December 4, 2009
’Got off to a bit of a rough start. When my bag was pulled from the bus, it reeked of urine. It is not uncommon for the pack to pick up some minor odors in transit but this is worse than normal and I ended up dumping everything out and washing the pack with soap in the shower. It is still not completely neutral. Maybe next time, I should put the rain cover on. Washing the rain cover would be less work.
Somewhere between the rickshaw and the hotel I dropped my wallet. I didn't lose very much in the way of currency but dealing with the cards is a nuisance. I have alternates for all but the drivers license, which I am unlikely to use here anyway. Moral: never mess with money until body and luggage are completely free of the vehicle.
The best of the hotel staff spoke simple English. A pattern is established.
The next day, I went to the Gujart Tourism office in search of information about how to get to Lothal. The representative spoke better English than the hotel staff but didn't seemed to know very much. He informed me that there was a bus but didn't know anything about times or frequency. He directed me to the bus station.
This the first bus station I have encountered with no English signage. None of the staff spoke English beyond the word level either. I'm not even sure they spoke Hindi. The dominant language here is something else. Fortunately, there is always someone around who can speak English. Unfortunately, you can never be certain that they know the correct answer or even that they understood the question. What I got was a time of 7:00am for the bus to Lothal and a second bus at 1:00pm. Both buses turn back not long after the stop at Lothal.
The 7:00am bus left a little later than scheduled and arrived at Lothal a little earlier than expected.
The site is interesting but probably only to archeology hounds. There is little more than brick walls and foundations. The largest structure, a vast brick lined pool, is thought by many to be a dock. There doesn't seem to be an outlet. After visiting the museum and seeing the artist rendition of the dock I went back to the site and could see no evidence for an outlet where it was painted. The bricks go all the way around; at least the ones that survive. Put me in the ‘water storage tank’ camp.
After about 1.5 hours, it was 11:00am and time to head back. I asked an English speaking staff member when the next bus back to Ahemdabad came by. I was told: 6:00pm.
Oops.
But there is a another town close by where buses go all the time. I just need to catch a rickshaw there. Where can I get a rickshaw?
Oops.
I ended up catching a ride back to Ahemdabad with couple from Mumbai who arrived not too long after I did. There really was no other option.
But it worked. That evening I caught an overnight bus to Junagadh. From there, I would catch one of the frequent short haul buses to Sasan Gir. That was the plan.
Several hours later, I was roused from my slumber and shuffled off the bus at Keshod, one stop beyond. Moral: Always find out where your bus is going. It isn't necessarily where your ticket indicates and you need to be ready.
The bus station in Keshod is much like the one in Ahemdabad: no English signs. No English speaking staff. I was advised by an Indian traveler that, while it was possible to reach Sasan Gir from Keshod, the buses were very infrequent and I was better off going to Veraval where there were more options. Of course, my overnight bus was probably headed to Veraval but it was too late to argue that point.
At Veraval, I received conflicting information. Some say: this is the bus. Others: “no Sasan. Talia”. After letting the first bus go by, I found Talia on my map. It is on the way to Sasan Gir, at roughly the half-way point.
The road to Talia was bumpy and this bus seemed to double as a school bus, quite overflowing with students at one point, but it got there. The next bus worked too, landing me in Sasan Gir about five hours after being booted from my overnight bus at Keshod.
Not many tourists in Sasan. I was approached by the proprietor of an unknown but reasonable looking guest house. I declined to commit. Later, I was approached by the owner of a place that I had heard good things about but didn't know if I would be able to find. (Neither guide book has a map for this town). The room is a bit rough. No in suite bathroom. Bed is marginal. Bathing option is a bit grim. Hot bucket shower is available. It also is not as cheap as the first option. But it is social and there are other foreign tourists here. I need others to make the safaris work.
An English/Australian couple arrived later that evening.
In the morning, we saw three lionesses and two cubs. Unfortunately, I have no photos. My battery went flat the moment they appeared. The lions disappeared into the bush the moment I had the fresh battery swapped in. Less than a minute, but that's all we had.
In the afternoon, the jeep was crowded with six people. For a fee of 50 rupees per person, we were guided on foot to a kill. Two lionesses were dining on a domesticated cow. Good to see lions but the photo opportunity was rather limited. We didn't see much else either. We killed some time at an artificial lake. On the way back, the driver seemed surprised at a road closure. The return was a fast, bumpy, and dusty backtrack to get out of the park before dark. Along the way, we saw an African village. I think they are Sudanese but some of the children appeared to be of mixed heritage.
The next morning's drive did not impress. We saw one of the same lions at the same cow. The rangers did not collect their baksheesh. They seemed concerned about getting caught. Other wildlife was very limited.
The afternoon drive was much better. Just the three of us. Better owl shots. A mongoose. Baby langur. Two lionesses with excellent lighting. I am concerned that the rangers may be herding the lions into view. The weekend was essentially lost. No one to share a jeep with and prices 25% higher.
Finally, two Belgian women arrived and we had enough for a safari on Monday.
The first 1.5 hours were pretty grim. There were lion signs and even lion sounds but no lions to see. We waited and while we waited we saw nothing. Finally, over two hours in: a single lioness. Very close, growling, marking territory. Wonderful photos. From there we were headed out of the park. But there was another lion. A single male moving parallel to the road. Hard to photograph with lion moving, jeep moving, and branches in between. Worth it for the mane.
I stuck around for another day in hopes of seeing the cubs. No luck. At all. I advised my Austrian companions that it really was worth going out again.
The remainder of Tuesday and the next two days were transit. Too much sitting, not enough eating. The grape juice at one of the snack shops in Ahmbedabad is divine. Tandoori chicken at Food Inn is really good too but it is frustrating being hungry at 11:00am because they don't open until noon.
I arrived by train in Mumbai late Thursday. My ATM card will reach Pune sometime in the next three weeks. A backtrack seems certain.