A travel day with challenges…

The outdoor dining room at Tuli Tiger Resort. It was very cool at night, and we had to bundle up for dinner.

It was unbelievable. We were going to the Nagpur airport to take a flight to Mumbai, change planes, and head to four nights in Udaipur.

When asking various people at Tuli Tiger Resort, we received varying opinions on how long it takes to get to the airport in Nagpur. We anticipated the drive would be between four and five hours, depending on traffic. Since our travel company planned a driver at 4:30 am, we went with it.
I enjoyed the special meals they made for me, along with a few salads. They don’t serve lettuce salads in India.

We considered it might be too early, leaving us with too many hours to kill at the airport instead of sleeping, but we went with it, and we were certainly glad we did.

About three hours into the drive, we encountered the worst traffic backup either of us had ever seen. Hundreds of trucks were lined up in a dead stop on either side of a narrow road for at least five miles due to a convoluted road construction zone.                 
One day I had the best kimchee I’d ever tasted. Perfection!

Nothing was moving! Our driver got out of the SUV on several occasions to see what he could find out. But, each time he returned to the vehicle, we were left without a clue when he spoke no English and couldn’t seem to relay the information with hand signals adequately.

After an hour without moving, we were concerned we could miss our flight. When we’d grumbled about getting up at 3:45 am for our driver’s arrival at 4:30, we were now grateful for the extra early start.

Photo of life in the small towns located within the border in Kanha National Park.

Finally, after over 90 minutes of angst and a bit of frustration, we were on our way once again, albeit a little concerned about getting to the airport on time. If we missed the flight, there wasn’t another until the next day. What a mess that would be!

Luck was with us, and we made it on time. We checked in, paid the overweight baggage fees of US $33.25, IDR 2400, boarded the bus to the plane on the tarmac, and we were on our way for the first leg to Mumbai.

We were crossing over a river on our way to the national park.

Thanks to our conscientious travel rep Rajiv and travel agency, Tailormade Journeys, once we arrived in Mumbai, reps with signs with our names were ready to drive us to Terminal 2, which was a seven-minute car ride, certainly not accessible on foot.
By the time we got situated in a comfortable cafe for the remainder of the 3½ hour layover in Mumbai, we’d fly to Udaipur, arriving around 8:00 pm. It’s a long travel day, but we will have four days to relax until we are on the move again. Tomorrow, we’ll sleep in for the first time in 20 days.

Sunset in Kanha National Park on a clear evening,

We are managing the pace OK thus far and hope to keep up, especially when we won’t have to get up so early for a few days.

Tomorrow, at our hotel, the SD card adapter will arrive. Once it does, I will upload all the photos from the camera, including those from yet another exciting tiger yesterday morning.

We will be back again soon!

Enjoy the day, the evening, wherever you may be!

Photo from one year ago, March 1, 2019:

Ms. Bushbuck and growing baby come to call. For more, please click here.