Peter Fullagar & Helen Topor

India – part 1

2011-11-16T16:29:00.000-08:00

Kolkata to Kaziranga and back

Wednesday 9 November 2011

The contrast between Singapore and Kolkata is immediately evident. For a city with close to 12 million inhabitants the airport is unremarkable. The baggage claim area is noisy, chaotic and strewn with plastic discards. Robert from Adventure World meets us outside, takes us to our driver and we experience a hair-raising drive to the Hotel Lytton 45 minutes away. Traffic weaves in an out and the horn sounds continuously and largely ineffectually. After 50, Helen stops counting the dogs and sleeping bodies she sees along the way. We are a little shocked to pull into a narrow laneway strewn with sleeping bodies and makeshift shelters and then into our hotel driveway. However, our room is spacious, clean and comfortable; but it takes a little while to unwind.

Thursday 10 November 2011

Surprisingly, we wake early so do our laundry. Breakfast at the hotel is convenient and pleasant.

The Indian Museum, built in 1814 and the largest in India, is opposite the Lytton. Peter purchases a 50 rupee permit to take pictures in the Zoology, Archaeology and Painting exhibitions we visit. The natural history exhibits look crowded, dusty, faded and decrepit; in the Painting gallery some miniatures are carelessly exposed to natural light, heat and humidity, but the Buddhist artifacts excavated from a stupa in Madhya Pradesh in the 19th century are superb. They are tastefully housed in an air-conditioned gallery—so far as we can see the only one in the museum; there is even an interactive computer program providing information on the life of Buddha and the excavation itself. This is the only sign of modernity we notice.

The Indian Museum on Chowringhee

Entrance to the Museum.
Note the date seems to be in conflict with otherwise stated date of 1874 for its opening.

Inner courtyard, Indian Museum

On the whole, the museum suffers from a lack of funds as well as imagination. We almost complete our tour of other Buddhist sculptures when an officious little man (they always seem to be little) angrily demands that Helen deposit her daypack at the entrance. We have seen enough so decide to look for a place to eat on Chowringhee instead. This is another disappointment. The once dynamic Chowringhee that runs parallel to Eden Park is also sadly rundown. Many of the buildings are boarded up and wear a neglected air. The constant honking of the traffic is becoming unbearable.

Only street vendors seem to be selling food and no cafés or restaurants appear for some time. Helen asks at the US Consulate for suggestions and one of the guards recommends Fire and Ice in Middleton Street. We are delighted to find ourselves in a spacious, clean, air-conditioned Italian restaurant with clean toilets. We find that we need these cool, quiet, comfortable spaces to recover from the heat, dust and noise outside.

The half-half pizza (Paesana and Fire and Ice) is delicious. Peter refreshes with Kingfisher beer and Helen with a Mint Cooler. A Frenchwoman whose husband is working in Kolkata for three years engages Peter in conversation. He tells her our travel plans and she is shocked that we are staying near the Indian Museum and that we are not protecting ourselves with insect repellent. We gather that she would rather not be in this city—and it’s understandable.

A nap claims us as does lack of local knowledge. We are literally in the dark—no power in the room. We press every switch several times to no avail. Peter seeks help and one of the staff presses the master switch outside our room. Fancy that! They do things differently in India. Trying to log into a computer in the hotel’s business centre doesn’t work either. The duty manager says if we wait five minutes we can use his computer. In the meantime, Snehashish the representative from Nature Trek arrives and restores our faith in the possibility of Indian punctuality, efficiency and thoroughness.

Rather than search for a restaurant, we decide to eat in the hotel—at the Dynasty. The décor is quite tasteful and restful and the Chicken Mie Foon and Chicken stir fry delicious. Kingfisher beer, as always, refreshes. Kenny Gee’s Breathless album seems to be the only music the Lytton plays—quite tolerable, nevertheless.

End of school day –Sudder Street close to our hotel

Friday 11 November 2011

A very auspicious day! We wake very early again so work on this blog. From the TV we learn that the justice system has sentenced 34 people for burning to death several hundred Muslims in a religious altercation two years ago. As well, the country’s biggest scam—the 2G scam—involving the Communications Minister, several businessmen and a loss of more than $40 billion in revenue, is currently being scrutinized by the law. Corruption and cynicism about the justice system is rife. Meanwhile, at one of the hospitals, the junior doctors have called off their hunger strike after relatives of a patient physically attacked them for negligence.

Stairwell at the Fairlawn Hotel

After breakfast we visit the Fairlawn, a few doors down in Sudder Street. The lively 91-year-old owner Mrs Violet Smith (nee Sarkis) welcomes us and entertains us with her banter. She is an Armenian who married Freddie Smith, an Englishman. They acquired the Fairlawn in 1934 from two elderly Englishwomen who ran it as a ‘gentleman’s club’. After Partition, however, the Smiths decided to stay in Calcutta (as it was then known) as they did not consider England to be home. Unfortunately, her daughter who lives in Britain, has dispensed with Mughal uniforms for the waiters—they are just ordinary penguins now—pity! So much of the charm of the place has been lost as a result.

Mrs Smith permits us to look around at ‘the bullshit on the walls’; we note the celebrities who have stayed at the Fairlawn in its heyday: among them Felicity Kendall, and Dominique Lapierre (of City of Joy fame). She was curious to know how we found the Lytton and invited us to have afternoon tea or a drink at her establishment.

Along the way to the Oxford Bookshop in Park Street we learn that William Makepeace Thackeray was born in Mirza Galib Street in 1811. A decade later the Armenian Philanthropic Society took over the building and it is now the Armenian College. We duck into Flury’s patisserie for cake and coffee—lovely! It has a fresh art deco interior and the service is very good. We soak up the European café decor complete with ornate crystal chandelier and superb etched glass doors. What a find!

With police assistance the crowd of pedestrians that gathers across the road from the Oxford manages to cross safely. Although the bookshop stocks a mix of Indian and European publications, neither of us finds what we are looking for. We return to our hotel, check out and take a death-defying yellow cab ride to the Hyatt, about half an hour of hell away.

Arrival is like entering Nirvana—no exaggeration! The cab is checked for concealed explosives, our bags searched and then we enter heaven. Our room is superbly decorated in pecan leather, chrome, glass, wood and marble—these touches of luxury are a far cry from Sudder Street. We are invited to partake of the Middle Eastern buffet at the Waterside Café. It’ll be quite a few hours before we feel hungry again.

We run the gauntlet of traffic at a wide crossroads to get to an ATM. As usual, it takes a little practice to get the hang of how Indian ATMs work, and we appreciate the privacy accorded to ATM users. Back in the Hyatt we shower in the luxurious sunken marble bathroom before enjoying a relaxing G & T at the bar; we then head down to the Gucchi for a small dinner. Before the meal arrives we are invited to watch a belly dancer performing on the terrace outside (another feature of the Middle Eastern food festival). After the Mughal fare and complementary dessert of ras gula we waddle off for an early night prior to our departure for Assam early tomorrow morning.

Blogging at the Hyatt Regency

For more Kolkata pictures see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kelsham/sets/72157628312064859/

Saturday 12 November 2011

Snehashish, the Nature Trek rep, duly meets us in the lobby at 8.00am. The driver take us through relatively ruly traffic to Dum Dum Airport. It takes us three attempts to check-in—nothing tells you that you need to go the particular airline’s security check first before you get your boarding pass. One lives and learns! As we present for boarding, Peter is told to get one of his baggage tags stamped or he can’t board! Luckily, he manages this and gets onboard our Indigo flight to Guwahati. The plane has a brand new feel with its pearl grey and indigo decor and the 1 hour flight was very smooth indeed.

Lunch stop near the airport in Guwahati

As we near Guwahati we catch sight of the snow-capped Himalayas glowing in the noonday sun. It is noticeably cooler and less humid here. We are met by Dipok and our driver Siraj who brings us to a local restaurant for chicken biryani before the 220 km (5 hour) drive to Wild Grass Lodge at Kaziranga National Park.

Getting out of Guwahati, the capital of Assam, takes more than an hour. We get caught in an enormously long convoy of coal-carrying trucks so we inch our way along. Trucks, and the occasional car or bus, ply Highway 37. Extensive roadworks further slows down traffic until we reach a well-made two-lane stretch that helps us make up some distance. Smog obscures visibility and darkness falls by 5.00pm. We travel in darkness for the last hour, narrowly missing cyclists, pedestrians and oncoming vehicles, many without one or both lights!

The main cause of the blockage in Guwahati – trucks turning back into the return lane.

We arrive at the Lodge knackered and meet our Assamese guide, Jintu. He was born and bred in Kaziranga and learned his birding stuff from the Lodge’s owner. The Lodge is large and airy, resembling a hunting lodge with its dark half-timbered exterior, stag heads on the walls and pictures of tiger. It is set amid large gardens with trees and flowering shrubs bearing a nameplate. Helen is delighted to see again the fragrant pink Hill Clerodendrum and Bauhinia racemosa with it five long pink petals, one bearing an almost purple streak, that she was familiar with in Bangladesh more than 20 years ago.

Wild Grass serves mainly Indian food (great quantities) and only stocks Assamese beer—He-Man 9000 (14% vol.) On the way to our room we see a group in tribal costume perform a pageant of songs and dance. Jintu tells us on Monday that this was Bohag Bihu, a celebration of Assamese New Year linked to fertility rituals. The dancers wear muga, very rare gold silk costumes with red and green embroidered medallions. Within a few minutes of our heads touching the pillow we are oblivious to all sounds.

Sunday 13 November 2011

Fortified with bed tea at 5.30am we set out at 6.00am for an elephant ride in the National Park. Several jeeps congregate at the park’s entrance and assemble at the mounting platform where Babu the two-year-old baby elephant is the star attraction. Once mounted, the party of 11 elephants and Babu head off into the 15-feet high elephant grass and we see rhinos quite quickly. We also see two species of deer, lots of birds and some water buffalo.

Our first encounter with an Greater One-horned Rhinoceros

Cameras pass from one mahout to another to capture for the people grinning in the howdahs, a remembrance of this morning’s fabulous experience in the marshlands of the park. The elephant ride lasts an hour but we see much wildlife in that time.

For more pictures of Greater One-horned Rhinoceros click here.

We return to the Lodge for breakfast then set out again for a morning jeep ride. We see many birds thanks to Jintu’s keen eye, and Peter contributes to a lot of sightings. Jintu mentions that his boss, Maan Burua, the owner of Wild Grass Lodge, is currently doing his PhD at Oxford University on the conflict between elephant and man. Highlights: Lineated Barbet, Alexandrine Parrot, Long-tailed Shrike.

After lunch we are ready for a short rest but decide to press on for the afternoon jeep ride replete with national park guide armed with a rifle. It is NP policy to protect passengers from rhino attack which, apparently, does happen. Jintu’s uncle, after 30 years as a NP guide, was killed by a rhino. And, very recently, two people were killed by tiger. Helen is a little unnerved to see the gun barrel pointing right at her; the observant driver asks the guard to shift the angle so it points out the window instead.

Although visibility is less clear than in the morning, we are rewarded with numerous sightings of birds and mammals, among them an aggressive water buffalo, an elephant and a rhino all along the track. Highlights: Bengal Monitor Lizard, Wild Boar, Pallas’s Sea Eagle, Yellow-footed Fruit-dove and large Indian Saddleback fish. Towards the end of the drive one of the drivers says he hears a deer distress signal and a tiger roar, so we wait and watch—but see nothing. We must have seen over 50 rhino today, including 30 in one spot. All in all a very rewarding day as our bird and mammal list shows.

Us on Elephant with mahout – Swamp Deer in background

For more pictures of Asian Elephants (domestic and wild) click here

Swamp Deer

Hog deer

There’s no hot water in our room, so Helen is given the key to the room next door. Peter’s not in the least hungry and just has soup. He develops a fever and goes to bed early with two Panadol, an extra blanket and a wet hand towel on his forehead. But he sleeps soundly.

Monday 14 November 2011

Peter feels much better this morning and manages a decent breakfast. Jintu and the driver take us on a 5-hour jeep ride (with armed guard) in the northern stretch of the NP. The small children in the villages bordering the NP wave and yell, ‘Bye bye. Bye bye.’ It’s a ritual we enjoy participating in. We see lots of birds in the trees, including in the graceful foliage of the silk-cotton tree and Indian acacia (far more elegant than Australian acacias); waterfowl in and beside lagoons (jheels); at least 20 Asian Elephants, including a two-month baby; about 10 rhinos; Swamp and Hog Deer; numerous Water Buffaloes; three Rhesus Macaques; and two species of squirrel.

Water Buffalo

Highlights: Indian Rollers with their electric blue markings in the tail and wings; male Minivet (bright red and black markings); female Minivets (bright yellow and black markings); the Greater Flameback, a Black-backed Woodpecker with prominent red crest, stripy face, spotted front, and golden back; the Bronze-wing Jacana; Peacock Pansy butterfly with its orange and black markings and beautiful peacock colours within the eyespots; and the Common Palmfly with its velvety black upper wings and red lower wings.

The exquisite Peacock Pansy

We reach the high southern banks of the wide fast-flowing Brahmaputra River where we see in the dried clay the prints of tiger, rhino, elephant and water buffalo. We make our way out of the NP and onto the highway bordered for some of its length by extensive tea plantations.

After a hearty lunch we move to our new room where Peter enjoys an overdue shower. The computer recharges and we hand over laundry to be washed. At 5.00pm we meet up with Jintu to complete today’s bird and mammal list. He invites us to watch the Jumur dance tonight after dinner. Members of the tea garden community will perform another fertility dance and several young girls will perform as well. Unfortunately, fatigue claims us.

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Up at 5.30am with bed tea and bananas for a 6.00am elephant ride in central Kaziranga NP. We’re on mother elephant and Babu her baby follows closely behind. Once again we see lots of rhino and deer, water buffalo and egrets. A short distance into the ride, some of the 10 elephants roar loudly—especially mother—and the mahouts are on full alert, looking around them vigorously. There is tiger about!

The morning jeep ride is also in the central area. An Indian tourist shows us a picture he took about an hour earlier of a tiger rushing out of the elephant grass to chase deer near the lagoon. There is eager expectation of a tiger sighting today. In fact, a short while later Helen points excitedly to a burnished back moving slowly in the grass—it’s a Hog Deer! Later in the day both of us mistake a barely visible rhino as a tiger—such is our hope of seeing one today.

More deer and buffalo pictures here.

The afternoon jeep ride takes us back to the southern part of the park where, at the main lookout, we see up to 52 rhino, some Asian Elephant, lots of deer, water buffalo and waterbirds, a wide assortment of birds and glimpses of the elusive Indian Saddleback fish. This part of the park is picturesquely set against the Karbi Hills below which are interlacing lagoons replete with wildlife. Peter remarks that he has not seen one telescope so far which he finds very strange. He’s not surprised that the guides don’t have one (a matter of funds) but he is surprised that the birders haven’t brought any. (A matter of weight?)

Black-necked Storks displaying

Highlights: a close view of a pair of Black-necked Storks displaying by raising and fully extending their black and white wings, doing tango movements with their necks and clacking their beaks in unison—absolutely wonderful courtship dance! Others are Blue Tiger, Common Leopard, Common Sergeant and Spotted Blue Crow butterflies; and the Pink Spider flower and red wild ginger flowers.

More pictures of displaying Black-necked Storks here.

Renowned Assamese film-maker, songwriter, poet, activist and Assamese cultural champion Dr Bhupen Hazarika died recently and the whole state is in mourning. They are paying homage to him in various ways: by holding memorial services, playing his films and music, re-releasing his poetry and publishing anecdotes about him. He was very proud to be Assamese.

Jintu (left foreground) performing in the Bohag Bihu

Tonight we are determined to stay awake long enough to see the dancers because Jintu will be performing with them in the Bohag Bihu. He sings, dances and plays the drum suspended around his neck enthusiastically. The graceful women dancers also wear muga and make undulating movements with their hips. This is a fertility dance after all. Unfortunately, no-one steps forward to accept the audience’s money so we hang about for a bit, nonplussed, then decide to retire for the night.

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Away at 7.00am for the five-hour jeep ride to the eastern part of Kaziranga NP. We look around the Spring Valley Resort and admire the ingenious use of cane, bamboo and rattan in the décor. The resort aims to use only local materials and designs in its décor. We are also shown one of the cabins—it’s very modern by comparison with our room at Wild Grass but lacks the amenity of the large sprawling garden we have in this somewhat ramshackle resort.

In the cool morning we see a Indian Rock Python that had recently devoured an egret (enough feathers for a milliner’s creation left as evidence); Oriental Pied Hornbills, more than 33 elephants and at least 6 small young; lots of water birds; a few rhinos; many water buffaloes; some swamp deer and hog deer; two Slender-billed Vultures; and an Indian Spotted Eagle.

Indian Spotted Eagle

After lunch we walk to Village Weaves, a handicraft centre with at least 6 massive looms. The teacher who runs the centre takes us to the workshop where a village woman is weaving a patterned cloth. The humble bicycle wheel, chain and pedal have been put to ingenious use to make spinning yarn onto bobbins easier and faster. We purchase two runners: a red one and a green one.

Indian Roller

Peter takes medication for his upset stomach and we spend the rest of the afternoon downloading photos, blogging, doing the bird and mammal list with Jintu, and generally relaxing. The sky is heavy with rain clouds. The Spanish couple have seen a tiger, relaxing beside a lagoon—their photographs prove it. In turn, they admire our screensaver of the two storks displaying. Helen discovers that they leave for Jorhat tomorrow and will be staying at the Lytton, so we’re likely to bump into them again.

More bird pictures here.

Thursday 17 November 2011

A leisurely morning as we prepare to depart for Jorhat airport 90 km to the north. The drive is less fraught and we arrive earlier than expected and, with the plane being delayed, it’s a long wait at the airport. We are told to change planes at the capital, Guwahati, then told to remain but change seats, and then back to Plan A. All the passengers are confused, not just us. Nevertheless, the second plane takes off on time.

We are met at Kolkata’s Dum Dum airport and driven to the Hyatt Regency. Lovely to be back in the lap of luxury again. The Jordanian belly dancer performs again this evening—the Middle Eastern festival is still on. However, Peter’s stomach is still not good. Kate Fullagar emails that she’d prefer a wall hanging to silver earrings so we check the hotel’s gift shop for options. Kate emails that she’d like the deep crimson and maroon one with gold paisley borders.

More Kaziranga pictures here.

India – part 2

2011-11-15T21:50:00.000-08:00

Kaziranga Animals

BIRDS

The following list of birds includes all those we saw at Kaziranga with a rough estimate of abundance. Those species seen on most days in large numbers (that is from 20 up to several hundreds) are shown in red. Many species were seen on all four days (13-16 November) in the park. The final column lists the few species added from a short walk in the grounds of Wild Grass Lodge on the last morning before we left.

			13	14	15	16	17
1	Spot-billed Pelican	Pelecanus philippensis	x	x	x	x
2	Great Cormorant	Phalacrocorax carbo		x
3	Little Cormorant	Phalacrocorax niger	x	x	x	x
4	Oriental Darter	Anhinga melanogaster	x	x	x	x
5	Grey Heron	Ardea cinerea	x	x	x	x
6	Purple Heron	Ardea purpurea		x	x
7	Great Egret	Ardea alba	x	x		x
8	Intermediate Egret	Egretta intermedia	x	x	x	x
9	Little Egret	Egretta garzetta		x	x	x
10	Indian Pond-heron	Ardeola grayii	x	x	x	x
11	Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis	x	x	x	x
12	Asian Openbill	Anastomus oscitans	x	x	x	x
13	Woolly-necked Stork	Ciconia episcopus	x	x	x	x
14	Black-necked Stork	Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus		x	x	x
15	Lesser Adjutant	Leptoptilos javanicus	x	x	x	x
16	Black-headed Ibis	Threskiornis melanocephalus			x	x
17	Lesser Whistling-duck	Dendrocygna javanica		x
18	Greater Whitefront	Anser albifrons		x		x
19	Greylag Goose	Anser anser	x	x		x
20	Bar-headed Goose	Anser indicus	x	x	x	x
21	Ruddy Shelduck	Tadorna ferruginea	x	x	x	x
22	Eurasian Wigeon	Anas penelope	x	x	x	x
23	Gadwall	Anas strepera	x	x		x
24	Common Teal	Anas crecca	x	x	x	x
25	Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos		x
26	Spot-billed Duck	Anas poecilorhyncha	x	x	x	x
27	Northern Pintail	Anas acuta	x	x		x
28	Northern Shoveler	Anas clypeata		x		x
29	Ferruginous Duck	Aythya nyroca				x
30	Osprey	Pandion haliaetus	x		x	x
31	Oriental Honey-buzzard	Pernis ptilorhynchus	x			x
32	Black-shouldered Kite	Elanus caeruleus			x
33	Pallas' Fish-eagle	Haliaeetus leucoryphus	x	x	x	x
34	Grey-headed Fish-eagle	Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus	x	x		x
35	Slender-billed Vulture	Gyps tenuirostris				x
36	Crested Serpent-eagle	Spilornis cheela	x			x
37	Crested Goshawk	Accipiter trivirgatus			x
38	Indian Spotted Eagle	Aquila hastata		x		x
39	Greater Spotted Eagle	Aquila clanga				x
40	Steppe Eagle	Aquila nipalensis			x
41	Changeable Hawk-eagle	Spizaetus cirrhatus	x	x		x
42	Swamp Francolin	Francolinus gularis			x
43	Red Junglefowl	Gallus gallus	x		x
44	White-breasted Waterhen	Amaurornis phoenicurus				x
45	Bronze-winged Jacana	Metopidius indicus	x	x	x	x
46	Grey-headed Lapwing	Vanellus cinereus		x		x
47	Red-wattled Lapwing	Vanellus indicus	x		x
48	Pin-tailed Snipe	Gallinago stenura	x
49	Spotted Redshank	Tringa erythropus		x		x
50	Common Redshank	Tringa totanus				x
51	Common Greenshank	Tringa nebularia			x	x
52	Green Sandpiper	Tringa ochropus	x	x	x
53	Wood Sandpiper	Tringa glareola			x	x
54	Common Sandpiper	Actitis hypoleucos	x	x	x
55	Brown-headed Gull	Larus brunnicephalus	x		x
56	River Tern	Sterna aurantia	x
57	Rock Dove	Columba livia	x	x	x	x
58	Oriental Turtle Dove	Streptopelia orientalis		x		x
59	Eurasian Collared Dove	Streptopelia decaocto		x	x	x
60	Red Collared-dove	Streptopelia tranquebarica		x	x	x
61	Spotted Dove	Streptopelia chinensis	x	x	x	x
62	Yellow-footed Pigeon	Treron phoenicoptera	x		x
63	Green Imperial-pigeon	Ducula aenea		x	x	x
64	Alexandrine Parakeet	Psittacula eupatria	x	x	x	x
65	Rose-ringed Parakeet	Psittacula krameri		x	x	x
66	Blossom-headed Parakeet	Psittacula roseata	x		x
67	Greater Coucal	Centropus sinensis		x		x
68	Lesser Coucal	Centropus bengalensis			x
69	Spotted Owlet	Athene brama		x
70	Asian Palm-swift	Cypsiurus balasiensis				x
71	Common Kingfisher	Alcedo atthis				x
72	Stork-billed Kingfisher	Pelargopsis capensis	x	x
73	White-throated Kingfisher	Halcyon smyrnensis	x	x	x	x
74	Pied Kingfisher	Ceryle rudis	x	x	x
75	Blue-bearded Bee-eater	Nyctyornis athertoni		x
76	Green Bee-eater	Merops orientalis		x	x
77	Indian Roller	Coracias benghalensis	x	x	x	x
78	Eurasian Hoopoe	Upupa epops	x
79	Oriental Pied-hornbill	Anthracoceros albirostris				x
80	Lineated Barbet	Megalaima lineata	x	x	x	x
81	Grey-capped Woodpecker	Dendrocopos canicapillus	x			x
82	Streak-throated Woodpecker	Picus xanthopygaeus		x
83	Grey-headed Woodpecker	Picus canus		x
84	Black-rumped Flameback	Dinopium benghalense		x		x
85	Greater Flameback	Chrysocolaptes lucidus		x
86	Bengal Bushlark	Mirafra assamica	x
87	Plain Martin	Riparia paludicola		x	x	x
88	Barn Swallow	Hirundo rustica	x	x	x	x
89	White Wagtail	Motacilla alba	x	x	x	x
90	Citrine Wagtail	Motacilla citreola		x		x
91	Yellow Wagtail	Motacilla flava			x	x
92	Paddyfield (Oriental) Pipit	Anthus rufulus				x
93	Rosy Pipit	Anthus roseatus		x
94	Long-tailed Minivet	Pericrocotus ethologus		x
95	Short-billed Minivet	Pericrocotus brevirostris		x
96	Scarlet Minivet	Pericrocotus flammeus	x
97	Grey-chinned Minivet	Pericrocotus solaris		x		x
98	Red-whiskered Bulbul	Pycnonotus jocosus			x
99	Red-vented Bulbul	Pycnonotus cafer	x	x	x	x
100	Golden-fronted Leafbird	Chloropsis aurifrons			x
101	Blue Rock-thrush	Monticola solitarius			x		x
102	Grey-bellied Tesia	Tesia cyaniventer				x
103	Thick-billed Warbler	Acrocephalus aedon		x	x
104	Common Tailorbird	Orthotomus sutorius				x	x
105	Greenish Warbler	Phylloscopus trochiloides		x	x
106	Western Crowned-warbler	Phylloscopus occipitalis			x
107	Striated Grassbird	Megalurus palustris	x	x	x
108	Taiga Flycatcher	Ficedula albicilla		x
109	Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher	Culicicapa ceylonensis					x
110	Oriental Magpie-robin	Copsychus saularis	x		x	x	x
111	Black-backed Forktail	Enicurus immaculatus					x
112	Daurian Redstart	Phoenicurus auroreus	x	x
113	White-tailed Stonechat	Saxicola leucura	x	x	x	x
114	Abbott's Babbler	Malacocincla abbotti		x
115	Puff-throated Babbler	Pellorneum ruficeps					x
116	Great Tit	Parus major				x
117	Velvet-fronted Nuthatch	Sitta frontalis		x
118	Little Spiderhunter	Arachnothera longirostra					x
119	Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker	Dicaeum cruentatum	x		x
120	Oriental White-eye	Zosterops palpebrosus		x
121	Black-hooded Oriole	Oriolus xanthornus	x	x	x	x
122	Brown Shrike	Lanius cristatus		x
123	Long-tailed Shrike	Lanius schach	x
124	Grey-backed Shrike	Lanius tephronotus	x		x	x
125	Black Drongo	Dicrurus macrocercus	x	x	x	x
126	Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo	Dicrurus remifer		x
127	Hair-crested Drongo	Dicrurus hottentottus		x
128	Ashy Woodswallow	Artamus fuscus			x
129	Rufous Treepie	Dendrocitta vagabunda	x	x	x	x
130	House Crow	Corvus splendens	x	x
131	Jungle Crow	Corvus macrorhynchos	x	x	x	x
132	White-vented Myna	Acridotheres grandis	x		x
133	Jungle Myna	Acridotheres fuscus	x	x	x	x
134	Bank Myna	Acridotheres ginginianus				x
135	Common Myna	Acridotheres tristis	x	x	x	x
136	Asian Pied Starling	Gracupica contra	x	x	x	x
137	Chestnut-tailed Starling	Sturnia malabarica		x			x
138	House Sparrow	Passer domesticus	x	x	x	x
139	Eurasian Tree Sparrow	Passer montanus	x	x	x	x
140	Baya Weaver	Ploceus philippensis	x		x
141	Nutmeg Mannikin	Lonchura punctulata				x

Among waterbirds we saw large numbers (hundreds) of Little Cormorant, Bar-headed Geese, Wigeon, Pintail, Gadwall and Common Teal. It was particularly difficult to scan most flocks of ducks on the Jheels because of distance and the lack of a telescope. As a result we might have missed a few species (e.g. Falcated Teal and Gargany). Spot-billed Pelican, three species of egrets (Intermediate, Little and Cattle) and a heron (Indian Pond), Oriental Darter, Asian Openbill, and Northern Shoveler were considered common (seen in numbers greater than 50 but less than 100 per day). About 20 Lesser Adjutant were observed on any one day with Ruddy Shelduck, Mallard, Spotted Redshank and Brown-headed Gull seen in numbers between 20 and 50 a day.

Of the land birds Rose-ringed Parakeet was abundant, with many hundreds seen every day. The only other abundant land birds were Plain Martin, Barn Swallow, Red-vented Bulbul, Jungle Myna, Common Myna, Asian Pied Starling and Baya Weaver. Rock Dove (Domestic Pigeon), House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, House Crow and Jungle Crow were commonly seen but mostly when we were out of the park and near habitation. Less common but still seen in numbers up to about 50 each day were Alexandrine Parakeet, Blossom-headed Parakeet, Oriental Turtle Dove, Red Collared-dove, Spotted Dove and Yellow-footed Pigeon. Indian Roller were also common but fewer than 20 were seen on any one day.

MAMMALS

We saw 14 species of mammal listed as follows:

			13	14	15	16
1	Asian Elephant	Elephas maximus	x	x	x	x
2	Rhesus Macaque	Macaca mulatta	x	x		x
3	Himalayan Striped Squirrel	Tamiops mcclellandii		x
4	Hoary-bellied Squirrel	Callosciurus pygerythrus		x
5	Wild Boar	Sus scrofa	x		x
6	Hog Deer	Cervus porcinus	x	x	x	x
7	Swamp Deer	Cervus duvauceli	x	x	x	x
8	Water Buffalo	Bubalus bubalis	x	x	x	x
9	Indian Flying Fox	Pteropus giganteus	x	x	x
10	Molossid bat	species?	x
11	Verspertilionid bat	species?	x
12	Greater One-horned Rhinoceros	Rhinoceros unicornis	x	x	x	x
13	Bengal Tiger	Panthera tigris	(x)		(x)	(x)
14	Smooth-coated Otter	Aonyx cinerea		x

Wild Asian Elephants were seen in numbers up to 50 a day in the central and western areas of the park and surprisingly, to us, we saw rhinos in extraordinary numbers in these same areas with as many as 50 or more visible at once on one occasion. We estimated at least 50 seen on our first day in the park and more than 90 seen two days later. Swamp Deer was the only other mammal seen in large numbers and mostly these were found on the wet meadows of the central area. Perhaps a hundred individuals in total. Hog Deer mostly kept to the tall elephant-grass areas and were therefore inconspicuous. Water Buffalo were common. Indian Flying Fox were seen at dusk when we returned to our lodge late in the day and at least two other smaller bats were noted on our first evening but they were unidentifiable to species.

REPTILES

The only reptile recorded was a Bengal Monitor Varanus bengalensis seen late afternoon on 13 November on leaving the park.

BUTTERFLIES

There are 1502 species of butterfly recorded for India. The following list includes all those seen by us over the four days. The number occurring within each family is given in brackets after the family name and the page number for each species in the excellent book on Butterflies of India by A. P. Singh (2011) published by OM Books International: Uttar Pradesh, is shown in the last column.

Plum Judy

Papilionidae (107 species)
Common Mormon	Papilio polytes	16
Lime Butterfly	Papilio demoleus	22

Pieridae (109 species)
Psyche	Leptosia nina	34
White (Great?) Orangetip	Ixias marianne	44
Red Spot Jezebel	Delias descombesi	44
Redbase (Common) Jazebel	Delias eucharis	46
Chocolate Albatross	Appias lyncida	48
Grass Yellow sp.	Eurema sp.	52

Lycaenidae (443 species)
Common Tit	Hypolycaena erylus	76
Lesser Grass Blue	Zizina otis	98
Plum Judy	Abisara echerius	107
Nymphalidae (522 species)
Blue Tiger	Tirumala limniace	111
Striped Tiger	Danaus genutia	112
Plain Tiger	Danaus chrysippus	112
Common Crow	Euploea core	114
Spotted (Striped?) Blue Crow	Euploea mulciber	115
Tawny (Black?) Rajah	Charaxes solon	116
Dark Evening Brown	Melanitis phedima	118
Common Palmfly	Elymnias hypermnestra	126
Common Leopard	Phalanta phalantha	137
Common Sergeant	Athyma perius	139
Common Sailor	Neptis hylas	142
Common Baron	Euthalia aconthea	145
Peacock Pansy	Junonia almana	155
Grey Pansy	Junonia atlites	155
Great Eggfly	Hypolimnas bolina	156
Hesperiidae (321 species)
Suffused Snow Flat	Tagiades gana	163

Striped Tiger

Common Baron

Blue Tiger

Common Sailor

Dark Evening Brown

India – part 3

2011-11-14T18:34:00.000-08:00

Kolkata to Kanha and back

Friday 18 November 2011

During breakfast Christina Kenneally, former Premier of NSW, walks past us to get some food. Helen introduces herself and says how much she enjoyed the Australian Story program on the Kenneally’s stillborn daughter. In the interchange Christina mentions that she is in Kolkata to visit some micro-credit projects and Helen mentions our visit to Kaziranga NP.

After breakfast we go back to the gift shop and purchase Kate’s wall hanging, a finely wrought miniature of a king making his way to his wedding on a highly decorated elephant, and a tourmaline necklace.

Back at the Lytton Hotel for lunch then to College Street by taxi in search of books. We find stall after stall stocking text books, and hopes of finding a field guide on the mammals of India fade rapidly. However, a bookseller thrusts a Dan Brown into Helen’s face which then directs her gaze to a small pile of novels and Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide which she eagerly snaps up. That should come in handy on the long train journeys facing us in a few days’ time.

Street scene

House Crows

The hunt for the field guide continues in the bookshops at the bottom of Sudder Street—no luck despite the assiduous efforts of the booksellers. However, Peter picks up another Amitav Ghosh: The Calcutta Chromosome.

Peter can only manage a G & T, soup and crème caramel for dinner. Despite all the medication he’s taken, the condition has not ameliorated and he spends another uncomfortable night.

Saturday 19 November 2011

The plan this morning is to visit the Victoria Memorial and St Paul’s Cathedral both in the southern end of the Maidan. We take a clean and comfortable AC taxi to the cathedral, passing along the way a large flock of goats being herded into the park for grazing! The cathedral is a fine though rather grimy building with a impressively wide curved ceiling spoiled only by many, but no doubt necessary, fans and lights hanging from a maze of long shafts. There are many memorials to those who died in battle, or on the way home to Britain and some who lived out their final years in the mother country. The church, the military and the judiciary are chiefly remembered.

Comfortable car and goats heading into the Maidan

St Paul's Cathedral

A short walk away stand the imposing Victoria Memorial. It’s set in a large landscaped formal park replete with moat. Certainly an impressive marble building but somewhat neglected inside. We look at a fine exhibition of Kalighat painting on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum. The labels are already dusty and the exhibition has only been open a month. We walk through galleries devoted mostly to the history of Calcutta and the British presence in India. Like us, Christina Kenneally intently reads the inscriptions and gazes at the numerous paintings, photographs and artifacts. After about an hour information overload seizes us so we head into Park Street for lunch at Flury’s. We indulge in Pear Belle Hélène for dessert—delicious and refreshing!

Horse riding in the Maidan

Victoria Memorial

Queen Victoria

A quick visit to the Oxford bookshop allows Peter to check again whether they have a decent field guide to Indian mammals while Helen gets a copy of The Slap to find out what happened at the end of the story. We missed the final few episodes on TV at home because we were on our way to India at the time!

Sunday 20 November 2011

After a leisurely breakfast we hear commotion on Sudder Street. Every Sunday at 9.00 is the mass feeding of the poor. Two coaches are parked in the street (presumably to bring in the food and distributors from one of the mandirs).

According to a tourism publication the Government of India Tourism Office should be open to give us written permission to enter the Marble Palace. As usual, confusion ensues. We ring the number provided. A security guard tells us in broken English that the office is closed today. He can’t quite tell us if it is open tomorrow—our publication says the office is closed on Mondays. Our taxi driver is convinced it’s open today so we go with him to two GIO offices to find them both closed, and he blithely tells us that the new government of Mamata Banerjee has declared all government offices should close on Sundays. Hmmm!

Nevertheless, we get a good tour of the major sights: another look at the Victorian Memorial (1921) and St Paul’s Cathedral (1839), and a first look at Fort William, the High Court, Town Hall (1813), Rajbhavan (1799), Writers Building (1880), the GPO (site of the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta all traces of which have been removed by a sensitive Indian government), Reserve Bank and St John's Church (1784). Eden Park, the home of the Dalhousie Athletic Club and the Calcutta Cricket Ground, is full of people, many of them playing cricket.

We ask the taxi driver to drop us at the Oberoi Grand—Helen suggests morning tea there. The driver insists on dropping us off inside the grounds (as much for his pride as for form’s sake). We admire the spacious, luxurious interiors: immense glass chandeliers, the marble floors, Persian rugs, immense floral arrangements, central courtyard with swimming pool and palm trees. We savour slowly the coffee and pastries.

The Oberoi Grand

A surprisingly short walk along Chowringhee, past street stalls doing brisk Sunday morning trade where Peter buys some batteries, brings us back to Sudder Street. We blog, check our emails and chat to the owner of the Jaguar always parked in the forecourt of the Lytton. Many guests ask him the question we ask him: ‘How do you dare drive your beautiful car in this traffic. Aren’t you worried about scratches and collisions?’ He shrugs it off laughingly. ‘I’m insured’, he replies.

How could you drive this through the streets of Kolkata?

We decide to revisit Fire and Ice for lunch. To our surprise Barkat Ali & Bros, the tailors in Park Street are open so we pop in to check out suitable fabrics for a jacket for Peter. Alam, a tall, robust Muslim with a pugilist’s face, helps us select a fine black and white striped fabric. He dictates the measurements to a wizened old man who apparently needs help with spelling basic English words such as ‘high’ (as in collar). Peter is to return on Tuesday at 4.00pm for his first fitting.

Fire and Ice is crowded with Indian families—it’s noisy but festive. We’re lucky to find a table, even at 2.30pm, but luckily a few large family parties with small children leave soon afterwards. We enjoy our pizza, chocolate mousse and a bottle of chilled Jacobs Creek 2010 Chardonnay. Colourful Italian film posters featuring Sophie Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, among others, decorate the walls.

We shall draw a discreet veil over our siesta and close today’s entry by saying that we had shared a small dinner later in the evening than usual.

Monday 21 November 2011

We actually sleep in for the first time this trip—it’s almost 7.00am! We’ll try again togo to the Government of India Office of Tourism. The Lytton’s doorman calls over a somewhat befuddled elderly Sikh who seems to need a lot of explanation to understand our destination. The instruction is to take us to the GOI, wait a few minutes until we get our written permission to visit the Marble Palace, and then take us to Pantaloons, a nearby department store. The Sikh motions us to his white clapped out taxi with incredibly dirty white interior with only one back door functioning. It does not augur well.

The engine coughs into reluctant life and we crawl along the vehicular fray in Chowringhee. The Sikh does not speak English and there is mutual misunderstanding. We seem to be getting a Cook’s tour of Calcutta and the fright of our lives when he crosses three lines of oncoming traffic and challenges a bus coming at relatively full speed. He asks for directions from several ignorant pedestrians who keep saying, ‘Ask a policeman’—there is none to be asked.

At the end of our tether by now, we ask the driver to take us to Shakespeare Sarani and drop us off there. We’re sure we’ll find our way on foot faster and more safely than remain in his vehicle. He has the gall to ask us for 250 rupees which Helen vehemently rejects and offers 100 (80 more than she thinks he deserves). He argues; Helen is adamant; he accepts his fate. We learn later that he is pagla—insane.

A knowledgeable young man in a bank directs us to the GOI, ‘two minutes walk’ away—it’s almost opposite. We obtain our written permission, discuss the cricket score and express our hope that Tendulkar will score his 100th century in Melbourne on Boxing Day instead of in Mumbai. Clearly, sport crosses all barriers and instant connections are made.

Pantaloons

A short walk away we find Pantaloons. Cleared by security, Helen tries a few shalwar kameez and buys a green and gold outfit. Unfortunately, there are no short kurtas to fit Peter—he needs a garment at least two sizes larger. We try at Westside next door but they only carry western gear for men. At the café we recover with a Lavazza and a shared muffin, then browse in the homewares section. It’s a short walk dodging traffic to Park Street for lunch at Flury’s.

Goats now in Sudder Street

Outside the Lytton the same herd of goats we saw on Saturday morning is resting in Sudder Street before they resume their trudge to where they are ‘staying’ (possibly in the Newmarket area). We discuss with reception the possibility of a two-meal hamper to take on the train with us tomorrow and a late check-out. Both are possible.

Dinner tonight is at the newly renovated Saffron restaurant in the Park Hotel, Park Street. It was a triumph of sleuthing. Without realizing it we walk past the entrance in Park Street but then get varying directions as to where exactly it is. In the end the security guard at Flury’s gives us the best advice—he tells us to ask the security guard next to the Oxford bookshop. He in turn directs us to walk through an ultra modern bistro called The Street, which we do. We then get directed by other security guards to go to the top floor of the Park Hotel but find that the Saffron is actually on the first floor. Arriving a little early we are beginning to doubt that the restaurant is even open. An observant waitress spies us hanging about and slides open the door. We’ve found it!

We relax in the modern setting—raw silk-like fabric on the walls, bronze satin built-in bench seating, white cotton covered seats, with raw silk-like table runners forming a cross on the black tables. The floor is in lovely orange, black and white mosaic tiles. A G&T helps us to select a moghul dinner: lamb with coconut and onion sauce, sufiyani murgh biryani (chicken) and chapatis. The portions were elegant so we don’t overeat.

Tuesday 22 November 2011

Given the long wait between check-out and train departure, we arrange an 8.00pm departure from the Lytton and a hamper to provide sustenance over the 20-hour train journey. Then we go with our favourite taxi driver to the Marble Palace. It’s situated in large grounds among encroaching slums and shops.

The Marble Palace - no photography but got this one!

The stone exterior is quite grand with high columns and porticos, although in need of a good clean. We have to remove our shoes to enter. Helen is wearing white socks! A self-appointed guide shows us around a series of galleries, some of quite large proportions, skirting a large inner courtyard. His English is heavily accented and difficult to understand. He keeps repeating two words: ‘tawtully marbell’ (all in marble).

First impressions are of grand spaces crammed with objects. The gloomy interiors with far too many statues (marble and plaster), very large Chinese and Japanese vases, a plethora of paintings and Belgian glass chandeliers reduce the grandeur of space to what seems like a large but dilapidated antique store. Many of the paintings are far too high up the wall to see properly; the lighting is insufficient and many paintings are obscured by statues or vases. In most rooms it’s too difficult to appreciate the design of the marble floors; however, in the ballroom and music room, which are less crowded with objets d’art, we have a good sense of the design.

The original owner, Rajah Rajindra Mullick, obviously loved marble, collecting Graeco-Roman classical figures, European royalty and porcelain. More than 90 varieties of marble sourced from all over the world were used for the floors. Several paintings were worth seeing: Rubens’ The Marriage of St Catherine, Murillo’s painting of a handsome young man, John Opie’s depiction of an exotic young woman, a Sanseferrato Madonna and Child, and Joshua Reynolds’ rather odd painting of The infant Hercules strangling a serpent. Depictions of Queen Victoria abound—not surprising since the Rajah lived during her reign as Empress of India.

There were some miniature aviaries on the first floor balcony filled by seedy specimens of parrots, mostly mutants of the Ring-necked Parrot but, interestingly, including a rare Golden Conure, some specimens of Eastern Rosella and two Red-rumped Parrots. Two bronze gorillas sat on marble tables.

Apparently, eight members of the Rajah’s descendants still live at the Palace. The overwhelming sense is of a man who collected too much with not enough discernment, as if to show off his wealth rather his taste. Nevertheless, the beauty of some pieces of the collection tend to be lost in the muddle. A little care in cleaning and pruning the objets d’art, displaying them with some aesthetic sensibility, improved lighting and a curatorial presence could really improve the presentation. Perhaps an entry fee could be charged to that effect.

Off to Fire and Ice now for a farewell pizza and another lovely Jacob’s Creek 2010 Chardonnay. We confirm our belief that our waiter is actually from the Nepal. He has worked in the Nepal Fire and Ice since 1998 and knows the Italian owner well. He even spoke a little Italian to us.

Since we’re in the vicinity we turn up early at Barkat Ali & Bros, but it’s no problem. Peter has his fitting and he’s happy with the way his jacket is taking shape. Chowringhee food stalls are doing amazing business today. On our way to lunch we can smell their offerings and on the way back to the Lytton they are still serving hungry passersby on tin plates or styrofoam moulded plates so contents are kept separate. Chapatis and naan are cooked over hot coals; rice and dhal kept hot in large dixies; sugar cane pulped by a hand-worked mangle; and oranges, pomegranates, bananas and apples on display.

We pass this plaque many times in Mirza Ghalib Street

We relax for a few hours before dinner secure in the knowledge that our hamper and transport have been arranged for tonight’s departure. However, we are mindful that one of today’s news stories is about a fire on a train, killing 7 people! The traffic is noticeably lighter as we make our way through DBB Bagh and over the illuminated Howrah Bridge to Howrah Station, just on the northern shore of the Hooghly River. We learn to our dismay that the train will now depart at 12.30am, two hours later than expected. As we have no desire to wait at Howrah for more than 3 hours, we return to the Lytton. At 11.15pm we ask reception to check the departure time again and 12.30am is confirmed. So we set off once again. Luckily, that does not mean two payments for our ‘decent’ taxi.

For more pictures from Kolkata click here.

We soon see our train pull into Platform 9 and hunt for our names on the passenger lists being pasted up outside the first class carriages. We check one list—nothing; a second list—nothing; and third list—nothing; then we see our names on a fourth manifest. Of the three compartments in our carriage, we choose the middle one because it has the fewest people in it: two men, a father and son. We have the whitest starched bed linen, pillows and towels and we are far from the toilets. The journey bodes well.

The four of us soon fall asleep, Helen in the top bunk and Peter in the lower one, but not before the son and Peter chat about Mitchell Johnston’s prowess as a fast bowler.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

The father and son leave the train at 6.00am but we sleep on. Unfortunately, our two-hour sole occupancy of the compartment is over when a short, obese man wheezes in breathless. He farts and belches, much to Helen’s dismay, and pulls on the couchette’s loop strap above his head to turn his body when he lies down. Several hours later a very tall, slender young man comes in. He’s fully wired (iPhone, iPad,) and has a book and magazine to entertain himself with for the long journey to Mumbai, another whole day away.

First Class to Jabalpur

We finally pull into Jabalpur station at around 10.00pm and get hassled by half a dozen auto rickshaw drivers. We wave them away looking for a taxi. Not one in sight. As the Narmada Jackson hotel is only half a kilometer away we settle for an auto rickshaw. It’s amazing how we and our luggage fit in quite comfortably for the short journey. The hotel is lovely and spacious. We order some dessert and tea from room service and have a beautifully warm shower before bedtime. However, we ring reception about the noise outside our room, and it quietens immediately.

Thursday 24 November 2011

Our driver arrives an hour earlier than expected. We’re almost finished breakfast when his presence is announced so we checkout shortly afterwards to begin the 3-hour drive to Kipling Camp. It goes quite smoothly on good roads and we are delighted to be welcomed by Emily. She’s a 20-year-old English girl from Gloucestershire on a 3-month volunteering stint before she starts university next year. Shortly afterwards, a young British couple from Reading come and chat to us. Chris and Lucy are absolutely wonderful—we have lots of laughs with them. They’re on their ‘trip of a lifetime’ and are thrilled to have seen tiger on their second last day.

Cattle on the road to Kipling Camp from Jabalpur

Rishin, the head naturalist, introduces himself and takes us on our first jeep safari. We enter Kanha NP through the Kathia gate. More than 30 jeeps line up for entry. We see the family of Spotted Owls in a fig tree near the entrance gate. They will come to amuse us each time we enter and leave the park. Sometimes we see one or two other times up to six of them either peering at us from a large hole or perched nearby on a branch. We go to Kanha Meadow and among numerous sightings of birds, we see two beautifully crested Hoopoes warming themselves in the dust, Sambar Deer, Long-tailed Shrikes and Black-faced Langur monkeys. Tiger pug marks are clearly visible in the sand.

Lining-up to enter the Partk

Tiger pug marks

Hoopoes on the track

That evening Rishin takes us to a Baaiga community site for an alfresco dinner and to view a cultural show. The Baaiga used to live in Kanha NP and farm the land, thus displacing the wildlife and reducing their numbers. In 1973. when the NP was established, the Baagia were relocated from the Kisli gate area, the wildlife returned and started to increase in number. We walk back to Kipling Camp by torchlight and stop to feed Tara the resident elephant some jaggery (large blocks of brown sugar). Feeling somewhat sad that we will no longer have Chris and Lucy’s company, we wish them safe journey and good luck in their future plans. We’ll be up at 5.00am and they’ll be gone while we’re on safari. We’ll miss them.

Baaiga dancers

Chris and Lucy with Helen

Just love the hot water bottles left on a chair outside our door, insulated by two cushions. After a quick wash we clamber into our four poster bed and draw the mosquito net around us. Our feet are surprisingly cold, but only for a short while.

Friday 25 November 2011

Coffee, banana and biscuits come on a tray with our 5.00am wake-up call. In half an hour we’re waiting in the shamiana for Rishin. One of the staff tells us to follow him to where the vehicle is waiting—just outside the gate. Again, there are a large number of jeeps waiting outside the Kathia gate. Copies of passport IDs have to be given to the authorities who monitor who goes into the park. All vehicles have a number and the process, while slow, is thorough and orderly.

Assembling to enter Kanha National Park

Rahim is our driver cum spotter. He took us to the core area of the park. In the cold dawn light we see a Changeable Hawk Eagle, displaying peacocks, Wild Boar and lots of deer.

Breakfast is around 9.00am in a purpose-built structure beside a park with an interpretive centre, toilet facilities and large car park—all clean and visitor friendly. This is on the site of a former Baaiga village where George B. Schaller stayed in 1964 when he came to Kanha to study deer, antelope and tiger. Peter buys his autographed book at the KC shop a few days later.

Emily informs us that we are the only guests at the moment; the next group arrives after we leave. Kaustubh, a tall, handsome, slow-talking Maharastha naturalist joins us for lunch; he has beautiful eyes and a crooked lazy smile. Rishin is in Jabalpur today. After lunch Emily opens the shop and Peter buys himself a tiger T-shirt, and for Rohan a tiger story and red tiger T-shirt. Helen is interested in the woodpecker painting but Belinda Wright, daughter of KC founders Anne and Bob Wright, says it’s not for sale.

Kaustubh is our guide for the afternoon safari. Rahim drives us along the Indri and Chimta Roads. We sight some more pug marks: tiger, gaur, deer and jackal. We also see at least 10 gaur (bison); Jungle Owl, Barasingha up to their bellies in water, white and mauve coxcomb and bright yellow snapdragon-like flowers on long green stems. In the meadows the feathery flower heads of the tall grasses look wonderful in any light. The only wind is that produced by the jeep’s slipstream. The perfect stillness continues throughout our stay.

Red-wattled Lapwing

A fine specimen of Baronet Euthalia nais

Evening in the meadows of Kahna National Park

Wild Pig

For more pictures of Swamp Deer or Barasingha at Kanha click here.

For more pictures of mammals at Kanha click here.

Since we are the only guests, Emily arranges for us to have dinner at 7.00pm, an hour earlier than usual. That allows a little digestive time before the necessity of getting to bed early. During the night Helen is woken by loud alarm calls from langurs. Tiger or panther is near.

Saturday 26 November 2011

Bed tea comes at 5.00am and we set off for Kathia Gate. We wait longer than usual, so Rishin suggests we get up 15 minutes earlier tomorrow to beat the crowd. At Kisli gate in the early morning light we see two Jackal running in front of us. We are also treated to two sightings of tiger—one before breakfast and one after! Alarm calls have been sounding so we follow them and wait. A tigress saunters nonchalantly behind our jeep; we would have missed her entirely if not for the canny eye of our driver who spies her in his side mirrors. Rishin is wild with excitement. Although he has seen 20 tigers this season, he’s thrilled to have seen one on the track, unencumbered by vegetation. We’re thrilled for exactly the same reason—and the photos look great!

Our first Bengal Tiger – a tigress with two cubs we are told

After breakfast, Rishin suggests we wait for the tiger show. That means we’re 20th in line to possibly see tiger by elephant back. He suggests we check out the interpretive centre beforehand. The quality and comprehensiveness of the bilingual exhibits (Hindi and English) are impressive. As we step out into the sunshine, Rishin urges us into the jeep which rushes us to where four elephants take people into the forest at about 10-minute intervals to where a tiger has been herded.

Elephants used to view tiger at close range

Heading off to see the tigress

We clamber up a ladder, onto the elephant’s howdah and before we’re really set off we charge into the forest. In the scramble Peter’s metal bar restraint jumps out of its hook but he somehow manages to remain in the howdah, rehook the bar, and hang on tight while the elephant runs and dips into the forest. There, lying on the ground, is a tigress gazing at us. She’s licking blood off her left front paw. Peter takes lots of pictures. We get a very good look at her before our turn is up. We’re thrilled.

Our second Tiger – a three-year-old tigress

For more pictures of tigers click here.

After lunch Rishin and the driver take us to a new part of the park. It’s dustier than usual, but we manage good sightings of Barking Deer, Sambar Deer, Gaur, Wild Boar, 4 Jackals, 4 Spotted Owlets in a fig tree, numerous beautifully spotted Chital Deer, and a variety of birds, including 2 more Hoopoes dustbathing, a Tickell’s Thrush and a Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher.

Spotted Owlets

White-throated Thrush

Dinner in the cosy shamiana is amid alarm calls from langur and Spotted deer.

For more pictures of Spotted Deer and Sambar click here.

Sunday 27 November 2011

Bed tea at 4.30am and departure 30 minutes later brings us no closer to the front of the queue. Sunday is the most popular day for visitors to the park and everyone seems to have had the same idea. Emily comes with us. At Kisli gate four Jackals run across our path. We drive to the Bamnhidadar plateau lookout spot over the valley. On the way we see a Hen Harrier, a sighting not recorded before. As we step out of the jeep, still in our parkas, a group of young children come running up. One lad holds a camera up to his face, so Helen does a crazy pose, much to the delight of the children and their parents.

Morning mists in Kanha National Park

Sunlight through the trees

A typical track scene in Kanha National Park

For more views in Kanha National Park click here.

Through the morning mist we can see enough of the valley to appreciate its depth and expanse and enjoy an alfresco breakfast in the purpose-built gazebo. As we are about to leave another jeep pulls up and two young women step out. Emily seems to know one of them. Later we learn that this is Isa(belle) and her sister visiting from Switzerland. Helen asks Isa where she’s staying. ‘I have a lodge,’ she says, which Helen at first takes to mean she’s organized a lodge for herself and her sister. We wave goodbye, buoyed by the friendly interaction.

On the Bamnidadar plateau

In subsequent discussion, Emily explains that Isa and her Indian husband Karan have constructed the fabulous Flame of the Forest Safari Lodge. Kaustubh also praises the lodge and its owners. It sounds intriguing. The safari continues and highlights are sighting a Siberian Rubythroat, a bunch of Wild Boar ripping apart the remnants of a deer, Gaur and lots of birds.

After lunch one senses that as this is our last safari, it’s somewhat half-hearted. In fact, Kaustubh recommends we don’t pay the Forestry guide anything because he hardly spots anything, Peter and Kaustubh doing most of the work. Along the way we spot Isa’s jeep. We wave and greet each other and, on impulse, Helen asks if we can pay her a short visit after the safari. Isa agrees enthusiastically.

Flame of the Forest is situated on the banks of the Banjar River about 6 km of dirt track from Kipling Camp. The Gond villages we pass through look industrious and neat. (These are descendants of the Gonds from Gondwanaland.) In the late afternoon sunshine we see two foxes and several night jars against a rising moon.

Green Bee-eater

Long-tailed Shrike

Large-billed Crow

For more bird pictures from Kanha click here.

For some pictures of Langur click here.

From the entrance we can see that this is a boutique lodge, quite unique in Kanha. A wooden bridge lit with kerosene lamps lights our way to the Lodge’s lofty and airy bar and dining area tastefully furnished in Central Indian vernacular style. It’s an ideal place to see wildlife, watch the sunset and gaze at the stars. Another boardwalk bridge brings us to one of the four luxurious guest cottages, also in the same style.

Entrance is through a shaded courtyard. The kingsize four-poster bed is set around a dramatic play of stone-clad walls and handcrafted woodwork and looks out on a patio and the river. The ensuite bathroom is stylishly mix of the modern and traditional—it has two sinks, a shower encircled by bamboo stakes through which a sari is threaded, a large tile surrounded by pebbles is under the showerhead and local artists’ works hang in the cottage for a year before they are for sale.

Isa explains that she has based the design of the cottages on village crafts (hence the vernacular style) but the bathroom facilities are up to the minute. Beside each cottage is a machan (small pavilion) where guests can sit and enjoy the river and the forest during the day, watch the sunset or sleep there at night covered in a mosquito net. Tonight a new/old??? moon hangs in the indigo sky beyond the river in golden clarity, it’s circumference sharply defined and hidden roundness speckled with gold dust. It’s a magical moment.

We decline Isa’s kind offer of tea or coffee as we don’t wish to extend Kaustubh’s or the driver’s day unnecessarily or presume too much on her generosity. She does have guests after all. Unfortunately, Karan has a heavy cold and has spent the day in bed so we don’t get a chance to meet him. They met in India in a yoga class and have made it their life’s work to construct a ‘rejuvenation centre’ for those seeking to de-stress. They’re both yoga teachers and offer ayurvedic massage, among other things.

Isa is very pleased with our enthusiastic appreciation of their lodge and their vision. In parting she says, ‘We love the lifestyle here and we like to make people happy.’ We certainly took that feeling back to Kipling Camp with us. It was a perfect way to end our holiday in Kanha.

Sunset over Kanha National Park

Monday 28 November 2011

Lovely to sleep till 7.00am; breakfast with ‘the Kipling family’ is tinged with sadness. Last purchases are made, the bill settled, tips paid and the visitors’ book noted. Our driver is waiting and we make our heartfelt farewells. Rishin urges us not to wait 21 years before our next visit and suggests we come in March next time, to note the difference. Fortunately, our train is on time and we board with no mishap.

The Shamiana

Rishin, Emily and Helen hard at work blogging

Tara the Elephant and mahout

Our room on the right

Entrance to our room

Helen beside the mosquito netted four poster bed

Emergency whistle in our room

The Shamiana

Rudyard Kipling

For more pictures of Kipling Camp click here.

Tuesday 29 November
We are on the train overnight from Jabalpur to Kolkata. Our fellow traveler, a well-dressed man in his late 30s, boards at the next stop. Having only his mobile phone and a comic book to entertain himself with, he is very soon bored. He leaves the compartment frequently and grumbles to himself a lot. His discomfort is palpable. Fortunately, he leaves the train at Dhanbad Junction, giving us some 5 hours to ourselves. During the journey we are entertained by the vendors offering passengers what sounds like char, paani, champagne (tea, water, surely not the latter?) Others offer chai, lemENti (tea, lemon tea?)—intoned in the delightfully emphatic way of newspaper boys of yore. However, one with a doleful gravelly tone particularly appealed to Peter.

Helen blogging on the train to Kolkata

First class sleeper compartment Indian Rail

From our perch on a bridge high above a river, we see brightly coloured saris laid out to dry in neat rectangles on the grassless river flats. Further along, narrow grassy bunds (aals) divide the vast padi fields into irregular shapes. The taxi ride from Howrah Station is very noisy and frightening and we’re glad to arrive at the Lytton Hotel for peace and privacy.

After lunch we see Alam the tailor who introduces us to the fifth generation of the Barkat family, a young man who was trained in Bombay. The family resemblance is unmistakable. Peter’s jacket looks superb! Everyone is very happy with the result.

Our tailors in Park Street Kolkata

We return to sort out our luggage, check emails and have a nap. Dinner is at the Dynasty but no beer is available because there is a by-election on tomorrow. Mamata’s party is sure win, according to our waiter. No alcohol can be served until 5.00pm tomorrow. A comfortable bed and clean ensuite is much to be valued.

Wednesday 30 November 2011
At breakfast Helen reads in the paper that a young woman’s wedding has been cancelled because her husband-to-be refuses to walk the 5 km of narrow aals to visit his in-laws. The way the story is reported seems to be a thinly-veiled plea for a road to be built to stop this sort of social embarrassment and to make it easier for people to move about.

Helen is intrigued by a group of Chinese high school kids at breakfast and their purpose for being in Kolkata. They all wear identical black T-shirts. One of the girls tells her that they have come to volunteer at one of Mother Teresa’s facilities for orphans. It appears we’ll all be on the same flight tonight bound for Singapore.

After adding to the blog, we walk out into Sudder Street to see a table outside the Wesley Centre Day School flying Mamata Banerjee’s colourful Tiramool Congress Party flag. The electoral officers allows us to take a picture. Opposite, against the Indian Museum, is the Communist Party table, with two rather bedraggled flags. We chat about voting practices in our respective countries and the paradox of compulsory voting. The CP volunteers are all in favour of it.

We then stroll to Park Street to take a few pics of the places we have been to there. As the Tollygunge Club only accepts members for lunch—where Bob and Anne Wright lived for many years—it’s Fire and Ice instead. We note the paving being carried out in Chowringhee leading to the Indian Museum—much smoother for pedestrians now. Whiffs of sandalwood and aniseed mix with the pungent odours of urine, refuse, and diesel fumes, and the more pleasant aromas of food cooking. Fruit is displayed in large circular baskets, samosas and chapatis are being cooked on coals. The never-ending honking of horns assails our eardrums. As its election day today, many of the shops and stalls are closed.

Dry Day continues so its water—no wine—and crepelle of chicken and mushroom, spaghetti carbonara followed by chocolate mousse, vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce and cappuccinos. On the streets outside people drink tea from small terracotta cups which they throw into a bowl or smash on the kerbside when finished.

We check our emails and relax in our room before the books on Indian mammals arrive. Peter and Rishin organized this acquisition of rare books at K. Camp. When Peter rings to confirm our transport to the airport, Robert from Adventure World advises that we leave at 7.00pm (instead of two hours later) to avoid any hold ups because of post-election protests.

The traffic on the airport road is very heavy. On the way we see several gaudy wedding ‘palaces’ where those with money hold their nuptial spectaculars. We also see high-rise chrome and glass skyscrapers and apartment blocks which form the new Calcutta. Giant Santas, massive decorated trees and Christmas lights festoon the new buildings. Robert tells us that Kolkatans celebrate Christmas in a big way despite the fact that most are not Christian. At around midnight we board our Singapore Airlines plane for the 4.5 hours flight to Singapore.

India – part 4

2011-11-13T23:48:00.000-08:00

Kanha Animals

Black-shouldered Kite mobbed by greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Three sleepy Spotted Owlets

Changeable Hawk-Eagle

Kanha animals
The following lists include all the species of birds and mammals we saw at Kipling Camp and in the Kanha National Park between 24 and 28 November 2011. The first column includes those seen in the evening of the 24 November combined with those seen the following day and next two columns are those seen on 26 and 27 November. We made no lists for the 28 November.

Birds

Red Junglefowl	Gallus gallus	x		x
Indian Peafowl	Pavo cristatus		x	x
Lesser Whistling-duck	Dendrocygna javanica	x
Northern Pintail	Anas acuta	x
Black-rumped Flameback	Dinopium benghalense	x		x
Brown-headed Barbet	Megalaima zeylanica	x	x	x
Coppersmith Barbet	Megalaima haemacephala	x		x
Indian Grey Hornbill	Ocyceros birostris	x	x	x
Common Hoopoe	Upupa epops	x	x	x
Indian Roller	Coracias benghalensis		x	x
White-throated Kingfisher	Halcyon smyrnensis	x	x	x
Green Bee-eater	Merops orientalis			x
Sirkeer Malkoha	Phaenicophaeus leschenaultii	x
Greater Coucal	Centropus sinensis	x	x	x
Alexandrine Parakeet	Psittacula eupatria	x	x	x
Rose-ringed Parakeet	Psittacula krameri	x		x
Plum-headed Parakeet	Psittacula cyanocephala	x		x
Crested Treeswift	Hemiprocne coronata			x
Collared Scops Owl	Otus bakkamoena	x	x	x
Jungle Owlet	Glaucidium radiatum	x	x	x
Spotted Owlet	Athene brama	x	x	x
Grey Nightjar	Caprimulgus indicus			x
Rock Pigeon	Columba livia	x	x	x
Laughing Dove	Streptopelia senegalensis	x	x	x
Red Collared Dove	Streptopelia tranquebarica			x
Yellow-footed Green Pigeon	Treron phoenicoptera	x	x	x
Green Sandpiper	Tringa ochropus	x
Yellow-wattled Lapwing	Vanellus malarbaricus	x		x
Red-wattled Lapwing	Vanellus indicus	x	x	x
Black-shouldered Kite	Elanus caeruleus	x	x	x
Indian Vulture	Gyps indicus			x
Red-headed Vulture	Sarcogyps calvus	x	x
Crested Serpent Eagle	Spilornis cheela	x		x
Hen Harrier	Circus cyaneus			x
Shikra	Accipiter badius	x
White-eyed Buzzard	Butastur teesa			x
Changeable Hawk Eagle	Spizaetus cirrhatus	x	x	x
Common Kestrel	Falco tinnunculus			x
Little Grebe	Tachybaptus ruficollis	x		x
Little Egret	Egretta garzetta	x
Intermediate Egret	Mesophoyx intermedia	x	x
Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis	x	x	x
Indian Pond Heron	Ardeola grayii	x	x	x
Black Ibis	Pseudibis papillosa	x		x
Black Stork	Ciconia nigra	x
Long-tailed Shrike	Lanius schach	x		x
Rufous Treepie	Dendrocitta vagabunda	x	x	x
Large-billed Crow	Corvus macrorhynchos	x	x	x
Eurasian Golden Oriole	Oriolus oriolus			x
Black-hooded Oriole	Oriolus xanthornus	x		x
Large Cuckooshrike	Coracina macei	x	x	x
Scarlet Minivet	Pericrocotus flammeus	x	x	x
Black Drongo	Dicrurus macrocercus	x		x
Ashy Drongo	Dicrurus leucophaeus	x
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo	Dicrurus paradiseus	x	x	x
Black-naped Monarch	Hypothymis azurea			x
Common Iora	Aegithina tiphia			x
Common Woodshrike	Tephrodornis pondicerianus			x
White-throated Thrush	Zoothera citrina cyanotus	x	x	x
Tickell's Thrush	Turdus unicolor		x
Red-throated Flycatcher	Ficedula parva	x		x
Verditer Flycatcher	Eumyias thalassina			x
Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher	Cyornis tickelliae		x	x
Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher	Culicicapa ceylonensis	x	x
Siberian Rubythroat	Luscinia calliope			x
Oriental Magpie Robin	Copsychus saularis	x	x	x
Common Stonechat	Saxicola torquata	x	x	x
Grey Bushchat	Saxicola ferrea		x	x
Common Myna	Acridotheres tristis	x	x	x
Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch	Sitta castanea	x
Great Tit	Parus major	x		x
Inidian Yellow Tit	Parus aplonotus			x
Red-rumped Swallow	Hirundo daurica			x
Red-vented Bulbul	Pycnonotus cafer	x	x	x
Ashy Prinia	Prinia socialis		x	x
Plain Prinia	Prinia inornata			x
Oriental White-eye	Zosterops palpebrosus	x	x	x
Common Tailorbird	Orthotomus sutorius			x
Greenish Warbler	Phylloscopus trochiloides		x	x
Hume's Leaf-warbler	Phylloscopus humei			x
Indian Scimitar Babbler	Pomatorhinus horsfieldii	x
Tawny-bellied Babbler	Dumetia hyperythra			x
Jungle Babbler	Turdoides striatus	x	x	x
Brown-cheeked Fulvetta	Alcippe poioicephala	x	x	x
Baya Weaver	Ploceus philippinus			x
Red Avadavat	Amandava amandava	x
Scaly-breasted Munia	Lonchura punctulata	x	x	x
Black-headed Munia	Lonchura malacca	x

Displaying Peacock

Peacock

Collared Scops Owl

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Jungle Owlet

Hoopoe dustbathing

Yellow-wattled Lapwing

Mammals

Indian Flying Fox	Pteropus giganteus			x
Common Langur	Presbytes entellus	x	x	x
Three-striped Palm Squirrel	Funumbulus palmarum	x
Common Giant Flying Squirrel	Peaurista petaurista			x
Asiatic Jackal	Canis aureus	x	x
Indian Fox	Vulpes bengalensis			x
Tiger	Panthera tigris		x	x
Wild Pig	Sus scrofa	x	x
Spotted Deer	Axis axis	x	x	x
Swamp Deer	Cervus duvauceli	x	x	x
Sambar Deer	Cerevus unicolor	x	x	x
Munjac Deer	Muntiacus muntjak		x
Gaur	Bos gaurus	x	x	x

Common Langur

Spotted Deer or Cheetal

Swamp Deer or Barasingha

Sambar Deer

India – part 5

2011-11-12T20:28:00.000-08:00

Singapore before and after India

Monday 7 November 2011

Drive hire car to Sydney in good time to meet with Ron and Margaret Stockford at the Four Seasons Hotel in lower George Street. They recognise Peter immediately and invite us to have a drink in their room on the 35th floor. They treat us to a chilled Australian white wine as we catch up and admire the fabulous view of the Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay and the top of North Head. The Vollendam (ocean liner) is berthed at the Overseas Terminal.

Margaret, Helen, Peter, Kate and Ron

We then take a taxi to Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf where we dine on seafood at the Manta. Kate Fullagar organised the dinner and joined us to continue the catch-up. The Stockfords have invited us to stay with them when we visit Britain next year, which we’ll do with the greatest of pleasure. All up, it was a fabulous evening.

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Up early to deposit the hire car at the airport and catch our 9.25 am flight to Singapore. It goes quite quickly and comfortably and we freshen up at our hotel – the Royal at Queens. A quick email to Sacha Topor-Stanley, Helen’s son, gives us meeting instructions for tonight’s dinner. As it happens, Sacha is in Singapore on business for a fortnight – an incredible coincidence. He arrived yesterday and suggests we meet him at the Fullerton Hotel. He takes us to a seafood restaurant at Clarke’s Quay.

On the way to Clarke's Quay

Dinner with Sacha

It’s great to see him again and catch up on his news. Jet lag causes us to return to our hotel for a most refreshing sleep.

Wednesday 9 November 2011
Since we have only one full day in Singapore, we decide to take the city tour bus to get a quick look around and hop off at the Botanical Gardens. We find them to be superlative in every way – the grounds are superbly designed and tended and the gardens are replete with colourful plants artfully planted. We particularly like the Ginger Garden and the Orchid Garden. Peter takes so many pictures that he exhausts the camera’s battery.

Orchids in theSingapore Botanic Gardens

In the Gingers section of the Singapore Botanic Gardens

For more pictures from the Singapore Botanic Gardens click here.

The delicious lunch at the Casa Verde fuels us for a visit to Little India where, to our great surprise, we have some tailoring organized: Peter to have navy linen jacket made (if they can find the fabrice he wants) and Helen to have a royal blue dress and leopard print jacket made in royal blue and gold. Helen’s dressmaker is a young Chinese woman called Irene. She and Helen come up with the design of the garments together. A young Chinese fellow measures Peter and he will do the tailoring for him. We will have a fitting when we return on 1 December.

The Royal at Queens Hotel

A fully-clad veiled female Muslim cabbie (including black gloves) drives us back to our hotel. She engages us with her liveliness and humour and certainly made a very positive impression on us despite the short journey. Then it’s time for a quick refresh at the Royal at Queen Street prior to catching the airport bus for our 9.00pm flight to Kolkata.

Marina Bay Sands

Thursday 1 December 2011

The grey dawn light of Singapore greets us – still no blue skies to be seen since Sydney. Despite our fatigue, the clean efficiency and aesthetic pleasures of this spacious airport festooned with tropical hanging plants boost our flagging energy. The shuttle bus takes us to our hotel where, to our delight, we are given an early check-in.

After breakfast we organise the tours we want to make in the few days we have left: the Night Safari, the Zoo and the Jurong Bird Park.

Our first appointment today is at 11.00am: a meeting in Arab Street with Helen’s tailor, Alice Moo. Unfortunately, Alice calls Helen to say she is unwell so her mother, also called Helen, does the fitting. Helen shows us the navy linen fabric Alice found for Peter’s jacket—it’s perfect! His tailor will send the jacket by mail when it’s ready. (It arrives on 23 December – and it looks great!)

Our tailor's shop in Arab Street

Lunch is at a tiled and niched Turkish restaurant a few doors down from the tailors. Afterwards, we stroll to the imposing Park View Plaza Hotel with its park-like setting. It looks like something from a film set. We are a little agog by its opulent interior: a mélange of gilded Egyptian and Art Deco styling. Outside, the relative restraint and simplicity of the classical sculptures in the structured gardens marks a contrast. Taking pictures inside is prohibited but Peter manages to sneak one before he is admonished.

The extraordinary Park View Plaza Hotel

As we make our way back to Queen Street, fatigue overcomes us so we rest before catching our 6.00pm coach to the Night Safari. The twilight drive outside the metropolis is very pleasant. We stand in the queue for the electric tram ride through the safari park and get a good appreciation of what it has to offer. After a quick meal we ignore the fire-eating show and walk the trail that takes us back to the Bengal tiger which, unfortunately – but not surprisingly—shows signs of neurotic repetitive behaviour (from being confined). All in all, the Night Safari houses a good range of mammals in a luxuriant tropical rainforest setting and provides ample retail and entertainment opportunities.

For more pictures from Singapore click here.

Friday 2 December 2011

We intend spending the day at the Zoo, but our transport does not arrive. The guy with whom we arranged our tour vouchers is not at his desk either. When it becomes clear that today’s arrangement is not working out as planned, we cancel all further arrangements with a woman who offers to help despite being from a different company. Confusion reigns and with it our frustration.

We decide to go it alone. Grabbing our wet weather gear we take the MRT and a bus directly to Jurong Bird Park. A cappuccino in an attractive café soothes us.

The park certainly meets our expectations considering its reputation as one of the most impressive collections of birds anywhere. Perhaps the parrots are a little disappointing in variety but highlights are the huge numbers of Goura (Crowned Pigeons) of all three species and at least one subspecies. Also impressive is the large collection of Hornbills. The most impressive feature of Jurong, however, is the way they have constructed elevated walks of various heights through aviaries, the latest one devoted to African birds and set in a deep ravine including gigantic rainforest trees and a thundering waterfall. Here we see two species of Turaco, lots of Superb Starlings (of the Lamprotornis group), a Hoopoe, some rollers and many pigeons. Another walk is through an aviary housing lorikeets. It is 9 storeys high! Other displays include many species of Pelican, a large flock of Greater Flamingoes and a selection of birds of prey—all very picturesque, informative and thoroughly engrossing.

Victoria Crowned Pigeon Goura victoria

Black-capped Lory Lorius lory

Lesser Whistling Duck

Superb Starling

Free flying immature Purple Heron

The walks are also botanically very attractive and the grounds well kept. On a sunny day we would have admired this bird park even more.

For more pictures from Jurong Bird Park click here.

We hop off the MRT at Chinatown and stroll around. The touristy shops don’t interest us but an antique shop does. Helen chats with the owner about identifying two Chinese plates she acquired in Indonesia in 1991, purportedly salvaged from a shipwreck. He advises her to check the shipwreck records in the Singapore National Library. If time permits tomorrow, we will do that.

Massage parlours abound—our feet could sure do with a massage! Nearby, a seafood restaurant beckons, so Helen indulges in scallops and prawns—Peter has a lasagna. The cold beer refreshes.

Saturday 3 December 2011

Our only appointment today is to see Irene Moo in Arab Street to collect Helen’s dress and jacket. We walk to the National Museum of Singapore in Stamford Road, a mere five minutes from our hotel to see the ‘Dreams and Reality’ exhibition of paintings on loan from the Musee d’Orsay, Paris.

National Museum

Stamford Street Rotunda, National Museum

Cafe and bookshop in atrium

The Knight of the Flowers by Georges Rochegrosse

Emile Bernard - La moisson (Paysage breton) 1888

For some more images from the exhibition click here.

The building is in Neo-Palladian and Renaissance style. It consists of two rectangles and two rotundas, the front rotunda majestically domed. It has been recently refurbished. A glass atrium harmoniously integrates the two rectangles and provides light, access and shelter. We lunch in the atrium, on the terrace next to the shop were we make a few purchases: a porcelain elephant business card holder; some delightful bookmarks (should have bought more!); two watercolours—one a Spider Lily and the other a red ginger flower; and a book incorporating all of William Farquhar’s natural history watercolours. It’s a superb publication!

Farquhar was the first Resident and Commandant of Singapore (1803–18). He commissioned local artists to depict what he collected—and he collected extensively. During that period he made several important botanical and zoological discoveries. We liked the exhibition of a selection of these watercolours so much that we had to get the book.

Peter has a fitting for his jacket and Helen picks up her dress and jacket. There is only time to have a coffee (to escape the heavy downpour) and catch the MRT to Bras Basah near our hotel. Along the way Helen spies some colourful pinwheels that she’s been searching for two years. They’re to keep the birds away from the vegetables beds and strawberries.

Our transport to the airport is punctual as is our departure. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed Singapore and vow to return, even if only for 4 or 5 days.

Sunday 4 December 2011

We’re knackered. Helen has caught a head cold so her ears ache unbearably on the descent into Sydney. The long wait for our connecting flight to Canberra is finally over. It’s good to be home.

Fiji August 2011

2011-08-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

This short holiday in Fiji was our official honeymoon, thanks to a most generous wedding gift from Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Helen's younger son. Thank you so much, Nik!

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Drove down to Sydney mid afternoon after a superb buffet lunch at the National Gallery for benefactors – smoked trout with quail eggs and chive dressing; chicken rolled with pancetta; roast eye fillet of beef with confit eschalots; asparagus with butter and garlic; roast chat potatoes with rosemary and lemon; warm salad of roast beetroots with pecans; mixed leaves with Balsamic and extra virgin olive oil; and exquisite petit fours. We were among the cultural elite by virtue of our small annual donations. Helen had a long and fabulous conversation with Ray Wilson (partner of the late James Agapitos, a major donor of surrealist works) and Peter with Christine Dixon, Senior Curator of International Painting and Sculpture.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Early departure from Sydney 0810 on Virgin Pacific flight to Nadi. Left Erskineville at 5:30 by taxi for Sydney International.

Exchanged dollars Australian for Fiji dollars currency at airport (about 1$A:2$F) and then waited outside for an hour in the bus before another hour long drive to Shangri-La Resort on Yanuca Island. Several birds seen along the way most notable was a magnificent adult Fiji Goshawk sitting on telephone wires beside the road! Mynas - both Indian and Jungle seen aplenty.

Dinner at Lagoon Restaurant – buffet with Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc – very refreshing. A very bright solitary star in the western sky intrigues us. It can’t be Venus because it is too high in the sky and it twinkles very brightly. We try to identify it with help of the Internet but with no success. Early night very tired from early rise and long journey. Well appointed room. Very comfy bed and quite surroundings.

Thursday 25 August 2011

Late breakfast at Lagoon restaurant – bit windy and thus milder than yesterday. Explore the island – shops, gym, coffee bars, wedding chapel, tennis courts, golf course, putt putt. Admire bougainvilleas (white, orange, red and purple), variety of palms, bromeliads, lovely black butterfly with three white spots on each wing and spot nearest to body surrounded by large blue spot, common Indian mynahs and a rarer Jungle Mynah with tufted crest raiding the restaurant after the last lunch sitting. Lots of fruit bats (Pacific Flying Fox Pteropus tonganus) asleep in tall trees.

Everywhere we hear the greeting ‘Bula’ (Hello/Welcome). Aping the Fijian staff, the children holidaying here delight in saying Bula to people they meet. We’ve learned two other useful words: Venaka (Thank you) and Mothe (sounds like More there - Goodbye).

Purchase two necklets made of coconut shell – one for Sacha and the other for Nik. Haggle over two fresh water pearl necklaces for Helen, and we settle on full price plus a pair of matching earrings thrown in for free. We book a hire car to take us to Suva tomorrow. We’re particularly interested in seeing the Fiji Museum.

Spider Lily Hymenocallis sp. A Neotropical plant

Exotic plants in the gardens at Shangri-La resort

Orange-red Bougainvillea

'Carved' trunks of tree ferns (cyatheales) in the gardens of the Shangri-La resort

Dinner tonight is at the Beach Bar and Grill – it’s seafood night. (We have to book for dinner each night.) When we arrive at 7.30pm we can see that the staff is run off its feet. We’re duly seated and select our fish: Yellow Fin Tuna, Blue Marlin, Red Emperor.

There are many orders before ours so we quell our hunger with delicious Prawn Twists – hot succulent prawns wrapped in pastry twists. Sampling the well-rounded Wild Oats Pinot Grigio 2008 helps pass the waiting time. Seasonal vegetables and Cajun wedges were perfectly timed to arrive with the fish.

Accommodation at Shangri-La Resort on Yanuca Island

The Bay at Shangri-La Resort on Yanuca Island

Foreshore of lagoon at Shangri-La Resort on Yanuca Island

Para-skiing on the lagoon

View from the breakfast restaurant Shangri-La resort

Wedding chapel overlooking the lagoon – Shangri-La resort

Bougainvilleas and coconut palms – Shangri-La resort

Friday 26 August 2011

Up with the wake-up call at 6:30am and after a leisurely early breakfast we pick up our Hyundai Lantra at the lobby at 8:00am. It’s a lovely morning for a long drive. The Coral Coast Highway is a single-lane, winding road of variable quality (lot of potholes and patches) that generally hugs the southern coast all the way to Suva. It passes through numerous villages and we are treated to lovely sea views on the way up and sea and mountain views on the way back.

Jungle Myna

Common Myna

Pacific Imperial Pigeon

Red-vented Bulbul

Wattled Honeyeater

Collared Lory

Our first stop is Sigatoka. We’re interested in acquiring a kulikuli (war club) that’s on display in our hotel lobby. It appears that Jack’s, the outlet at the hotel, may have a similar one at their much larger Sigatoka store. They don’t. Our hopes now rest on Baravi Handicrafts or the Suva Museum.

Suva is the bustling capital. We drive past the markets, and along Queen Elizabeth Drive to park at the Holiday Inn, as advised by Nilesh from Thrifty car hire. We’re dying for a coffee so start walking downtown. Helen spies a shady courtyard that supplies what we want.

While relaxing we hear a brass band announcing the march past of the Government House police guard. They look very handsome in their red long-sleeved, high-necked tunics with gold braid atop their crisp white suluvakataga. (Insert pic.) Unfortunately, Helen walks gingerly because of a tender toe. We adjust our walking ambitions and head directly towards the Thurston Gardens – somewhat bedraggled compared with the immaculate, flourishing gardens at the Shangri-La resort.

Fiji National Museum

Polynesian canoe – Fiji Museum

Helen reading about the Bounty rudder – Fiji Museum

Surviving portion of the Bounty rudder – Fiji Museum

Detail on kulikuli – Fiji Museum

Traditional masi garments – Fiji Museum

Giant Phasmids – like the huge species endemic to Lord Howe Island!

The biggest beetle I have ever seen!
Giant Fijian Long-horn Beetle Xixuthrus heros
Up to 15 cm body length !

The Hibiscus Festival is in full swing in Albert Park. The ferris wheels and other whirling rides confine screaming family groups and young people in their metal cages. The idea is to raise money for various charities and there is a Miss Hibiscus award too. We notice some young men wearing western shirts atop pin-striped charcoal grey suluvakataga. Business types? Others wear plain navy blue. Public servants?

The museum suddenly appears from behind a monument. Like the gardens, it looks somewhat neglected and the exhibits disappointing. The ethnographic displays are modest but interesting and well presented. However, the natural history exhibits were woeful – a few tatty specimens, with the exception of two enormous beetles – and restricted to a very small room. The presentation style was quite outmoded.

The artifacts in the museum shop are generally of high quality. The war clubs are beautifully crafted but, unfortunately, too large and expensive; but we do find a length of decorated masi cloth (which we weren’t looking to buy) whose design catches our eye. It will go above the stairwell and complement our collection of African and Pacific Island masks.

Masi is made from mulberry bark. Long strips of bark are peeled off and the white inner fibre is scraped away. The fibre strips are dried, soaked and beaten until they become wide and flexible. A number of strips are then felted together to form a fine white cloth ready to be painted.

The brown dye is derived from tree bark, the black from burnt soot of the candle nut and red from clay. A traditional cloth, masi is used by indigenous Fijians in religious rites and in ceremonial gift giving.

Lunch is at the sprawling Vine Yard Restaurant, Chinese food in an old colonial building. Cheap and cheerful. Being a fairly humid day, we sample our first beer: Peter goes for a Fiji Bitter and Helen a Fiji Gold.

Suva CBD

Not so Grand Hotel!

As we go back to our car we meet the Flying Fijians, the national Rugby team, coming out of the Holiday Inn. It’s a pleasant but slow drive back; we get stuck behind some buses and trucks and the winding road doesn’t always permit safe passing. There are very few overtaking lanes considering the distance to cover.

The Pacific Harbour Arts Village is our best opportunity for a cappuccino. It’s conveniently situated near several resorts and we see a number of tourists walking along the highway towards it. Running in front of the wooden buildings is a lovely pond with pink and white lotus flowers. Surprisingly, there is no sign of wildlife. It’s a charming art and crafts complex all the more so for its general lack of sophistication.

Pacific Harbour Arts Village

Water lilies at Pacific Harbour Arts Village

Waterlilies at Pacific Harbour Arts Village

Dinner at the Kalevu Restaurant – no children allowed. The table of eight noisy Australians quitens down once their food arrives and we begin to enjoy the ambience of our sophisticated surroundings. Creamy damask tablecloths set with Schonwald German porcelain. Peter enjoys hand-made blue cheese ravioli laced with spicy crushed tomato sauce followed by his favourite dessert, crème brulee. Helen selects Tasmanian salmon in laced pastry, served with a red pepper compote and more snake beans that either of us can manage.

The wine is an Anakena Chardonnay 2010 from the Rapel Valley – ‘ the roots of the Andes’ – Chile.

Our waitress, Tiuna, is totally charming. Her serene, attentive manner and beautiful smile endears her to us. The Shangri-La encourages guests to provide written feedback for excellent service, so we write our commendation and, when we hand her the card, she seems quite surprised.

sunset over the Lagoon – Shangri-La Resort

Saturday 27 August 2011

Auction day for 54 Bull Street, Cooks Hill, the house in Newcastle that Nikolai is bidding for. If he secures it at $535,000, it will be his first home. Unfortunately, a young couple bids very keenly and it goes to them for $570,000.

We laze around the pool and get a bit of sun. Some bright red bodies are exposed for more grilling! We finally purchase the kinikini in the lobby display after three days’ effort on our part and shopkeeper confusion about who can actually sell it to us. A kinikini is a chief’s or priest’s club carved from sacred Kesi wood.

Helen picks up her two strands of freshwater pearls and matching earrings, and two more pairs of earrings (one blue and the other lime green) to match a pearl necklace she’s brought with her from home. What a bargain!

A lazy day is incomplete without a siesta – probably brought on by the beer we had at lunchtime. We read, blog, answer emails and enjoy the sun setting over the lagoon. Almost without exception, there has been a spectacular sunset each evening.

We head to the Kalevu Restaurant early, and enjoy a gin and tonic before our meal. We have no desire to eat anywhere else, this being the one that pleases us most for its quiet elegance, tempting menu and good wine selection.

Peter selects a grilled Australian rib eye steak served with a béarnaise sauce and slow smoked marinated grilled tomato and grilled provincial vegetables. Helen goes for the seafood combination (scallops, baby shrimp, green lip mussels, octopus and fish fillet) cooked in a light chardonnay broth served with a generous rocket salad and shaved parmesan.

The wine tonight is Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio 2009, from Casella Wines, Yenda, NSW – fresh and palate cleansing.

In the background, a trio sings old favourites such as ‘Rainy Night in Georgia’ and ‘The Power of Love’. Their style is very subdued, their diction often indistinct.

Sunday 28 August 2011

It’s not surprising that the taxi we booked for 10:00 has not arrived. It seems that several people have to be involved in what seems to be a straightforward transaction. Follow-up at almost 10:30 brings our driver into the lobby. Where was he, only to suddenly materialise like that? This seems to be the local way – ‘Fiji time’ being the key element.

Helen with a Crested Iguana

Kula Eco Park

Before long we pass Sigatoka and reach Kula Eco Park. We’re delighted to see the ranger we met at the Shangri-La and are impressed by the park itself. Near the entrance, Peter takes a picture of Helen holding an iguana and two iguanas happily sitting on each shoulder. Their skin has an open-weave look like green linen and they seem very comfortable being handled. We also hold a copper-coloured Fiji Boa.

White domestic Muscovy Ducks

A domestic Muscovy drake

The park’s many boardwalks wind through the undulating lowland forest set in a gully. There’s a creek where geese and ducks swim, a tropical garden at the far end of the park, several cages of parrots, goshawks, barn owls, swamp harriers and peregrine falcons (including a dark phase individual with rich chestnut plumage but a twisted neck).

A crow Euploea b. boisduvalii

A small Hawksbill Turtle

Eastern Barn Owl

Fiji Goshawk

Collared Lory

Golden Dove

White-faced Heron

Maroon Shining Parrot (tabuensis)

Buff-banded Rail

The object of the Park is to captive-breed endangered Fiji wildlife – frogs, reptiles, endemic parrots and Peregrine Falcons, in particular. The park is also a refuge for injured wildlife (presumably accounting for the large number of Barn Owls and a Swamp Harrier). We admire three species of Shining-Parrot (Masked, Crimson and Red), Golden Dove, Peale’s Pigeon, some White-faced Heron (new to Fiji) and a Buff-banded Rail. Some significantly smaller individuals indicated that at least two different populations of Red Shining-Parrot were held in this collection.

Among the foliage of the Poinciana, Vesi and Ivi trees, the bright red and pink ginger flowers and orange birds of paradise rise like spears in this lovely lowland forest.

Kula Eco Park

Some of the leaf textures and colourful plants seen at the Kula Eco Park

Opposite the Eco Park is the Outrigger Resort where we lunch in a beachside restaurant. Built into a steep hillside, the entrance is at the top of the hill and the foyer looks out onto a panoramic sea view. Several flights of steps lead down to the beach. Along the way, a small creek runs beside straw-canopied, tiled walkways. Thatched roofs abound in the lush tropical grounds. This place suits young people and the able-bodied.

The Outrigger Resort

View over the reef from the Outrigger resort

On our return to the Shangri-La Helen catches up on her reading and suntan, while Peter attends to his emails.

Dinner is a sentimental return to the Kalevu Restaurant. As usual, Tiuna welcomes us with her warm charm. We’re becoming familiar faces to other staff as well. We savour our last gin and tonic in the bar lounge, and then move to a table near the dance floor.

Before things get much busier we ask Tiuna to have a photo taken with us in front of a magnificent ginger flower presentation at the restaurant’s entrance.

We share warm seared scallops with pickled ginger and apple sprout salad – lovely texture and flavour. Peter can’t resist the hand-made blue cheese ravioli laced with spicy crushed tomato sauce; and Helen selects the pan-fried yellow fin tuna fillet crusted with an anchovy and green olive tapenade drizzled with basil oil. This being our last night, we lash out and order an apple tarte tatin with a rich toffee caramel sauce. The wine: Yellow Tail Sauvignon Blanc, with hints of tropical and citrus fruits and crisp acid finish.

During dinner we are startled to hear the singer say our names. The band plays ‘Isa Lei’, the Fiji Farewell Song in our honor.

Isa Isa vulagi lassa dina
Nomu lako au na rarawa kina
Cava beka ko a mai cakava
Nomu lako au na sega ni lasa.

Isa, Isa you are my only treasure; 
Must you leave me, so lonely and forsaken? 
As the roses will miss the sun at dawning, 
Every moment my heart for you is yearning.

Isa Lei, na noqu rarawa
Ni ko sana vodo e na mataka
Bau na namuna na nodatou lasa
Mai Yanuca nanuma tiko ga.

Isa Lei, the purple shadow falling,
Sad the morrow will dawn upon my sorrow; 
O, forget not, when you’re far away, 
Precious moments beside dear Yanuca.

http://fijianlyrics.wordpress.com/isa-lei/

When questioned later, the lovely Tiuna admits that she was behind the request. The manageress shakes our hand and wishes us a safe return, as does Tiuna, who asks for our email address. Tiuna also gives us the words to ‘Isa Lei’ on a piece of paper. Peter confides that we are on our honeymoon. Tiuna congratulates us and shakes our hands. It’s a wonderful moment.

Monday 29 August 2011

The drawn-back curtains reveal another beautiful day. It’s a late breakfast on the terrace overlooking the lagoon, last pictures of butterflies and final packing before we take the coach to Nadi Airport.

Our plane is delayed by 30 minutes and the airport lounges are full of Australian tourists – many obese and some very sunburnt – and their small children, some of which are tired and noisy.

We purchase some Bulgari for Sacha and Nikolai, Largahvulin?? malt whisky for Iain and Guide to the Butterflies of Fiji for Peter.

Fiji police officer at Nadi airport

Because Monday nights are frantic for Iain and Kate, we eat at the airport before taking a taxi to Erskineville. Rohan has been waiting excitedly for our return because he knows that Grandad will be giving him a birthday present. Rohan is 5 today! He loves his bright yellow Mr Birthday card. His mother has downloaded his birthday CD onto his iPod – A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.