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December 04, 2005
Retreat into the jungle
Jason, Rowan and I went to the jungle this past weekend for some R&R. We stayed at a retreat called Water Woods that had been recommended by some of our hommies back in Encinitas. They apparantly do yoga student discounts :)
It was about 2 hours away from Mysore and we rented a car to drive us there. The drive was really beautiful once you get out of Mysore and it getsvery rural and very lush and green. The roads were mostly fine until the last 45 minutes or so when they became gravel lanes with loads of potholes. The tin can, or car, that we were driving in had a hard time of it and you could tell the driver was not impressed with the conditions of the roads, but we made it in one piece.
The accomodations at Water Woods are really nice. You walk into this really large common room with tables and sofas and lots of books and big windows looking out on the water (oh, it is situated on the water in the middle of the woods - hence Water Woods). Our room that we stayed in was large and had the biggest bed ever. We also had hot showers. I can't tell you how much that makes or breaks a stay here!
Included in our stay was 3 meals and 2 safaris. The food was yummy Indian fare. The dinner that night was a Tandoori feast and we ate by a fire at the water. There were other yoga students there as well who had come for the night and they had 2 kids who were about 4 and 7 and they loved the place and enjoyed telling Jason and I stories about the place(they had been many times before).
We took a boat safari the evening we arrived before dinner. It was a beautiful ride and we saw a hear of elephants drinking from the water (there were about 12 of them including some babies). That was probably the highlight. And my parents will be happy to know that YES I was on a boat (I have a big fear of water) and I even let Rowan on the boat too (and there are pictures to prove it).
The next morning bright and early we took a Jeep into the jungle for our 2nd safari. We saw lots of spotted deer, bison, monkeys, birds galore, and even what the guide called jungle hen (it was a chicken). The ride was a bit bumpy and long and we had whiplash by the time we got back. The boat ride was by far the best. No tigers either. The guide said there were 26,000 deer in the forest, 6,000 elephants, and 70 tigers. Our chances were not good to see a tiger, but oh well.
Anyways, we only stayed one night and it was a good respite from the hustle of Mysore. Rowan loved it more than us probably. I think Jason and I had our fill of the jungle and decided that we don't need to do it too often, or as Jason puts it, "I hate nature.". That is an actual quote :) I personally think he is just not a jungle boy.
Well, here is a link of pics from out stay there. We didn't take too many, but you can see some of our boat ride and the elephants: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8Acs27Fy5atWHO
Posted by Tara at December 4, 2005 10:40 PM