Run!!!

Please ignore the dates at the top of these posts - we've had to jump around a bit to catch you up on our journey. After the birthday celebration in Mysore (scroll down if you missed this one), we headed up into the "hills" for a couple days. We decided to splurge a little to make up for not getting the palace experience.

We took a bus to Mudumali National Park and got a lovely room high up in a little family run jungle resort. Ahhh. Crisp sheets, cool clean air, gorgeous views, decedant meals, and overall royal treatment.

The highlight our our stay here was taking a jungle trek with a guide. When we arrived at the place, we asked where we could go for a walk and thought the response was a little odd. Apparently we were not to leave the property which was surrounded by an electric fence. When we quesioned this, the manager pointed out the damage that was done by a troop of elephants two days earlier...okay...maybe we would stay in the fence. We weren't too keen on running into a pack of destructive elephants.

So the next morning we took the official guided jungle trek as was highly reccomended by some fellow travellers.

This meant we walked out of the boundaries with a guide and assistant, both brandishing large knives. When the rusty blade fell off one of the knives as we were walking, we began to have a few doubts as to how "protected" we really were.

As we walked, we chatted with the guide about his jungle experiences, saw his scars from a bear attack and heard a few exciting "close call" stories. Most of the time, we walked in silence looking at fresh tracks and droppings, watching peacoks and deer, and doing some rare bird spotting.

As we hiked into an area with thick underbrush, our guide motioned us to stop quickly. He cupped his ears, and sniffed air. All of a sudden we heard something snort out a big puff of air. Something big. The look on our guides' face can only be described as sheer panic. He turned to us and yelled "RUN!!"

Picture yourself in this situation. You don't know what it is you are running from or where you are supposed to be running to. There is no clear safe space to be running towards. "Get inside!!" he says. "Run!!" Inside? Would this be inside the broken barb wire fence that is lying on the ground? The foundation of the ancient building that we just passed? (a possibility if we are running from an elephant but no use if it is a tiger) Or inside as in back at our hotel half an hour away? I am far to logical a person to survive such situations. While my mind is reeling with the possibilites and lack of clear directions, I stay firmly planted in one spot. Scott on the other hand is off and running. It is only when I realize that everyone being in front of me leaves me at a real disadvanage that I am able to get the adreneline needed to start running.

Sorry, I would love to tell you all about a near death experience with a tiger, but the story is not quite that exciting. We had run into a wild buffalo (which are actually very dangerous) but it didn't do any more than snort at us aggressively. Apparently our guide saw it's head poking out of the brush, but we didn't actually see it.

Needless to say, our hearts were pounding for the rest of the trek. As we examined some fresh elephant tracks we questioned our guide on what to do if you come across an elephant (just in case). "You run!" he says, "and try to go up or downhill." We moved onto discussing tigers when we came to the place where he had seen some last month. What to do? "You run!" he says. At this point we were getting a little worried. We knew that animal life in India may be a little different from their north american counterparts, but running from a tiger seemed a little pointless. What happened to the old "walk away slowly and calmly" advise we've heard all our lives? "Don't run, because then the animal will chase you?" Hmmm. We are now wondering why this man has so many close calls...

Needless to say, we survived the trip with only a few scratches and thumping hearts. It was a good thrill and the views were great. Moral of the story - don't walk into the Indian jungle without someone you can outrun. Or something like that.

That afternoon, we were convinced by our Swedish friends to join them on the half hour governement bus tour. We had heard that it was a waste of time and had minimal expectations, so were more than surprised when a herd of about 20 wild elephants decided to make their way onto the little paved road that the incredibly noisy, wildlife unfriendly bus navigates. Even the bus driver seemed a little shocked. Also saw some huge furry flying squirrels and columbus monkeys. Not bad for thirty rupees.