I'd want to ride my bicycle Part II: Hey Hey We're the Monkeeys

After getting in to Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary it is a matter of sitting down, looking at the options and getting totally confused. The park can be tackled in several different ways, each one has its perks, but the better they are, the more expensive the price tag. You can take boats, big or small, rafts, jeeps, trek, basically there are options galore but no guarantees that you will spot an elephant, let alone a tiger (almost impossible). We (Ravid Udi and Myself) elected to do the budget option on the first day and see what happened.

Hiring bikes just like the one I had up in Udaipur we headed down the road and entered the park for 300Rs. There is a long winding road from the park entry gate to the boat jetty and main ticket office which is a nice ride (although a bit hilly for these gearless bikes). Once inside we arranged to ride the government boats for 2hrs at a time for 15Rs (compared to the 'private' boats that are 100Rs), and we figured since we had already paid admission and the rides were only 15Rs (50 cents AUD) we could do it twice.

On the first outing, 2pm, we spotted deer, some stags, birds, black monkeys and a couple of elephants. People go crazy as soon as elephants are spotted, so much so that the small boat almost capsizes as everyone onboard clambers to on side of the boat to get a better look. Although we were a little far from the action the boat proved to be a really good and economical way to see the park with as little effort and minimum time. On the next trip, 4pm more animals were out and about, our animal spotting skills had also improved drastically and we were treated to herds of deer and buffalo, monkeys swinging through the trees, but alas the elephants were scared away by a bigger boat.

With the melody of Born Free ringing in my head (sad and corny I know) the second boat ride can to a close and it was time to hop back on the bikes and head back into town. As all the tourist buses and taxis sped past we spotted a family of monkeys in the trees by the road. THe soundtrack in my mind quickly changed to Hey Hey We're the Monkeeys as we grabbed or cameras and started shooting, but before we got a chance to get too close a park rangers car pulled up and kept us moving (park closes at 6pm sharp). As we approached the gates Ravids tire got a puncture, never a dull moment in this place, he though that he would be able to keep riding on the flat but luckily there was a rickshore nearby and he got a lift to the bike shop.