Day 3 Bandipur National Park

Chanmundi Temple
Chanmundi Temple

The next morning Mujib drove us up Chamundi Hills to visit a popular local place of worship. The Chamundi Temple is still a functioning temple which sees many believers coming every weekend to give offerings to the gods. Outside the temple complex, there are many peddlers selling flowers for offerings, trinkets and charms as well as touristy souvenirs for the intrepid traveller.

Exploring the exterior of the temple complex, I came upon this smaller worship hall which I entered to capture the glimpse of some ‘head’. At the entrance to this hall, there was a Brahmin who asked for donations before I could enter of which I felt obliged to pay. He then anointed me with a red powdery dot on my forehead and gave me a wristlet, supposedly some kind of protection charm.

Other than observing the locals at their routine worship, the hills also offer a panoramic view of Mysore, the openness is of course a welcome relief from the crowds, though there is nothing too fascinating about the view.

Nandi the Bull, an imposing iron/stone? statue of Lord Shiva's ride
Nandi the Bull, an imposing iron/stone? statue of Lord Shiva’s ride

One could make a upward ‘pilgrimage’ to the temple by starting on journey further downhill, the starting point guarded by the iron statue of Nandi the bull, who is the vehicle of the Lord Shiva. However as we had a long day planned ahead, I wasn’t able to embark on this journey to enlightenment of approximately 1,000 steps. Theo would have never agreed in any case.

After that, at our request Mujib brought us to a local tailor where I ordered a set of Punjabi garb made from silk cloth that I picked out. I picked an orange flowery material for the top, and a matching shimmery material of orange and red shade for the bottom. After taking my measurements and paying the hefty price of USD80 for the suit, we were told to come back the next day to collect the item. (I can’t remember the name of the tailor, but will update once I find the name card somewhere.)

We grabbed a quick Chinese lunch at a hotel restaurant and then made our way hurriedly 80km south to Bandipur National Park. I pity the stress that I placed Mujib under. Due to our own dilly dallying, he had to speed and weave his way through the busy dusty two lane ‘highway’ so that we could arrive in time to catch the last safari ride which departs at 5pm. It didn’t help that traffic was held up at one of the towns we passed through when some Indian politician was making his rounds. The townsfolk literally blocked the roads trailing behind the car of the politician for more than a kilometre or two.

A family of wild boar at the park entrance paying no heed to the public
A family of wild boar at the park entrance paying no heed to the public

Nonetheless after a hair raising trip, we arrived at the national park in time to buy the tickets for the safari ride. My pockets felt the pinch of having to pay way more than the locals for the exact same experience. After being made the poorer of Rp2000 for a 2 hour ride on the rickety bus, we waited another 30 minutes before the trip started. During this time we spotted a family of wild boars scrapping for food in the carpark and I was readily amused by them.

A family of wild elephants spotted among the bushes on our 'safari' ride
A family of wild elephants spotted among the bushes on our ‘safari’ ride

Bandipur is famed for its success in preserving the habitat of the endangered Bengal Tiger and one had to be extremely extremely lucky to spot one on these journeys. Alas luck was not with us, and I daresay it didn’t help that the locals onboard the bus with us could not understand the rules of staying silent. The park ranger had to shush them several times until he lost his patience. The only takeaway I got at the end was sighting of a family of wild elephants grazing in the bushes. Although I’ve sent lots of elephants, it feels really different seeing them in the wild. Other than that, we also spotted monkeys, peacocks and deer.

By the time we made our way back to the park entrance, I was a bit bored and ready for the 2 hour return trip back to Mysore. Dinner was in the hotel restaurant where I had naan and some kind of green masala curry. It was scrumptious but a tad too spicy for me. The captain of the service crew waited on us and we felt obliged at the end to give him a tip. Midway through dinner, a group of Korean tourists joined us. This was the first tour group I’ve seen in southern India since I arrived.

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