{Travel Log} Indian National Parks - a whole lot of park and animals all rolled into one

On our recent visit to India, Memorable Jaunts had an opportunity to visit two "not so well known but amazing" National Parks in India. Bandipur National Park and Nagarhole National Park are nested in the southern part of India and play an important role in Project Tiger and conservation of forest lands in the country. In fact, Nagarhole has the largest concentration of mammals in Asia within its boundaries.

Memorable Jaunts spent a few days in both the parks. We had an incredible experience!. While it was very different from the national park experiences that we have had here in the US, this was unique in its own way. We stayed in beautiful rustic lodges, went for safari rides deep in the jungle and saw wild animals and birds that we have never seen before - at least not at this close range....the key being these are "WILD" animals :)

As a certain someone commented at the end of our journey, "Mom, I don't want to go to the zoo anymore, I only want to go on safari to see animals"...Yes dear, point taken and wholly seconded by everyone!

Our rest house in the park!!

Sights that greeted us every morning!

A herd of wild elephants in the park

Why did the elephant, deer and bird cross the road???why??

Our morning hike into the park

The birds and animals we saw and fell in love with! - woodpecker, peacock, bluejay,langur monkey and crested eagle (left to right).

We even saw a tiger but he was very shy and would not come out from behind the bushes...I don't blame him, the paparazzi waiting for him was insane..it would have been an ambush of camera clicks! - extra points if you can spot him from behind the bushes.

Feel free to contact us if you are travelling to India and would like to trace our route and hopefully get to experience some of the same sights and sounds that we did!

{Travel Log} Incredible India!

Finally a Memorable Jaunt travel update. Don't get me wrong, I love taking pictures but I was getting anxious for a travel post and lo and behold, here it is.

Memorable Jaunts spent the past three weeks overseas - specifically in India. We visited family, formed new friendships with two legged persons and four!, had pseudo-driving lessons, sat in a plane, in a train, in a jeep and "auuuutooo" (like a certain person calls it). We visited farms, national parks, and ancient temples.

We had an amazing time and it was so hard to choose pictures that would communicate all the sights, sounds and experiences we had. Here are a few that try to do the job! :)

The famous Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link connecting North and South Bombay - a visual overload any time of day OR night!

We enjoyed many sunsets on the Indian Ocean and loved having impromptu story time with family.

We watched kites in flight amazed at their agility and not to mention their wing span! - wow!

We formed unforgettable bonds with cousins and friends!

We enjoyed holi and seeing other enjoy holi!

We went for hikes, saw scarecrows and watched cattle graze.

We spent so much time with some of our favorite kinds of mammals - the four legged kind!

This one may seem a little odd but to me it captures the spirt of a certain someone. She spent so much time with the horses and dogs she met...not to forget the rub down she gave to a passing calf!

We loved spending time in quaint bunglows and going for walks along dirt road to see the occational cow, sheep and dogs basking in the sun!

We had a quick driving lesson in an auto :) and loved copying everything a certain someone did!!

We watched nature unfold in our own garden - it was such a visual treat!

and enjoyed plucking the sweetest smelling flowers every morning for grandma!

We even visited the beautiful Brindavan gardens

and immersed ourselves in one of the oldest places of worship in Mysore.

I cannot begin to tell you how much we miss everything and everyone back home. It's true what people say "Home is where the heart is!" and for everyone in the MJ family we have left a little piece of our heart back in India!