We left the city, riding, southwards , the roads getting quieter and quieter with each kilometre as we ran from the city southwards towards Bandipur Forest.

The road led us through lush , green paddy fields, we slowed for the killer speed humps that marked the start of small rural villages, where we were smiled at and waved to by children at play, women at work, and men sipping Chai at the roadside. The sun was relentless, but the air was fresh and cool.

We stopped for an Indian coffee, basically half a cup of sugar, hot water and a chickory/coffee mix, that was incredibly sweet and almost devoid of caffeine.

Local monkeys came to investigate, and played at our feet, before strutting off into the distance. We stopped again by a lake for a quick picnic of banana chips and bread, watching a local farmer lead a pair of his cows to the lake for a swim and a wash. The cows didn’t seem too keen to get into the water, but once in, the cowherd had a hard time pulling them back out. Cows clean and refreshed,the cowheard lead the animals back up the paht beside us
“Your native place?”
“England”
“Ah,Rooney’
“Yes,Rooney’
He smiled widely , and lead the cows past us back up the hill.
So sad that the most well known Englishman in India semed to be an overpaid footballer.

Bandipur

I’d contacted Juz (the phonetic spelling of his nickname, Juice) from England, and had been looking forward to meetng this very cool sounding biker, safari guide, wildlife photographer your guide fellow.
Juz had replied to a post I had put up on the internet, looking for some local knowledge and maybe a kindred spirit, and Juz was the answer.

He’d sent us directions and we’d contacted him as we were leaving Mysore, warning him of our pending arrival.

We entered the forest, passed the sign welcoming us to Bandipur Wildlife reserve, and started climbing the hairpin laden road up towards the main reception area for the Safari Tours. Monkeys sat by the roadside eyeing us suspiciously as we passed as we passed. I became convinced that we had somehow missed our meeting point, and pulled over to check my phone for any messages.
Phoebe pulled up beside me with a worried look on her face.
“Baby, I don’t think we should be stopping here, have you seen the signs? She pointed to a red and white rusted signpost a few metres ahead of me.
“Bandipur Wildlife Reserve
NO STOPING< NO PHOTO< NO PICNIC