West Bengal and Jaldapara National Park

March 21-23, 2010

Rhinos and Elephants and Deer – oh my. We are now in West Bengal in the far northeast corner of India. We thought we’d throw in some wildlife before heading to Darjeeling and Kalimpong (our primary destinations), so we hired a local guide who set up a week of wildlife sanctuary tours. We started at the Jaldapara and Chilapata Sanctuaries then to the Ajanta and Rajabhatkhowa (and no, we cannot pronounce this name) preserves. Our guide book said it was peak season for animal viewing, but unfortunately due to the shrinking forest caused by uncontrolled encroachment by local tribes, the wildlife is also shrinking. However, we did have the best elephant safari which allowed us to see several one-horned rhinos (see photo), wild elephants and deer while cruising around on our tame elephant. We didn’t see any tigers, even though we were in a tiger preserve. As a matter of fact, they haven’t seen a tiger since 1984. I’m thinking they should rename the preserve to “Ain’t no tigers here anymore” preserve. Despite the lack of animals, our guide is creative (and obsessed with his genetic superiority) and supplemented our days with stops at local markets and a very original, and not yet ready for prime time, village folk dance along with two flat tires and a broken muffler. The market was incredible – it is held once a week and sells anything and everything; we however, were the star attraction – forget the curries, goats and beetlenut chew. They hardly ever see foreigners around here so a crowd of about 50 villagers gathered and followed us through the whole market. We felt like we were CNN reporters or National Geographic photographers. Hilarious and uncomfortable! We are the only white people in the area. By the way, I don’t pay much attention to skin color, but you can’t help it here. Indians have treated us very special because we are white and even more so because I am blond (ok, so my hair is now bleached from the sun).

This region was once a desirable location, but due to a huge flood, deforestation and uncontrolled growth, the sanctuaries and quality of life are in decline. There is a heavy haze hanging in the air because of a recent forest fire and from driving on white chalk-like dirt roads. The forest however is green and beautiful along with acres of tea plantations.
Worth the trip east just to get authentic village experiences.

Cultural bites:

Indian men love Paan (a type of chew) which is beetlenut wrapped in a leaf that is placed under the bottom lip of the mouth. They use this often and results in a lot of spitting. You’ll find red spit all over the roads and walls. One day both our guide and driver simultaneously opened the car doors and spit out into the street. Gross habit.

Indians freely allow for natural bodily functions. During a recent massage, my female masseuse belched loudly three times without an “excuse me”.
In addition, I’ve seen more men peeing on walls and open urinals than I care to remember.

There are usually separate ticket and security pat-down lines for men and women.
Laurie