ON THE ROAD YET AGAIN

 

Well, it’s time to head back to India. It seems such a short time since we returned home but our time allowance for GR2 in India is ticking over so we fly back to Bengaluru to collect her.  John sees her in the parking lot as we come in to land. Always a relief to see her waiting.

John unwraps her and gets her going while I unpack. Then we head off on the hunt for a sim and an ATM. Both accomplished we drive north to Nandi Hills where we can camp on the top of a rocky outcrop right beside Tippi Fort. We explore the fort and settle in, but unfortunately, we are not allowed to stay. Just on dusk we wind back down the hill to find a restaurant carpark for the night. It’s been a long day so we share nuts, chips and a drink before crawling into bed.

An early start for a big driving day as we head north through miles of crops – tomatoes, cotton, bananas, citrus fruit, mangoes and tobacco. The landscape is dotted with rocky outcrops, quite a few being cut down for granite slabs. We now follow back roads heading towards India’s Grand Canyon.  Our GPS and maps send us down shrinking farm tracks so we stop at the massive dam to check where we are. As we turn to leave the guy points to our tyre. We have a slow leak  -bother, it’s one of the new ones that is supposed to last until we get home. It is a hot and sweaty job for John to change it with not a single Indian coming to help! Most unusual! Now it’s late, so we ask if we can stay in the carpark for the night. All OK we enjoy a drink and the gentle breeze.

The next morning, we decide not to continue hunting down the flooded canyon and head out and back towards the motorway to Hydrabad, stopping at a roadside tyre shop for repairs. Then on to the city of 11 million people. Traffic isn’t too bad until we near the city. Then there are kamikaze cars to deal with. Our GPS wants us to take a motorway with a no trucks sign, so we follow my route that takes us right through the centre of Hyderabad during Friday rush hour! We survive the chaos. John has settled into Indian driving already and dodges and pushes like a true Indian driver. We drive around the block twice to find the entrance to the huge empty carpark where we can camp, but they won’t let us in and indicate the roadside. Oh well it’s too late to find anywhere else so beside the road it is! It will be noisy. When some mounted police pass John appeals to them and yes we are in! What a relief. It’s still a tad noisy, but a great spot right in the city.

We set off walking the next morning to explore before it gets too hot. I can’t believe it’s winter here at 32deg. First, we wander along the waterfront and admire the huge standing Buddha in the lake. Apparently, it slipped off the boat taking it out and was submerged for years. Then past the massive and rather stunning white Secretariat building and the huge reflective ball, rather like the “Bean” in Chicago. (Here you can’t get up close to it. Imagine the number of Indian selfies there would be if you could! This is the country of selfie takers!!) Time to grab a tuk tuk to the stunning Charminar, the central showpiece/landmark here built many years ago by the royalty. It has four arches and four columns topped with minarets. We join the queues of locals climbing to the top for views of the surrounding buildings and markets selling jewelry, saris and hundreds of bangles. Then just around the corner we head into the huge Chowmahalla Palace (no cameras allowed although the locals all have their phones out!)  By now it’s getting hot, so we stop for a drink, then catch another tuk tuk to a supermarket. We now have cheese, yoghurt, butter and milk, but no meat! The rest of the day is for relaxing and chores. In the evening, we head to a local restaurant for dinner as recommended by locals. We are sound asleep when someone annoyingly knocks on the door and tells us in no uncertain terms to GO NOW!!  After a big discussion they realize we are not leaving and off they go. We haven’t got a clue who they were!

We leave the next morning nice and early to avoid the mayhem traffic and reach Golconda town, and a huge car park beside the amazing fort that is on top of a 120m granite hill. We head in and walk right to the top before it gets too hot and enjoy the views of this massive fort with its 2 sets of crenellated walls. The outer one being 11km long. We are hot and sticky by the time we finish exploring the palaces. Time to head out of the city and get onto the Ring Road. We are now hunting down the biggest film studio in India where Bollywood movies are made – Ramoji Film City.  We hope to stay in their car park and head in tomorrow, but that is a definite No, so we buy our tickets and head in straight away. Hmmm, it’s more a rather tame theme park than anything else but it is funny listening to the locals Oh and Ah on the simulator ride and then get really excited when we drive around movie sets from their favorite shows. It is fun in a glitzy, shambolic way. After a live dance show we head out before the chaotic rush and head down the road to a huge parking area behind a petrol station where we can camp. No one bothers us, so it’s a peaceful night.

As you know our travel plans are always evolving & changing, so when John asks if I’d prefer to go to the beaches or go hunt down a tiger, the tiger wins. So, we spend most of the next day driving. It’s slow going and by 5pm we look out for a camp spot and spy a beauty down on the riverbank below the road. The only locals that come are 2 guys with their cattle wagon who are collecting wood and a local cotton farmer who stops to chat. We now know all the facts and figures about his cotton crop.

We continue north through lots of road works (the most popular road sign here is “Work in Progress”.) By midday we reach the Tadoba Tiger Reserve and drive through the park to the entrance gate. Just our luck that every Tuesday it is closed… and that’s today. They tell us to come tomorrow at 6am for tickets. So, we find a spot in the driveway of The Tiger Valley resort and relax before exploring the village and surrounds. See lots of monkeys, chitral deer and birds. In the morning we are ready bright and early and find huge queues of Indians already there. Most have prepurchased their tickets online, we will only get in if there is a cancellation.  There isn’t, so we head off with our tales between our legs. We convince ourselves that the chance of spotting one of the 90 tigers in this huge reserve is very slim indeed, especially with over 30 vehicles all trying to converge on the elusive tigers.  

So northward we go passing miles of crops, untidy villages (rural India is very poor indeed) and bigger towns. Before dusk we stop at a big truck stop. Much later more trucks arrive and help baffle the noise from the road. As I read more about the area, I see that Tiger reserves are everywhere and there is another nearby. Hmmm maybe we can try again. John goes online and finds loads of options but no availability, so we reluctantly give up on tigers. Instead, we will continue north to the erotic carvings at Khanjuraho. They are a Lonely Planet highlight, so we will see!