Wednesday, May 31, 2006
No lions or tigers on Jungle visit...
James Entry….
Thursday, May 25, we had some time before our midnight departure from Khajuraho, so we decided to venture to the outskirts of the city and view the waterfall. We were informed earlier that the water had dried up in the hot season so there was just a “fall” (no water) but having viewed most of the temples in the area already we were up for a change of scenery.
The beautiful rock structures of the fall gave a real impression of the incredible amount of time that had passed to create it. Surely the gorge must rival the majesty of our own Grand Canyon. It was hard to believe that where we were standing would soon be covered with water during the Monsoon season. We saw photographs of the very spot. The silence of this place was spectacular. We all enjoyed it amid the occasional lively philosophical conversations between evolution versus creationism.
Our tour guides took us further into the park, down a nature train by Jeep and we saw several kinds of animals. There were many antelope, described as “big deer” by Josh. And on the way out, we stopped to observe a group of black-faced monkeys that had congregated in the woods. They looked like animals until you see them interacting and then you can’t help but notice how human they seem. We never did see any tigers or crocodiles. They were too smart to come out in this heat.
Upon our return to the hotel we stopped at an extremely small village and handed out a few pencils to the residents. I don’t think they had visitors often, so we were quite the center of attention when we arrived. I think we were all surprised at how different things were, only a few kilometers outside of Khajuraho. It was a great cultural experience.
James Tyndall
Thursday, May 25, we had some time before our midnight departure from Khajuraho, so we decided to venture to the outskirts of the city and view the waterfall. We were informed earlier that the water had dried up in the hot season so there was just a “fall” (no water) but having viewed most of the temples in the area already we were up for a change of scenery.
The beautiful rock structures of the fall gave a real impression of the incredible amount of time that had passed to create it. Surely the gorge must rival the majesty of our own Grand Canyon. It was hard to believe that where we were standing would soon be covered with water during the Monsoon season. We saw photographs of the very spot. The silence of this place was spectacular. We all enjoyed it amid the occasional lively philosophical conversations between evolution versus creationism.
Our tour guides took us further into the park, down a nature train by Jeep and we saw several kinds of animals. There were many antelope, described as “big deer” by Josh. And on the way out, we stopped to observe a group of black-faced monkeys that had congregated in the woods. They looked like animals until you see them interacting and then you can’t help but notice how human they seem. We never did see any tigers or crocodiles. They were too smart to come out in this heat.
Upon our return to the hotel we stopped at an extremely small village and handed out a few pencils to the residents. I don’t think they had visitors often, so we were quite the center of attention when we arrived. I think we were all surprised at how different things were, only a few kilometers outside of Khajuraho. It was a great cultural experience.
James Tyndall
