After our trip up to the temple we started heading back to Bangalore when we saw a sugar cane harvest being brought in. Naveen stopped and got us a sugar cane so that we could try it out fresh from the field. It was actually quite tasty. You just had to take a big bite and then chew the cane to get the sugar out. Or if you are me, you try to bite the cane and just end up having sugar cane juice spray and drip all over yourself and the car. Ha! It was super good though and fun to try!
Our next stop was to a bird sanctuary and my oh my was it beautiful. We had originally thought this might be kind of lame, but I should have known better as Naveen had yet to lead us astray. This place was amazing and so very beautiful and the wildlife was amazing. I was so glad we made the detour out to see it. It was another highlight of the day for me.
One thing that we found quite common in India was that almost everywhere we went (that was touristy) had two price points. A “foreigners” price and a “Resident” price. For instance for the bird sanctuary I think we paid like 300 rupees per person (or around $5 per person) whereas our driver Naveen was only like 30 rupees (like $1 or less). Luckily this wasn’t true at restaurants, but almost everywhere else had much higher prices for tourists.
The bird sanctuary also had a “boat ride” that we originally though was included but once again we came to discover that the tourist price was another $5 per person. Still, it wasn’t very expensive and who knows if we’ll ever be back so I was happy to pay it. It was well worth the money.
I have to share a quick story about this particular crocodile. Before getting on the boat Adam and I thought we spotted a crocodile on a rock across the river, but our tour guide said that the sanctuary had put “fake” crocodiles on lots of the rocks. So when we came really close to this one we totally thought it was one of the “fake” crocodiles because its mouth was opened just perfectly (he had actually sort of shut it by the time I took this picture) and he was just in perfect picture taking form. We kept trying to ask our tour guide if it was a real one or fake one but he just kept confusing us more. “Is it a fake?” we’d ask. “Yes it is a fake” hed say. “So its not real then?” “No it is real.” We were very confused. We had our question answered though when we went by it and it actually moved! It totally freaked us both out! It was really really cool though and we literally were right next to it when I took this picture. Incredible!
This, Naveen told us, is an aunt hill that got taken over by a snake. He said the ants make the hill and then once they are finished snakes will come in and take it over and eat all the aunts. Poor ants. Not only do they get their home taken away but then they get eaten to boot!
Our last stop for the night was to a teeny tiny town out in the middle of no-where where Naveens brother in law and sister in law live. The gentleman in the picture below is Naveens wifes older brother and he and his wife live out on a coconut and sugar cane farm. Behind them in this picture are tons and tons of old dried coconut shells that they use for firewood. They also have rice fields I believe and basically grow all of their own food. They were a humble and lovely couple and once again showed us so much kindness and generosity. They and Naveen had even gotten Adam and I and all 4 of the kids some small gifts as a going away present. They got Adam and I each a wood carved pen, and then got each of the kids a spinning top toy made out of wood (which they all loved). It was really so very generous of them. They also fed us some snacks and gave us fresh coconut juice during our short stay. We unfortunately didn’t have a lot of time with them though because we needed to get into the city to catch our flight to Paris France for the next leg of our adventure. We sure did enjoy our time with Naveens family though and enjoyed getting to know them better.
One story I do want to record from our visit though is that at one point during the evening I asked to use the bathroom. They apparently have both an indoor and an outdoor bathroom (an outhouse) but the outdoor one’s lights weren’t working so they had me use the indoor one. I wasn’t sure where to go pee though because there was no toilet whatsoever and I couldn’t see a hole in the ground either. I ended up having to go and ask Naveen’s sister in law where I should pee because I honestly had no idea. She instructed me to just pee on the floor and the pee would meander to where it needed to go. So I just tried to squat and do my thing. Then when I went to “wipe” I realized that there was no toilet paper. Having heard of this before though, and having been in many restrooms where “sprayers” are installed for people to wash themselves I remembered that many Indians just use water to wash themselves off. So I grabbed a cup, dipped it in the “well” that was in the bathroom and then tried splashing myself clean! It was quite the experience. I also saw several cock roaches and other pests while peeing, but what can you expect from a home with dirt floors and bamboo walls? It really was quite the culture shock. But you’d never meet a more kind and generous people. I just came to love every single Indian I ever met. They really have to be some of the greatest people in the world.
After our visit, we still hadn’t had dinner and so on our way to the airport we stopped at our first fast food joint. That of KFC. Adam had wanted his last meal to be Indian food, but unfortunately time didn’t work out for us to do that. So KFC it was. We were able to have Naveen try his first fry though which he described as “beautiful!” Ha ha.
We didn’t end up making it to the airport until about 12:15 and then our flight left at 1:30 am. It was a long night but we really ended our time in India with a bang! We just both felt so grateful to have been able to have so many amazing experiences and to have seen so many beautiful places and things. India really is just a wonderful place. We can’t wait to come back and spend another 3 months falling even more in love with the people and country!