On Safari (aka 5-pixel rhino butts)

After fighting with a bad travel agent we got tickets out of Darjeeling through our hotel. We travelled with our Swedish friends Anna and Bjorn to the Jadalapara National Wildlife Sanctuary, narrowly avoiding an anti-Gorkhaland protest that shut down Siliguri.

We had met Anna and Bjorn a while back at the infamous Mugalsarai train station near Varanasi. While we travelled straight to Darjeeling they went to Bodgaya first (world center of Buddhism, allegedly the site where Siddhartha attained enlightenment; a shoot from his bodhi tree still grows there). We met up again in "the Darj" (as Darjeeling is affectionately called) for Christmas, then the four of us took our leave of Phil (or "Mr. Wise," as Anna affectionately calls him) to go on safari for Asian One-Horned Rhinos in Jadalapara.

The Swedes are remarkably like Laura and I in many ways. Anna is a firey go-getter (originally from Soviet-ruled Poland, actually) to balance Bjorn's calm laid-back style. They work well together. As Bjorn said early on, couples grow to compliment each others' strengths. That certainly was the case with them.

The shared jeep to the wildlife sanctuary (naturally) took twice as long as we were told. A few bridges were out and at one point we took a detour through a river. Additionally we had been warned that all the rooms in the sanctuary -- where you get to sleep near the elephants and wild rhinos -- were long since booked. None of this was a hinderance to Anna. We followed her lead as she charged ahead.

Arriving at the sanctuary Laura and Bjorn waited in the jeep while Anna and I talked to the forest guards. Anna insisted (to them) that we had been told to come by the tourist center. They just shook their heads.

"Ma'am, that is not possible. There are no rooms."

So we toured around town for a bit looking for someone who could help. Laura and I tried talking with people but neither of us were nearly as effective as Anna. She had holed up in a tourist center and was wheeling and dealing with some guy who had somehow found a room for us (there's always a room somewhere) as well as promised to get us into the park for elephant rides to see rhinos the next day. For a price, of course, but hell, that's what we had come out for. While Bjorn and I kicked back in the jeep commenting on circuitous haggling conversations that revolved around the social "event" of salesmanship, Anna and Laura finalized the deal. Soon we were transported to a very new (ie unfinished) hotel with a very pleased owner who was more than happy to assist us.

All we wanted was to get at the jug of Old Monk 7-year Rum the Swedes had brought with them. It was our celebration for sucessfully arriving and swinging a deal that got us into the park. We drank and chatted and laughed the night away while the owner or various family members interrupted us every 15 mins or so with chai, sandwhiches or basic ammenities for the unfinished rooms (lights, furniture, blankets). We expounded upon the rule of 75% and various happenings in the tech field. Dinner arrived (late) from the tourist agent, as did news that he wasn't able to get us the elephant rides he promised. Instead we could travel by jeep through the park.

Well.

Thus began a new round of negotiations. Anna (tipsy now) was fired up and Laura joined her to haggle long into the night. I gave up and went to bed, listening to the angry ladies and the defensive men bicker on into the evening.

We bopped around in a jeep the next day, an early morning drive into the park before breakfast and then another trip in the afternoon. Anna and Bjorn's group was delayed but as a result encountered a rhino across a stream in the morning. In the afternoon we travelled into the jungle where we saw monkeys, several tame elephants (one of which I got to pet, which was fun), and -- far in the distance from a watchtower -- a rhino! More precisely there was a dot far down a river. Laura would take a picture with her excellent Nikon D90. When we zoomed in we could see a 5-pixel rhino butt.

Thrilling!

Laura and I had a train to catch from Siliguri that night so we jumped in a jeep after a late lunch and took off, bidding the Swedes adieu and promising to meet up in Kolkata in a few days. Anna was still determined to get into the park that night, but apparently the head of the Indian Communist Party had a booking there already. We left her to figure that one out and had a pleasant ride back over the river and through the farmlands.

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We met up in Kolkata as planned a few days later. They were tired from their fun travels but still up for adventure so we all journeyed through a slum/market (wait till you see the photos!). We had a great time, many friendly people and good food. Then a Rajasthani restaurant for dinner and, exhausted, to the hotel for sleep. We said a final farewell that night, then prepared for our journey into the Sunderbund Tiger Park the next day.

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I think there's a lesson to be learned here. With enough persistence, arguing and money, you too can see 5-pixel rhino butts.