Day 2:
(1st August)
Forgive me for my language from here.I cannot put down my experiences without getting a little too informal.This day we were up pretty early as we wanted to make it to Kalpetta by afternoon.After breakfast and tea we left the place at around 7:30AM.(breakfast menu: half cooked idlis and watery chutney \m/).We were on our way to Sultan Bathery.The road was through the luxurious forests of Bandipur and was a no parking,no stopping,no picnic and no horn zone.
But we took the liberty of violating the first two rules.
Spotted Deers came pretty close to the road but due to the sound of speeding trucks and other vehicles,they moved deeper into the foliage.We were lucky enough to get some snaps though.A peacock too made itself visible for us to just see it.We couldn't get it on the lens.Even a few Langurs found us interesting enough to actually sit on tree tops and stare at us all the time we were "observing" them.So there was mutual entertainment taking place in the middle of a forest.( ain't that a perfect example of symbiosis??? :P) After a few miles on the road we spotted two baby elephants.It was their breakfast time.We decided to be a bit rude and interrupted them for an elaborate modeling session which lasted for maybe half an hour.Then we left the baby elephants in peace.
Luckily their mum wasn't around otherwise we would have been thought a lesson in basic manners the hard way:P.We were back on road for sometime.Then the bike was parked in one of the tracks and then came another rigorous photo session.That particular spot was very beautiful.
The bike in the picture is the steed which carried the two of us all the way till Calicut and back safely.
The thing above which appears to be a human is actually a Langur from that very forest.
The very man and his machine...
After the photo session we drove through the forest for some time and crossed the border and moved into Kerala.On the way we took some snaps on the banks of River Kabini which flows right through the middle of the forest.
Our next stop was at Kalpetta, the headquarters of the district of Wayanad at 12:00PM.We got into a manageable lodge where we stayed for the rest of our trip.We had a quick lunch and decided to hit the roads again.This time the destination was Chembra Peak and the blue eye pond on top of the hill.We did go up to a point but then later learnt that the last 3KM had to be covered on foot.The risks involved were too high as this place is the home of a few leopards and we had no one with us. Even the the Govt tourism office was closed.
We went on this path but then realized that we were getting nowhere so we turned back.
The only thing that made the journey worthwhile was the beautiful tea estates. The tea estates looked like His own playground.The terrain rose and dropped smoothly and was covered with tea plantations and mainly silver firs in between.
In the back drop there was Chembra Peak whose peak was always hidden in clouds.Both of us returned home frustrated and tired as we dint get to the top of Chembra Peak and also because of the bad roads within the Chembra estate. We returned home and slept peacefully.Got up at 5:30PM.All the places of tourist attraction around Kalpetta close at 5:00PM. So we really had nowhere to go.We got down to the streets and loafed around pointlessly.It was here that I took up the phrase "swamiye sharanam ayyappa" as my war cry for the time I was in Kerala.(and for sometime in Bangalore too). I got my spectacles fixed as well (and that too for free).The people of Kalpetta are extremely co-operative, helpful and very tourist-friendly with not a speck of ego in them.They are as beautiful as the place itself.Nothing worth mentioning happened later that day. We just went to bed at some odd time,chatting away to glory till we slept...
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