Our Corbett trip in Feb, a few years ago, was rather uneventful. 3 safaris and just a glimpse of the Tiger miles away from us, it was a total disappointment.
Entertainment and surprise awaited, thanks to this auto rickshaw ride which was supposed to be inside the periphery of the national park. We asked him to take us around the place for lesser known spots. Kailash, the rickshaw driver, was beaming, he had just seen two naive youngsters and he was to guide their travel crusade for the rest of the evening, and perhaps even the night. "Nainital is forty five minutes away, you must've heard about it," he said in a very matter-of-fact manner.
We were ecstatic! Nainital! That too 45 mins away? Seemed way too good a proposition. Didn't bat an eyelid to blurt out. "YES!!"
Indeed, adventures happens by surprise. With our cell phones drained out, we had no way to check where we were headed. But, how harmless could a 45 minute ride be? Anyway, we were gung-ho for Nainital. Half an hour into the ride, it was hard not to notice the drop in temperature. Dressed in light, cotton summer wear, me, the Mumbaikar was certainly having a tough time containing herself.
After what seemed like an eternity we reached Nainital. The temperature was around 10 degrees. In the last two and a half hours, we were two teeth chattering, clueless tourists, heading to the nearest store to pile on couple of layers of clothes.
We took in the sights and sounds of the place for the next forty five minutes, as the sun was setting. Time was less and who knew another two and a half hour had to be spent in the Rickshaw with forests and valley in the periphery. We hurried back, and about 10 kms away from the national park, my heart skipped a beat. We finally had our date with the bold yellow beast. What a frightful sight, s/he was a few metres away, crossing the road and Kailash beamed, "You are lucky. It was surely chasing some animal, else we would have been dead meat."
I think we paid him extra that night.
Come to think of it, who could have imagined, a rickshaw ride from Corbett to Nainital, three safaris, one tiger sighting and one helluva escape! Phew!
Entertainment and surprise awaited, thanks to this auto rickshaw ride which was supposed to be inside the periphery of the national park. We asked him to take us around the place for lesser known spots. Kailash, the rickshaw driver, was beaming, he had just seen two naive youngsters and he was to guide their travel crusade for the rest of the evening, and perhaps even the night. "Nainital is forty five minutes away, you must've heard about it," he said in a very matter-of-fact manner.
We were ecstatic! Nainital! That too 45 mins away? Seemed way too good a proposition. Didn't bat an eyelid to blurt out. "YES!!"
Indeed, adventures happens by surprise. With our cell phones drained out, we had no way to check where we were headed. But, how harmless could a 45 minute ride be? Anyway, we were gung-ho for Nainital. Half an hour into the ride, it was hard not to notice the drop in temperature. Dressed in light, cotton summer wear, me, the Mumbaikar was certainly having a tough time containing herself.
After what seemed like an eternity we reached Nainital. The temperature was around 10 degrees. In the last two and a half hours, we were two teeth chattering, clueless tourists, heading to the nearest store to pile on couple of layers of clothes.
We took in the sights and sounds of the place for the next forty five minutes, as the sun was setting. Time was less and who knew another two and a half hour had to be spent in the Rickshaw with forests and valley in the periphery. We hurried back, and about 10 kms away from the national park, my heart skipped a beat. We finally had our date with the bold yellow beast. What a frightful sight, s/he was a few metres away, crossing the road and Kailash beamed, "You are lucky. It was surely chasing some animal, else we would have been dead meat."
I think we paid him extra that night.
Come to think of it, who could have imagined, a rickshaw ride from Corbett to Nainital, three safaris, one tiger sighting and one helluva escape! Phew!
lucky you, i remember going to Panna tiger reserve and still not getting a sighting of the elusive beast.... this is an awesome story..would love to get to see the beautiful creature in his/her natural habitat :)
ReplyDelete@Apurva - Panna has many stories of tiger sightings. Went to Bandhavgarh in 2011. Couldn't sight anything. Natural habitat though can be a scary experience.
ReplyDeleteTiger sighting on auto rickshaw!! … is it for real ... how is that possible … lucky you :)
ReplyDelete@Dhruba :) as real as real can get. get out of the designed package and one can experience more - be it wildlife, or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI wud indeed consider U lucky... Last month, wen i visited both the places, d temp was either in minus /0 / 3 / 4... yet so beautiful, breezy n romantic :D
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ReplyDeleteMust also mention abt 1 of my scariest Safari trip to Corbett... Just for d kick of it, v broke d law - decided to go ahead for a nyt safari... Me with 11 cousins in 1 open Jeep that does not cross +40 speed @ any rate broke down in d middle of dry river around 1 or 2am... Over 50 deers were around us n its been said dat, wher there r too many deers, certainly there has to b a tiger... No phone network / service... Despite it being a dangerous situation, we didnt panic coz we cud hear no roar, i guess ;)... d guys were pushing the vehicle so dat it wud start n us girls hanging on d jeepsy, All drunk except 2, brother-in-law n d driver - both cursing us to have gone ahead wid d idea of nyt safari... Middle of d jungle... only darkness around, open sky with infinite stars n only moon light litting up the place, evryth c vud c was only in B/W... n jeepsy's headline only in d front..
ReplyDeleted entire event was sumthg we thot wud neva happen but it was... Scary yet fun... wow... i jus went back in time to experience it all ova agn!!!
I've been lucky at Kanha and Bandavgarh. Sadly, the highlight of my Corbett experience was a dhaba which made the most scrumptious parathas! I've glimpsed a few large cats like panthers cross the street in Mussoorie, but never a tiger. Terrifying and exciting!
ReplyDelete@manisha drinks and wildlife :( not a good proposition
ReplyDelete@aru:do let me know of this dhaba. will try if whenever i go next :)
wow! A sighting is fantastic! Had the luck of seeing the royal beast up close in Bandhavgarh back in '02! Crossed our jeep and walked past!
ReplyDelete@writermum - must have been amazing. my chance encounter changed my outlook and respect for this beast
Deleteअगर आगे आपके ब्लॉग पर घुमक्कड़ी की कुछ बढ़िया जानकारी मिली तो मेरा यहाँ पुन: आगमन होगा।
ReplyDeletekoshish aur apeksha karengay :)
Delete