A Real Adventure
We were in India for our honeymoon.
After enjoying our stay for two days at the hotel, we were strolling in the market. We wanted to explore some out-of-the-way places we can boast to others. A guy at the tourism office offered an exciting adventure only about 20 kilometers away. He said during the daytime, you can go see trained elephants and their tricks at the campsite and the night will be an exclusive one.
He said: “You two could even spend the night in the jungle, among wild animals. It is by the side of a small river. Exclusive, four rooms have been constructed. There is a kitchen and common dining etc. You will hear the roar of tigers. Jungle-calls from jackals after dark. Many predators come to this spot for drinking water. Deer come near the rooms. Wild elephants roam around, freely, from place to place and often they pass, in groups. There is a caretaker and it’s totally safe.”
This sounded exciting to us. We booked a jungle hut for the next day.
We reached the place by 10 am. Took an elephant ride in the jungle; saw monkeys, wild boar etc. The show was of some trained elephants breaking the coconut and ringing bells. One elephant painted on canvas with its trunk. But we were eager to reach our room to have some fun with just the two of us!
We hadn’t been in there long when there was a knock on the door. When we opened it, we saw the caretaker standing outside with another couple. WHAT? The other couple was allotted the same room by the tourism office. All the other three rooms were already occupied. The last transport back to town had left.
After some heated arguments, seeing no option, we all calmed down and agreed we would have to share. We didn’t have much choice.
Now, there were five couples on honeymoon at this camp, all in the same age group. At the dinner table, we started mingling. Thereafter, we all were in the verandah overlooking the river and jungle, chit-chatting and enjoying the night setting in.
The caretaker was talkative and jovial. We noticed a change in his mood after he returned from his room. He looked very serious. He told us he had received a radio warning about a jungle fire that was heading our way. Worse, he added that wild animals run, to escape the jungle fires… meaning the entire forest would be running toward us!
After about an hour, we spotted a small but distant red glow in the jungle. Fire confirmed. The boys grabbed all available sticks for protection against wild animals and all us girls were ready with buckets from bathrooms, filled with water, to fight the fire. Time was ticking. The cracking of bamboo and the sound of falling dry trees were terrifying.
Thankfully, the jungle fire fighting team arrived in the nick of time. They cleared dry brush from the path of the fire. The blaze died out.
By that point, it was 3 in the morning and we weren’t the least bit concerned about having to share a room anymore. We were just grateful to be alive!
Story credit: Quora / Janak Vakil