Sun 23 Nov Asiatic Lions!
Today's plans were to head out of Diu before dawn to Sasan Gir (Lion Preserve) park. Our goal: join a jeep's worth of tourists, see an Asiatic lion or two and other wildlife. Sasan Gir has the only surviving population of the Asiatic lion in the world. They once ranged as far as Greece. In the early 20th century the Nawabs of Junagadh [source of our word "juggernaut"] took measures to protect the minuscule number of lions in the Gir forest. What exists now is a remnant population of about 400 lions: "ecologically although not perhaps genetically viable." The lions prey off cattle and livestock, no longer true hunters.
We have ordered a private car to come at 500 and drive us to Sasan Gir, about 100 km away. Cost:2200 R ($37). Our alarms fail. We wake up in a panic at 410, shower, and are downstairs at 450. The taxi comes at 456, and we are off. Goodbye, Diu. You've been great.
We pull in to Sasan Gir at 640, get out of the car and find the following: Permits for the 15 7 - 10 am jeeps were already given out. For the 15 9 am - noon jeeps, many folks are already in line. There, about 12th in line, was a Dutch 22 yr old desperate to fill a jeep. He grabbed us and we agreed to take 2/3 of the costs. He, Duco, was ecstatic and so were we. Duco is very personable and we bond quickly. We got our bags from the taxi, dismissed our driver to go back to Diu, and sat and waited. And waited.
At 730 park personnel called for forms for the next round of permits. Duco was given a form, and so therefore he was going to get a permit. The jeep was 1300 R (our share 1000 R because our backpacks were coming along). Fair deal. The permit was 3000 R (our share 2000 R). We each paid 600 R to carry along a camera. Finally the guide was 250 R (our share 200 R). For Indians the permit was only 500 R and the camera only 100 R, but this is still expensive by Indian standards. No school groups here, just middle class visitors on holiday.
Our Dutchman, Duco, had taken a train to Rajkot, 2 buses to Sasan Gir, and stayed in an onsite hotel over night. He was in line at 500, just early enough. A few minutes later and we might all have been SOL. We saw many disappointed faces as we joined the "chosen."
It is 745; time to cool our heels. Sasan Gir is a full-service visitor site. Time now for breakfast. We go to an eatery, order an alu paratha (potato-stuffed pancake) (40 R and quite filling) each and two teas (15 R) and talk. Our treat for Duco. He has traveled extensively. Hong Kong and China are next on his list.
At 820 it is back to his lodge room for a gratis bathroom break. Carol has discovered that the potty charge at Sanan Gir is 5 R. Not exactly Dubrovnik, Croatia, (close to $1.00 there), but women pay for what men do for free.
Finally, our jeep loads. We have driver and guide in front and the three of us in the open air in back. We see cars coming back from the 7 am group. Their reports. 4 male lions for one car, a male and a female for another car. The guidebooks say that half of the trips never see a lion. Anyway, our guide is asking the park patrol and the other guides where the lions are today. Well, there was one lion sleeping most of the way across the park on track 2 (?). So off we go, and about 1000 sure enough there is a female lion about 20-25 meters off the road (sleeping off a large dinner?). Occasionally she looks around, and swishes her tail, but mostly she just lies there. No chorus from "Lion King." One by one the jeeps come by and pause so everyone can look. Wowie zowie - a big sleepy cat.
Trees: a babul (a kind of acacia tree with green pods that look like a string of flat beads). It is a good source of firewood; you get gum from the trees and the cattle eat the pods. We were in a thorn forest, mostly dry with seasonal monsoon rains. Most of the trees are teakwood, which dominate the forest. We also see a white "ghost tree."
Our final total: 1 female lion, 1 spotted owlet (a daytime species, perched close to the road), 5 monkeys. Many deer: spotted deer (chital), and a couple of large sambar deer (75-80 kg). Birds: some green parakeets, peacocks, a kingfisher bird, a small green bee-eater (bird), some herons. All this Nature for 6000 R ($100).
We are back at the entrance before 1200. We wait at the bus stop. At 1210 a small bus comes along. It is going to Junagadh, about 80 km away. It is packed but somehow the three of us and all of our packs are squeezed on board. Carol is way in the back with a husband, wife, and a cranky 1 year old girl. She plays peek-a-boo with the girl, who quiets down.
Anyway, at 1350 we are in Junagadh. We are asked to pay 150 R. Duco pays 50 R. We think we have been charged for Duco, but what does it matter? Duco is staying in Junagadh one day. His train leaves Rajkot the next night. We bid him a fond farewell.
We are immediately off on the next express to Rajkot. As we get out of town, the driver stops the bus and spends the next 12 minutes collecting fares (his collector didn't show?).
On the road, he is really hitting the accelerator and passing everything in sight - air horn honking all the way. We get in to Rajkot about 1645, and walk over to Hotel Bhakti, where for 1800 R we receive a reasonable room. They even bring a bottle of cold water to the room. We ask if breakfast in included. It is. When? Any time after 700 am.
After we settle in we hop an auto-rickshaw for 30 R over to Jay Somnath Travels, which operates private AC Volvo buses to Bhuj. We splurge and pay 700 R for two tickets to Bhuj, tomorrow at noon.
There is supposed to be an internet cafe next door. We don't find it. Folks on the street say "go to Dr. Yagnish St." So for 30 R an auto-rickshaw takes us there. We buy some masala corn (20 R) and masala banana chips (30 R) for snacking. This neighborhood has lovely sweet and snack shops. Plenty of folks saying "go this way" or "that way" (pointing), but no internet cafe.
So we give up and take a 50 R rickshaw to the guidebook-recommended Bukhara Restaurant in Hotel Kaveri. It is just up the street from Hotel Bhakti, but rather more expensive. The prices for dinner, however, are reasonable. We ordered vegetable khazana (145 R), paneer makhani (160 R), coconut rice (95 R), two plain naans (45 x 2), and two teas (30 x 2). Total 577 R, with service charge. We ordered well, because we ended up with delicious food and distinctive tastes. However, it was way too much food. We took most of the coconut rice in a plastic container to go. This turned out to be a wise choice.
It should have been straightforward to get back to our hotel, but it was not. We wandered for a good while (but not unpleasantly) until we were directed to the front of the ST bus station, from whence we retraced our steps back to our hotel.
Good night.
Today's plans were to head out of Diu before dawn to Sasan Gir (Lion Preserve) park. Our goal: join a jeep's worth of tourists, see an Asiatic lion or two and other wildlife. Sasan Gir has the only surviving population of the Asiatic lion in the world. They once ranged as far as Greece. In the early 20th century the Nawabs of Junagadh [source of our word "juggernaut"] took measures to protect the minuscule number of lions in the Gir forest. What exists now is a remnant population of about 400 lions: "ecologically although not perhaps genetically viable." The lions prey off cattle and livestock, no longer true hunters.
We have ordered a private car to come at 500 and drive us to Sasan Gir, about 100 km away. Cost:2200 R ($37). Our alarms fail. We wake up in a panic at 410, shower, and are downstairs at 450. The taxi comes at 456, and we are off. Goodbye, Diu. You've been great.
We pull in to Sasan Gir at 640, get out of the car and find the following: Permits for the 15 7 - 10 am jeeps were already given out. For the 15 9 am - noon jeeps, many folks are already in line. There, about 12th in line, was a Dutch 22 yr old desperate to fill a jeep. He grabbed us and we agreed to take 2/3 of the costs. He, Duco, was ecstatic and so were we. Duco is very personable and we bond quickly. We got our bags from the taxi, dismissed our driver to go back to Diu, and sat and waited. And waited.
At 730 park personnel called for forms for the next round of permits. Duco was given a form, and so therefore he was going to get a permit. The jeep was 1300 R (our share 1000 R because our backpacks were coming along). Fair deal. The permit was 3000 R (our share 2000 R). We each paid 600 R to carry along a camera. Finally the guide was 250 R (our share 200 R). For Indians the permit was only 500 R and the camera only 100 R, but this is still expensive by Indian standards. No school groups here, just middle class visitors on holiday.
Our Dutchman, Duco, had taken a train to Rajkot, 2 buses to Sasan Gir, and stayed in an onsite hotel over night. He was in line at 500, just early enough. A few minutes later and we might all have been SOL. We saw many disappointed faces as we joined the "chosen."
It is 745; time to cool our heels. Sasan Gir is a full-service visitor site. Time now for breakfast. We go to an eatery, order an alu paratha (potato-stuffed pancake) (40 R and quite filling) each and two teas (15 R) and talk. Our treat for Duco. He has traveled extensively. Hong Kong and China are next on his list.
At 820 it is back to his lodge room for a gratis bathroom break. Carol has discovered that the potty charge at Sanan Gir is 5 R. Not exactly Dubrovnik, Croatia, (close to $1.00 there), but women pay for what men do for free.
Finally, our jeep loads. We have driver and guide in front and the three of us in the open air in back. We see cars coming back from the 7 am group. Their reports. 4 male lions for one car, a male and a female for another car. The guidebooks say that half of the trips never see a lion. Anyway, our guide is asking the park patrol and the other guides where the lions are today. Well, there was one lion sleeping most of the way across the park on track 2 (?). So off we go, and about 1000 sure enough there is a female lion about 20-25 meters off the road (sleeping off a large dinner?). Occasionally she looks around, and swishes her tail, but mostly she just lies there. No chorus from "Lion King." One by one the jeeps come by and pause so everyone can look. Wowie zowie - a big sleepy cat.
Trees: a babul (a kind of acacia tree with green pods that look like a string of flat beads). It is a good source of firewood; you get gum from the trees and the cattle eat the pods. We were in a thorn forest, mostly dry with seasonal monsoon rains. Most of the trees are teakwood, which dominate the forest. We also see a white "ghost tree."
Our final total: 1 female lion, 1 spotted owlet (a daytime species, perched close to the road), 5 monkeys. Many deer: spotted deer (chital), and a couple of large sambar deer (75-80 kg). Birds: some green parakeets, peacocks, a kingfisher bird, a small green bee-eater (bird), some herons. All this Nature for 6000 R ($100).
We are back at the entrance before 1200. We wait at the bus stop. At 1210 a small bus comes along. It is going to Junagadh, about 80 km away. It is packed but somehow the three of us and all of our packs are squeezed on board. Carol is way in the back with a husband, wife, and a cranky 1 year old girl. She plays peek-a-boo with the girl, who quiets down.
Anyway, at 1350 we are in Junagadh. We are asked to pay 150 R. Duco pays 50 R. We think we have been charged for Duco, but what does it matter? Duco is staying in Junagadh one day. His train leaves Rajkot the next night. We bid him a fond farewell.
We are immediately off on the next express to Rajkot. As we get out of town, the driver stops the bus and spends the next 12 minutes collecting fares (his collector didn't show?).
On the road, he is really hitting the accelerator and passing everything in sight - air horn honking all the way. We get in to Rajkot about 1645, and walk over to Hotel Bhakti, where for 1800 R we receive a reasonable room. They even bring a bottle of cold water to the room. We ask if breakfast in included. It is. When? Any time after 700 am.
After we settle in we hop an auto-rickshaw for 30 R over to Jay Somnath Travels, which operates private AC Volvo buses to Bhuj. We splurge and pay 700 R for two tickets to Bhuj, tomorrow at noon.
There is supposed to be an internet cafe next door. We don't find it. Folks on the street say "go to Dr. Yagnish St." So for 30 R an auto-rickshaw takes us there. We buy some masala corn (20 R) and masala banana chips (30 R) for snacking. This neighborhood has lovely sweet and snack shops. Plenty of folks saying "go this way" or "that way" (pointing), but no internet cafe.
So we give up and take a 50 R rickshaw to the guidebook-recommended Bukhara Restaurant in Hotel Kaveri. It is just up the street from Hotel Bhakti, but rather more expensive. The prices for dinner, however, are reasonable. We ordered vegetable khazana (145 R), paneer makhani (160 R), coconut rice (95 R), two plain naans (45 x 2), and two teas (30 x 2). Total 577 R, with service charge. We ordered well, because we ended up with delicious food and distinctive tastes. However, it was way too much food. We took most of the coconut rice in a plastic container to go. This turned out to be a wise choice.
It should have been straightforward to get back to our hotel, but it was not. We wandered for a good while (but not unpleasantly) until we were directed to the front of the ST bus station, from whence we retraced our steps back to our hotel.
Good night.
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