Monkeys, Part II

To continue:
On our nature walk on Sunday afternoon, we ended up seeing deer and peacocks. Katie, Stephen, and I enjoyed the 1.5 hour walk even though we did not see any elephants. When we arrived back to our treehouse, we met another guide who had a Jeep ready to take us on a night safari. First, we went by a river and we finally saw an elephant on the other side of the water - not close, but it was a genuine elephant. On the rest of the safari, we saw more deer, bison, peacocks and monkeys. After we returned from the safari, the staff at the treehouse had made a campfire ready for us by the nearby river and we ate dinner to the sound of the water. We told funny stories intermingled with scary ones and genuinely enjoyed ourselves..

Monday morning we were up at 6am to go on another safari. Stephen arranged for us to have a quick cup of coffee by the Jeep, then we were on out way. The jeep took us over a rough track, which included going over a very rocky riverbed. Finally, we arrived at the coffee plantation where our trek on foot was to begin. Besides ourselves, we had the main guide, his assistant (carrying the machete for bear), and Indira, the woman who owned the plantation. Our guides kept tracking the elephant herd, but we just couldn't get to where they were located. The highlight of the trek; we saw a leopard! We were unable to see a tiger, but we were happy with what we did see. Besides the leopard, we say more monkeys and peacocks. Also, before we started the trek, we came across a herd of wild pigs.

When we arrived back at the plantation, Indira offered us a cup of tea before we headed back to the treehouse in the Jeep. Back at the treehouse, we were served a late breakfast which we ate on the covered verandah of a nearby guesthouse. Regretfully, after breakfast we packed our things to return to Mysore.

At Mysore, we had lunch and cold drinks before we toured the Mysore palace. The palace was beautiful. Unfortunately, we missed the lighting of the palace, which everyone says is spectacular, because it is only light on Sunday night. The palace was built by Indian royalty. Unfortunately, the original palace burned down and it had to be rebuilt in 1912. This time, instead of using wood, they used granite, cast iron, and other fire-proof materials. After our palace tour, Katie and I wanted to ride an elephant; they gave elephant rides on the palace grounds. Elephants seem a lot bigger and seem to sway a lot more when you're on top of the beast. I'm glad I did it; one more fun experience.

After the palace, we went shopping for wood carvings as Mysore is famous for its wood work. I think now I will definitely have to stop shopping while I still have money and room in my suitcase. Before we left for the train station, we had a quick bite to eat and more cold drinks. For my dinner, I had a hot chocolate ice cream sundae. It tasted great.

Once again we boarded the overnight train. This time, I had a lower bunk which made getting up and down a lot easier. I would ride in an overnight train again; you don't have to pay for a hotel and you don't waste sightseeing time by travel. We arrived back in Chennai in time to have breakfast with the group, then it was back to our work assignments.

Fast fact: 36 percent of Indian homes have indoor plumbing. 67% of Indian homes have television.