Traveling Jaunts

So I decided to rename the blog. I thought, "American Girl in India was great, but hey, shouldn't I keep this same blog and keep blogging through all my travels?" The answer I gave to myself was yes and I came up with "Traveling Jaunts". Feel free to express what you think, in the comments. Of course the title will only work if I get myself to actually start, truly and honestly, blogging. It's not something set in stone so I may change it once again at a later time.

I have no idea what holds me back. I do have a lot of "kettles on the fire", but still, I feel that it's a fear of some sort. I will figure that out over time, I hope. So I figured, let's start small. I will blog even about the tiniest of journeys and let that flow into the big ones. Let's find out together if this style works.

Today I got a hair cut, yes, I'm going to tell you about how I drove downtown and got my hair cut so hold onto your seats, cause, no it won't be bumpy at all. I will try to keep it interesting though.

I went to Russ & Company Salon, off of West and MLK, in Austin, TX. My cousin works there, well she more than works there, she runs things. I guess I should ask her what exactly is her ownership in the company. I don't want to throw out incorrect information. Anyway, out of that tangled mental mess and onto my day.

I went in and her son was there talking to her and so I peaked my head slowly around the corner, for effect of course. I love to get people started with a smile before they see me or when they see me. She promptly hugged me because that is just who Lecia is. I love her hugs though. You can feel the warmth in them. I can also say her haircuts come with witty banter and an amazing finish. This is not a plug for her business, well ok, I guess it will be but believe me or not, she's the only person who has ever understood exactly how I want my hair and gotten it down perfectly every single time. She's a beautiful soul.

I waited while she finished up working on another person. This client arrived a bit late for her appointment so it pushed mine forward. Honestly, I didn't mind at all. I had the time and I took it as more time to spend chatting with good company. We talked about all sorts of stuff, hair, travel, creepy things and then some. Oh and I must add this, she had hair color samples in her room and one was the BABE® brand (I think that was the name) and the hair color that matched mine was actually called Susie. It was something that made me giggle to myself so I had to share. I've never seen a person unhappy with Lecia's work. I always arrive early enough and leave late enough to meet her clients. They are always happy and they always hug Lecia and vice versa.

So some of my favorite conversation today was about her recent vacay to the Stanley Hotel, you know, the one that the Shining is based on, the Stephen King novel. We looked at photos and talked about a lot of the creepy, yet, cool things about the vacation and the beauty of Colorado.

All in all, a good day. Now to deal with the little tiny paw pitter patter that I hear behind me. It's that time of day where they know it's time for outside play. Smart boys. Til next time! Have a great weekend everyone!

If you see typos or errors, ignore them. I don't plan on proofing this one. :)

March 31 - April 2, 2012

Kabini is near Nagarhole National Park and actually a few other national parks as well. We traveled there by car. Our driver Unni took us. He's the best driver I know here. I've ridden in plenty of cabs here and such, but he's just amazing. He's a sweetheart too and would do what he had to, to protect us.

We drove the 6 hours to get to our hotel, The Serai, which is a small and absolutely wonderful little place out near the National Park and near a very very small village. It is one of my favorite places we've stayed so far. The last few kilometers of the road were horrendous. It was the worst stretch of road yet I've been on, ever! Seriously, we would see a sign every 1 km and I would say, "ARE YOU SERIOUS, ONLY ONE KM?!" Haha! It was bad. All the jostling had me getting VERY nauseous. So we were glad to finally arrive at our hotel. Sadly, below is the only photo I took of the room or hotel it seems. I wish I had taken many more. I was glad at times not to tote the camera around and just focus on having a good time with my husband. Sometimes a good photographer has to do that. You can see more about the hotel here: http://www.theserai.in/serai-kabini/kabini

View from our room. I guess I should have opened the sheer curtains too. The view would have been more visible for all. Hah!

We arrived and were handed a large coconut, cut open, straw inserted, for us to drink and rehydrate. Coconut juice, straight from the coconut, is amazing and great at helping rehydrate. I don't normally like coconut water from the store. I drink it cause it is healthy but not fond of it too much. The fresh coconut, wow! I loved it!! I will take that anytime! We were also handed fresh cool wash clothes to wash our face and hands and cool our necks down. They had a light floral fragrance too. I want to say rose and jasmine. It was lovely. We finished up with checking in and then headed to our room. Vikas' coworkers were actually staying at a lodge nearby called, The Jungle Lodge. We would have stayed there too but we opted for a hotel with A/C. Between mosquitos and heat, neither of us, wanted to deal with no A/C. There was one coworker of his and the coworker's wife who was staying at the same hotel as us. They basically came out to relax. She was 6 months pregnant at the time, I think, so no safaris for her.

We went to our room, rested and got ready to go on our first safari. We were scheduled to do the boat safari in the evening, which later, we would find out was the best choice to make. We headed over at our designated time and place to meet with the rest of the group going on the safari and we all headed down to the lake to get into the boat. We slapped on our little life vests and we were off on our journey. Below are some of the great things we were able to see on the boat safari. Elephants were aplenty. Elephants don't have sweat glands so they go to the water holes as often as they can so they can throw mud on themselves which keeps them cool but also protects them from stinging and biting insects and they swim and douse themselves with water. It is amazing to watch these beautiful creatures. Mind you, elephants are gentle animals but they do have their moments of agression and you DO NOT want to be in their way when they do. NEVER provoke an elephant. You WILL NOT win.

Double Crested Cormorant

In the gloaming

Woman and kids walking back home. Kids are just following along.

Women washing clothes in the lake.

Snake Bird. It's called this due to how it's neck looks so familiar to a snake. In some positions, the neck and head resemble a snake even more.

Deer

Elephants

Otters. There are five. Can you spot them all?

Otters

Mother and baby elephant

You probably can't see it, but there is a tiny baby elephant in the middle of this group. The group will protect the young one from anything they feel is harmful. They do it by surrounding the baby and the baby knows that this means it is in danger and it knows to stay put or keep walking and stay in the middle of the herd. I love how they stick together.

Osprey in the rain. While we were in the boat, it began to rain somewhat heavily. Most animals didn't budge an inch because of how much they loved being pelted with cool wet goodness. This osprey however, headed for the trees.

White stork standing still in the rain.

Oriental White Ibis, in a group.

Elephants crossing the river. This was the first time I learned that elephants are excellent swimmers.

I laughed so hard at how sometimes all you could see is just the tip of their trunks.

They finally reached the other side. They swam just in front of our boat so we were able to watch the whole procession of them going from one bank to another.

The guide on the boat was giving out calls which caused the elephants to turn and look our way.

Elephant spraying water.

Bird nests

Small White Egret

Single bird nest, all tucked in nice and safe in that single little nook.

This is what the boats were like. The difference on ours was that it said, The Serai.

You can see dirt on the elephant's tusks and head. They throw dirt and mud on themselves to keep from getting stung and bitten by insects but also because it keeps them cooler.

Quiet little owl sitting perched on the tree. Don't remember the name of this one. Also since it was raining and somewhat dark out, it's hard to see markings for me to look it up. If anyone knows what it is, leave me a comment and I'll check it out. Thanks :)

I loved the look on this one's face. She had such interesting eyes. Yes, some of the females will have tusks. They too have to help keep the herd safe.

Elephant getting water.

I laughed so hard at this. His mouth was just so full of water.

Local villagers gathering sticks.

Birds in the sky. They almost look like bats. They flew in a similar pattern like bats too.

We came back and were ready for a break and for some wonderful dinner. At The Serai, you have set times for breakfast, tea time, lunch and dinner. The food is buffet style, but I can assure you all the choices are amazing and there is a variety of choices. The soups were always my favorites. I love soup though. All the food was great. One was never hungry. We met with our friends that were staying there and had dinner, then headed into bed for an early night so we would be bright eyed for the morning jeep safari.

We rose early, 4:30 am, to reach the groups waiting to board the jeep at 5:30. Safaris are always early morning and late evening. The reason for this is that the animals are mostly active during the hours. They're no fools. Just like us, they know to keep still when it gets too warm out. They find a comfy cool place and stay put until they need water or food. Here are a few photos from that first morning jeep safari.

Our guide for the day. He would stand on the dash of the large jeep/van type vehicle and held on as we hit the bumpy path of the road. It was a talent for sure. I was amazed how he held on so well and at times so casually.

Morning sunrise

Spotted Deer and Peacock in the background.

Bamboo. There is a lot of it in the forests of India. Bamboo will grow and flourish and then die. Once it dies it doesn't come back though it leaves seeds behind to produce new bamboo plants. Elephants and deer and many other animals love to munch on the green goodness that these plants offer.

This lovely elephant was all alone when we drove by. It was just enjoying the sweet moment of getting some food and enjoying it in peace (so I imagined). Elephants spend most of their day eating. Because of their size, they need to consume a massive amount of food to keep up enough energy.

Indian Bluebird, also known as the Indian Roller

See if you can spot the samber deer in the photo.

Samber deer munching on leaves.

You will find signs like this and many others along the roadside where normal traffic goes by.

View of the jungle. Looks like any ordinary forest right? The only difference to ours back in Texas is we don't have elephants, tigers and many of the other animals that inhabit these woods. Probably for the best I think.

I could create so many captions for this photo. Write a caption below in the comments (for Monkey Photo #1). I'll pick my favorite and will send this to you to use as wallpaper on your computer. My caption is, "Well, I've had my coffee, used the bathroom, now what to do.. whaaaat... toooo... doooo... Okay, sit here it is."

Langurs all hiding from us in a tree. They were on the ground, but hurried up in the tree as soon as they saw the jeep coming their way. There are at least 4 baby langurs up there.

Mother and baby Langur Monkeys

Caption this photo (Monkey Photo #2) - Here's mine. "So, wanna race me to the top of that tree?" Caption the photo and I'll pick my favorite and email you a wallpaper sized file to use on your computer.

Elephants in the brush searching for munchies.

Spotted deer on the run.

Area where animals have been rooting.

You don't need English to understand this sign. I couldn't help it, though it's not funny, myself and the Aussie lady in front of me, couldn't stop giggling when we saw this sign.

Old abandoned house that was located at the entry into Nagarhole National Park.

One of the farm houses in the village.

Little kid walking back to his house. He's bringing a cup of water to his mother. He went just down the road to get it from a little pump well.

I think this little house is actually a farm shed for the farmers supplies and tools.

Young girl walking the cow back to the stable with aluminum pail on her head, carrying something.

Sign for a store that sells chickens.

Sign near a little market saying that they also sell clothing.

Little boy watches us all as we sit in the jeep and our guide gets some items, water and food.

Family sitting together as dad fills out a form. The little girl was just so cute, I had to take the photo.

Farm field

Baby Banana Trees

We arrived back at the hotel after this, ate meals and rested until the evening safari. The next set of photos were taken as we headed out on our evening safari.

Pomegranate Tree

Woman gathered some beautiful flowers from the tree. I love her sari.

Langur

Our prize moment in animal spotting on safari. This leopard was just on the side of the road. It was literally only a few feet from our jeep. We stopped and he just got up, stretched and slowly walked out onto the rod, then he started to walk down the road, taking his time, and marking his territory right in front of us. When the jeep would become louder, he would turn and look back at us. This is very uncommon of leopards. They are usually very skittish and stay hidden from everyone and everything. This was a beautiful and great moment for everyone in the jeep.

Male Leopard

Young Samber Deer. This deer and it's mother were sitting a little way down the road. A spotted deer was giving a call out to send a warning. She had smelled that the leopard had come through the area. The samber deer's ears are turned back as she listens to the call.

A wild dog stares up at us. It's down in a beautiful lush green valley. There was actually an entire pack of wild dogs and their pups. Another rare site to see. Wild dogs are very skittish and rarely seen, especially out in the open, like this. They even, after they saw us, began to walk away. A few of the dogs stayed and were brave enough to relax. They knew they could get away if they had to because of how far we were from them. This one kept an eye on us from time to time. I'm going to assume this one was the alpha. So we saw two of the rarest animals to be seen, in one safari.

After the safari, we once again, headed back to our hotel. We took a short nap and then got up, had dinner and then later headed back to bed to get some good rest before going on the last safari before heading home.

This is a different monkey than the Langur. This is called a Macaque. Pronouned (Muh • cak)

Quail

Indian Large Red Squirrel

White Stork

Buck - Spotted Deer

This elephant was walking near our jeep. It kept getting closer as we drove parallel along it. It started to move towards the road because it apparently wanted to cross. It ended up getting a little irritated cause we were in the way and got very close to our jeep. The guide knew I was trying to get as many photos as I could so we took off just at the last minute. It was a tiny bit scary for me but at the same time, the guide and I looked at each other and began to laugh. It was great. I'm not sure Vikas would say the same. Haha!

This is the driver and there is a peacock just crossing the road ahead.

Peacock

Green Back Woodpecker

Mother and baby Langur

Mongoose

Indian Roller

Indian Roller just as it lands to the ground. Beautiful wings.

Termite Hill - These are loved by many animals, including the Sloth Bear.

As we left back for the hotel, we drove back through the village. We got to the hotel to have a bit of breakfast, rest for a bit and then pack up and head back to Bangalore, via car.