followed our guide Kong towards our junk. It was quite a long walk, going across other junks that were lined up one behind the other through there narrow alleys and dodging other people who were returning back from their trips. Our junk was a small one, with two rooms at deck level and another two rooms above it. Apart from we three, our only companion on board was a Spanish couple.

After a welcome drink (which was the only free drink on board), the junk set sail. We passed different types of junks on the way – big, small, fancy…. One of the attendants brought out her ware of pearl ornaments and after some failed attempts to sell them, tucked them away and started to prepare lunch. Lunch was delicious – salad, prawns, chicken and prawn. By this time, the our view of horizon was being obstructed by small hillocks at a distance. As we moved near them, we forgot lunch and were on the deck with our cameras. It was wonderful! Limestone islets were scattered all over the surface of the sea. Some were small single rock islets, some were big islands. Some were green, others barren with the rock surface exposed. The place looked out of the world.

Inside Sung Sot
We were proceeding towards the Sung Sot cave, which was one of the biggest caves at Halong Bay. It was quite a steep climb from the jetty to the entrance of Sung Sot cave, but as we went up the view became better and better.

The jetty below with the limestone islets at a distance and the junks scattered across the water, some with colorful sails, made a wonderful view. The inside of the cave was a different world. It was huge, and I think 5000 people can be easily accommodated inside it. There were limestone formations all around the cave. What struck us was the artificial lightning provided inside the cave. It somehow took away a lot of the beauty of the cave – the yellow and green colored lights somehow did not go well with the ambiance of the cave. Still, at the end of it, it was amazing! It seemed to be the ideal set of Indiana Jones movies. Was any part of the movie filmed here? We spent quite a long time in the cave.

Phantoms home
It was time to leave to the next place. Well, we had no idea that the next activity would be kayaking. Kayaking and us? Without any experience? No, problem – assured Kong. So it was Kong and Goutam in one kayak and Brijes and me in another. After some initial problems, we were all set, cruising smoothly along the the waters of the South China Sea in our kayak. We were at the level of water and everything seemed so different. Free to go anywhere we like, we went towards an isolated islet some distance away. There was an area which was surrounded by the limestone pillars and water in the center. There was a very narrow, apparently hidden entrance to this area. Once inside, we could feel the silence all around. Totally insulated from the external world, there was absolute silence. Could this be the home of Phantom, our childhood comic hero? We floated in the waters for how long we don’t know – until the silence was broken by the sudden shattering sound of a motor boat. Why did they have to discover the place and come here???
As it was getting darker, we started back on our return journey. On our way back, we saw the perfect sunset: orange kayaks all around, two big junks with bright yellow sails and the orange sun just above the water level and viewed through the sails. What could be better? And I did not have my camera to capture it as Kong had suggested that I leave my camera as it could get wet.
By this time, it was getting dark and our junk moved away from Sung Sot cave. All the junks
anchored around an area of the bay. After another delicious dinner, it was time to relax on the deck of the boat under the open sky.

Counting the stars
How many stars have you seen in the sky? Hundreds….thousands… I could never imagine that so many stars could be seen in the night sky – the number of stars were countless. Brijes started explaining the individual starts and constellations in the sky. The lone deck light was irritating – as it blurred the view of the stars. Everytime we switched it off, the captain of the junk came and switched it on, saying it was required by them to have the light.
After a few on-off attempts, we gave in to his request. Other bigger junks nearby had turned into party lounges with the sound of music and singing filling the air. We were on the deck till late night, enjoying the calmness and quietness of the night before retiring to bed. The sound of the generators were also contrary to the ambiance, but most of them were gradually switched off and boats started sharing among them.