From Ooty we took the less used more adventurous twisty mountainous road (as opposed to the National Highway) from 2200 metres down to 860 metres above sea level at Mudumalai National Park and Tiger Reserve.

Mudumalai is only about 25 miles from Ooty but the climate and geography is totally different owing to altitude. As we entered the boundaries of the tiger reserve we were both very excited and rode our bike stood up on pegs the whole way looking for wildlife on either side of the road. All we saw was loads of elephant dung :-(.

However, this was encouraging because it meant that there were elephants close by and the next morning we did see a mum and baby which was great!

Initially we were planning on going to Bandipur National Park but as it was only about 8 or so miles away we decided to stay at Mudumalai that night. It was just as well because Bandipur was about 4 times more expensive to stay in. We rented a whole dormitory complete with Maran the janitor/cook who was a top bloke and looked after us very well. And all for about £10 a night including breakfast and evening meal! Bandipur would've been about £40 just for the room.

We liked it so much that we stayed here for 3 nights which allowed us to not have to carry our luggage wherever we went. So everyday we just got on our bikes and ventured into the forests and saw loads of animals (Bison, deer, monkeys, peacocks, wild boar, elephants and mongooses) but sadly no big cats.

Following the three fab days we had at Madumalai which included trips to Bandipur National Park and Gopalaswami temple which was built in the 14th century on a hill a few miles down the road, we moved on and headed towards Kabini Resorvoir but the route we took (and the stops we made on the way) meant that we never made it there before dark. As there was nowhere to stay and we were not allowed to camp in the forest we had to head back to a small town called Gundlupet about 35 miles back.
Nothing to say about or do in Gundlupet so next morning (8th Feb) we headed back to Mysooru.

Once we had dumped our luggage in a lodging house we headed out on our bikes to Ranganathittu bird sanctuary about 15 miles from Mysooru.

On the way we happened to witness twin-ox and cart racing which was organised by a farmers' association and was free to watch. It was pretty mad and chaotic and would make our health and safety officials cringe. Basically there are two oxen, one cart and two drivers - one to whip and the other to try and steer the cart in the right direction racing against another similar setup over a 200 metre course. The finish line would be lined with spectators who leap out of the way as the carts bear down on them. The winner from each heat would then race against winners from other heats until an outright winner is declared who gets a big cash prize. And the oxen get more hay to eat.

When we did get to to the bird sanctuary Ron P did his usual rolling of eyes as he was charged 4 times more to get in because he was a foreigner. However the sanctuary was worth visiting and some unusual birds were seen in their natural habitat despite it not being peak migratory season.
In the evening we visited the palace of Mysooru Maharajah which incidentally was where we started this trip from. It being a Sunday, the entire palace and its perimeter walls would be lit with thousands of electric light bulbs for one hour only from 7 p.m. This was an amazingly spectacular sight and the palace guards band struck up Colonel Bogey to entertain the crowds.

From the palace we went to meet some of Ron H's friends and had a meal. Nothing much happened on Monday other than us having to sadly give our bikes back. They were beautiful beasts and did not give us any grief during the entire 2511 Kms of our trip.

On Tuesday we took a train to Bengaluru and spent the day at Ron H's sister and visited his cousin in the evening.

Now we have checked-in ready to board our flights back home.

Perhaps we will update this once more when we are back home and upload even more photos and videos.

So for now, its goodbye from me and its goodbye from him. Goodbye.