Greetings from the Jungles of India!

What an Adventure! A group of us spent this past weekend in the wild forests of Karnataka and Kerala on a Safari expedition. We lodged in the Jungle Inn, which provided us with bumpy jeep tours and delicious Indian food which may have unfortunately made half of us sick...
Our days started early when the sun was just creeping above the tree tops and thick, white mists still hung lazily in the brisk air. Night and morning where prime times to see elephants and other more timid animals. At night we saw lone while elephants eating along the road side, only visible by the headlights of the jeep.
"Wild elephant, very dangerous!" Our guide Chrisna would explain while driving us uncomfortably close to the four ton beast. They're so beautiful, really, and have a face that gives off an air of wisdom and overall indifference to our presence. The males are suppose to dangerous; especially when they're wandering alone because that indicate they were kicked out of the herb for being troublesome. We did get some great photos though! We had a regular we saw 3-4 time we named Ted Kennedy and he had a twisted trunk.
While driving in the jeep we saw the untamed jungles of India and a host of animals. Spotted dear with sleek, artistic antlers. Black-faced monkeys who would jump right into your vehicle looking for food if you weren't careful. Giant squirrels the size of large cats (larger than Menchi!). Wild dogs lazing about in the grass waiting for an unsuspecting deer. Monstrous Gaur munching grass in the distance (the worlds largest wild cattle). Birds with so many unique features and calls that I can hardly begin to recite them.
The floral of the jungles was unbelievable as well! The large biodiversity of India ensures a huge variety of plants, flowers, and colors that make them impossible to keep track of. What we call black pepper grows along vine-like plants. The fruit appears as small green berries which have a last like black pepper mixed with lime and have quite a kick in the back of ones throat! We had a nice hike up to a waterfall that allowed us to appreciate and soak in the plant beauty. The one cultural phenomenon that I still struggle with in India is litter. The path to the waterfall had trash containers placed some what frequently, yet where ever people go there is bound to be discarded bottles and wrapped tossed carelessly amongst the green. This is true throughout India; littering simply isn't as much of a concern as we make it to be in the states.
We also got to embark on a hiking tour through the jungles for a few hours. We split into two groups and went with three guides; one of which had a machete and the other a rifle. You never know what might pop up in the forests, although tigers usually don't take much interest to humans. We witnessed a battle between two bull elephants that invoked quite a bit of wonder and fear. The two mammoth creatures interlocked tusked and swung their heads in a slow motion aggression that made little sense to us as onlookers. After a while they began to blare their loud trumpet sounds, which resulted in our guides suggesting that we should probably run away now. Not an everyday experience.

Next week takes us to the Himalayas!!! We're so excited and I'm sure to have many more stories to tell upon getting back to Vishtar. I hope everyone is enjoying the cold and snow back home (I mean that, I'm quite nostalgic for cool weather). Take care and enjoy Minnesota's beauty!