I left things with us sleeping our way to Bangalore. V and G and I then parted ways, with V going back to Chennai. G and I headed off to Bandipur Jungle Lodge by car. This is a Lodge right near the Bandipur National Park, home to a variety of wildlife including tigers. It was only a (relatively) short journey to the Lodge of about two hours' drive.
The Jungle Lodges are government-run and provide basic ecofriendly chalet-style accommodation. In the case of the Bandipur Jungle Lodge, the accommodation is right on the edge of the Bandipur National Park. The accommodation was very clean, comfortable and (compared to the accommodation in Agra) relatively luxurious. All meals (which were surprisingly good) were included in the price of the stay, as were two safaris on jeeps through the National Park.
We went on our first safari that evening. G and I were two of five guests of the lodge sitting in the back of a jeep, cameras in hand and waiting to see wildlife. When we started off, all we saw were deer, monkeys and the odd mongoose. But before long we found ourselves right alongside an enormous male tiger, wallowing in mud to cool himself. We then quietly stalked the tiger in our jeep for about an hour, watching as he made his way around the park.
Although the Jungle Lodges advertise themselves as places to stay to spot tigers, apparently it's actually rare to see a tiger, so we felt very lucky. Indeed, on our second safari the following morning we didn't see any tigers, instead having to console ourselves by looking at monkey after monkey after monkey.
After the safari it was lunch and then we set off on the drive to Cochin. This should have been about a 7-hour drive but, thanks to roadworks and festivals blocking off the roads, it in fact took over 12 hours to get there. The drive was quite interesting, however, and we discovered the enthusiasm in the state of Kerala for blinged up christian churches. Along every road there seemed to be churches which could easily be mistaken for carnivals, as they were covered in tinsel, flashing lights and enormous statues of Jesus painted in lurid colours. On our occasional pit stops along the way we also discovered the influence of communism throughout the state, as we would find ourselves being served by shop assistants with name badges showing their parents had given them names such as "lenin". One poor fellow had a name badge showing that he had to suffer with the surname "stalin". I can only hope the name "Stalin" was adopted by someone in his family tree sometime before the Soviet famine and purges of the 30s.
After our very long drive we arrived in Cochin (Kochi). We had just enough time to have dinner, admiring the Marina next to our hotel, before getting to bed. It was up early the next morning for a city tour.
Cochin is a beautiful city, and I wish we had had more time to explore it. It boasts being the site of the oldest European-built christian Church in India, St Francis Church. The original church was constructed in 1503 by Portuguese Franciscan friars. That church, sadly, no longer remains but in the mid-16th century, the church below was built on the site to remember it.
Cochin was also the site of a Jewish settlement and "Jew Town" (that's its official name!) is a popular tourist spot and great place to explore.
The fishing trade and Chinese fishing nets also made for some good photo opportunities around the harbour.
After Cochin it was off to the Kerala backwaters. There we spent our very last night in India staying in the exceedingly luxurious Taj Resort in Kumarakom. There we got to paddle boats around the lake, went on a cruise through the backwaters and gorged ourselves on delicious food.
The next morning we flew back to Chennai where we had dinner with V before saying our sad farewells to V and India and boarding our plane to London.
V may or may not be pleased to know that he proved such a good tour guide, we've already booked our flights to come and see him in New York over easter. This is the problem with being a good host!
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