"Well, I have scored some big points with my rough traveling husband. (after we bought a 500$ Kashmir silk rug I kind of needed the extra points as this clearly was not a purchase brad saw to be prudent) However, as we headed into a small and somewhat unknown national park inhabited by aggressive monkeys, elephants, leopards and tigers, I managed to grit my teeth, appearing serene while heading into the jungle abyss wandering behind a guide with no English as we ambled towards a tree house camp site. Having had little conversation between us on the hike to our destination, Mani, our tribal guide, motioned for us to sit on the bank while he went to set up the ladder and tidy up the place etc . Brad and I spent the time sipping whiskey and watching birds by the river. Mani came down, motioned for us to go up and check the place out. Roughly 50 feet of vertical climb, brad later described the difficult assent as "a good time for an adrenaline junkie on crack". When we reached the top and opened the door to our abode, our senses were assaulted by a thick wafting aroma of urine. There was a 1/2 inch thick mat on the middle of the floor amidst mysterious droppings of which to whom they belonged I would later find out. We quickly set our bags down and headed down the "ladder" determined to spend every moment we could outside the room. As we continued trekking throughout the evening we found Mani had a few english words: "Elephant coming, Bison coming, tribal people coming" and "Banana".As dusk started settling we started cooking by the camp. Mani gave us a bag of fruit to snack on and save for breakfast. As he did so, he made a squeaky sound and said "coming banana". Brad and I wondered out loud what this could mean, is the banana coming to us? What is this squeaking sound? After we ate dinner, drank a little whiskey with mani, (who responded happily when we asked him "whiskey coming" to see if he cared for a nip or two) we headed heavy footed to our sleeping quarters. There are many strange noises in the jungle at night, none of which are superceded by the sound of arboreal rats dropping from the trees onto your roof, climbing inside your tree hut, running across the walls, floors and your feet "coming for banana".- Melissa.
leopard track
leopard track
Moni was a true forest guide. His instincts and vision were as sharp as I have ever seen. We sat on this rocky outcropping spotting wild elephants and indian bison (gaur).
tree house campsite
Cooking by the river.
bird watching on the river- bee eaters, parakeets, drongos, kingfishers, serpent eagles....
