KD Fullalove

 I lost my best friend today.  KD Fullalove was my Brittany Spaniel.  She was mine, and I was hers.  Unfortunately she died yesterday in my arms.  And what is worse, is she died because she was under my truck and drove over her.  In her last monents I held her and apologized to her.  She was my everything. 

We got KD as a pup fairly soon after our Lilly passed on.  Gana said she didn't want another puppy but when I brought KD into the family it only took Gana a minute to fall in love with her.  She was special.

I taught her the basics of life, I taught her to hunt, to hold, and to retrieve.  She wanted to always be with me, and that's unusual at our house because our dogs gravitate to Gana.  KD did as well, but when I came home she was mine, and I was hers.  

She loved to ride in my truck.  We would take trips to the farm and she would get out an run and hunt and just be a dog.  She loved to hunt everything that had a pulse. And she was good at it.  

She would occasionally come to the office with me and be as polite and respectful to everyone.  Everyone would get attention and then she'd come lay down on the chair in my office.  She was perfect.

And now she's gone.  And I did it.  I'll never get over it.  What could I have done differently?  I just don't know.  Whey did I go to the farm yesterday?  Why did I take her with me?  Questions and more questions, but no answers.

I miss her immensely.  At night she always slept on our bed.  She would snuggle with Gana every night. This morning when I got up Gana was already up.  She couldn't sleep, she gave me some lame reason, but didn't tell me the real reason.  I already knew it would be difficult the first night with our KD.  I put her collar on my wrist so I could still breath in the smell of her.  That sweet smell of a perfect companion.  

I'll eventually get over losing losing her and the way I lost her.  But I'll never forget her.  I wish I had more time with her.  Time to take her on one more hunt.  Time to ride one more time in the truck.  Time to sit and rub her and smell he beautiful scent.  

Dogs to this to us.  It's been said they are always happy to see you come and sad to see you go.  And it's so true.  We don't deserve them.  

Sweet dreams KD.  I hope maybe you'll hook up with Rief, a friend of mine who died a couple of years ago.  They will have great adventures together.  Until we meet again...............

Panna National Park and Pashan Garh

We made the 5 hour drive from Bandhev Garh National Park to our accommodations at Pashan Garh which joins the Panna NP.  Pashan Garh is fantastic, one of my favorite places.  Built almost completely of local stone it has a very South African safari feel to it.

Panna NP comprises about 500 Sq km of which again only 20% of the park is used.  But where Bandhev Garh was mismanaged, Panna seems to be managed much better.  We used a seldom used entrance and had basically a private experience.  We say Chital (Axis), Sambar deer, Blue Bull, jackal,  plus a variety of birds.  Doug and Diane Wright started a birding list on you trip and they are now at over 110 species observed.

Another good thing about this park is they let you stay until 6:30 pm.  We had a nice afternoon.

After having done both Banghev Garh and Panna, I would suggest that clients not bother with Banghev Garth and just concentrate on Panna.  It will save them 11 hours of driving bad roads which will effectively add 2 game drives to their trip.  There are 25 tigers in the park and quite a few leopard.  We hear alarm calls of the Chital and Blue Bull and waited patiently for the leopard but it didn't show.  In Africa we would have pointed the vehicle in the bush and found the leopard.  Since there is no off-road driving here we were forced to watch from the fringes.

Tomorrow we have one more game drive then we head to Delhi and a 3 am departure back to the states.  I'm looking forward to getting back.

Bandhav Garh game viewing

Bandhav Garh game viewing is pretty much a joke.  The park itself is 1,700 sq kilometers yet game viewing is restricted to 200 sq kilometers.  Within those 200 sqk there are three zones called 1,2,3.  Each zone has it's own autonomous authority so the rules for each zone is different.  For instance zone 1 allows you to drive one way on the roads so you can't turn around and backtrack...pretty stupid for game viewing.  Every zone has the operating hours of 6-10 am and 3-6 pm...regardless of when sunrise and sunset is for that particular part of the year.  so what happens in the evening, just as the game is starting to move at about 5:30, we are forced to leave the park.  If a guide does not leave the park by exactly 6 pm he will probably get this license suspended.  So at 5:30 there is a mad rush to the park exit.

So the next question is how do you get assigned a certain zone?  Zones are assigned at the time of booking.  The more advance your booking the more likely you will get assigned the best zone. We were assigned zone 2 the first morning and we saw tiger plus a lot of other game.  For the other three game drives we were assigned zone 3 and did not have a very good experience.  Those in zone 2 had consistently better game drives.  Sad to think a tourist hoping to see tiger could spend thousands of dollars to get to this point and then have Indian Wildlife Authorities prevent him from having the best chance.

So the moral of the story is, book early or don't book at all.  It's not worth it.

Bandhav Garh National Park

Getting to Bandhav Garh is a feat unto itself.  Our flight from Delhi to Khajurado took about 3 hours but the drive from Khajurado our lodge, Mahua Kothi, took about 6 hours. The road is generally paved throughout with ongoing repairs on about 10% of it, but you share the narrow road with cows, motorcycles, bicycles, heavy trucks, dogs, and little children who seem to believe it is ok to sit on the edge of the pavement.  Top that with Indian drivers who are incessantly honking and passing each other, it makes for a nerve-wracking experience.  The entire route is farmed by local, small farmers.  Women can be seen everywhere cutting the wheat by hand and putting it in bundles. Children are also involved.  Some children attend school and you can tell who they are by the colorful uniforms they wear.  Other children, probably of the lower castes, just toil in the sun.  For the entire 6 hour drive we made just one "pit stop".  Those that know Gana will consider that statement an impossibility, but it's true.  There is only one place deemed clean enough for western tourist.

The lodge, Mahua Kothi, is an And Beyond property so it is very nice.  Rooms are large with bath and shower, air conditioned, very comfortable.   Service is exceptional.

I can't figure out this game viewing in Bandhav Garh.  The park is divided into three zones and on any drive you can only be in one zone.  So yesterday morning we were in Zone 2 and had a nice tiger sighting.  Yesterday afternoon and this morning we were assigned Zone 3 and we ate dust.  The procedure for each drive is this; we leave the lodge and drive to the guide station where we pick up our guide for that drive.  Then we head out to the zone we are assigned.  It's about a 30 minute drive on a dusty road to hit the turnoff to our zone. In each zone there may be up to 20 vehicles total so if you see a tiger chances are you will also see 19 vehicles.  This is not always the case but you must be prepared for it.  So how can my guide and/or lodge make sure I get in the best zone to see a tiger?  I don't know if it's possible but I will find out.

India travels

Gana and I are traveling through India with friends.  This is our first trip to India so it really is an adventure for us.  Our trip started in Delhi where we stayed a couple of nights visiting sites there including the Red Fort and various tombs.  My impression of Delhi is mixed.  New Delhi certainly is relatively easy to travel through; the streets are clean and traffic flows.  Old Delhi is another story....but old Delhi is the real India.  The India that slaps you in the face.  Taking a rickshaw ride through the narrow streets with interconnected electrical lines running overhead just out of reach, with walkers, bikers, and rickshaw riders jockeying back and forth in rhythm with each other in some grand choreographed play where people and objects pass uncomfortably close to one another without touching.  Horns blowing have their own rhythm.  There's the short blast signifying that I'm overtaking you so move over a bit for me to pass.  This is quickly followed by several more blasts if you don't move over quickly enough, then the long blast if you don't move over at all.  This horn blowing has it's own language.  Only drive these streets if you've mastered it or else end up in horn-blowing hell.

One of the advantages of being in the travel business is the best hotels want you to stay with them and thus we get to stay in the best places at very little cost.  In Delhi we are staying at The Leela Palace however being hosted for dinner at The Imperial by their sales manager Shilpa Tuli.  Hotels want us to experience their services so that we can feel comfortable that our guests will have a similar experience.   In Agra we are staying at the Oberoi Amarvilas with direct views of the Taj Mahal.    In Jaipur we stayed  at the Oberoi Rajvilas which are a bit out of the city but are just beautiful and peaceful.  We also did a site inspection of the Taj Hotels Rambagh Palace.  Today we are in Udaipur staying at the Oberoi Udavilas with views over Lake Pichola to the Lake Palace.  Today we will have lunch at the Lake Palace as well as have an evening boat ride.  Life is good for me, but I'm having difficulty managing the dichotomy of my environment and the life of 99% of the people I see in the streets.  More on that later........

KD and the Squirrel

KD spends her days in the back yard, chasing squirrels, lizards, bugs and anything else that moves.
Memorial day was like every other day to her; a day to be a dog...and chase things.  I saw her sitting under the tree looking up and I knew she was watching a squirrel and trying to judge when it would try to make it's escape from one pecan tree to another in an attempt to escape our yard.  So as the sun was setting I positioned myself for the action that was about to happen.  Unfortunately the autofocus decided now was the time to stop working so just hoped that I'd get a few images.  Here they are.  You know a lot of people spend big money to go to Africa and see predators attack prey.  I've got it in my backyard.  And don't worry, the squirrel escapes...barely!

The chase is on!

Squirrel leap to freedom.

Almost got it!

Squirrel jumps to left, KD looks to right.

Squirrel hanging on fence!

Till next time!

KD Cheyenne in the Texas Bluebonnets

Took some shots of KD Cheyenne in the Texas Bluebonnets beside our house yesterday. She's reallying interested in all things flying...actually interested in anything moving or anything that smells! She's a joy!

In this last photo she has this look like..."Please stop bothering me! I'm busy looking for something else to chase!"