Wednesday 19^th Feb 2020

Our India trip commenced planning in November last year.  It came about because Steve’s very good Indian friend Debarshi has a shared passion for photography and he and his lovely wife Chandrima spend all their holidays exploring the world’s nature.  ‘Wanderlust’, as the discrete tattoo on her wrist says – and a month completely off the grid in Outer Mongolia was their major holiday last year! 

The timing was set by Debarshi and Chandrima’s suggestion that February was about as late as it would be wise to leave it given a destination of Bera Village; one of the top places in the world to see leopard in its natural habitat.   The realisation that Steve’s parents would be in Sri Lanka gave a great opportunity for three generations to travel together – and Steve’s birthday gave the perfect excuse!  I had some concerns that three generations on a holiday breaking new ground for everyone would give rise to some challenges, but I needn’t have worried in the slightest; it worked out just fine and by everyone tolerating and respecting each other, the time we had was beyond awesome.  Steve commented that arriving in Bera, under a blue sky in an amazing landscape, to a superb lodge with tranquil infinity pool, with no cellular signal or lodge WiFi, with the expectation of four safaris, and with not only me and the children but his parents for company, was a real moment to stop and consciously absorb the here and now – not just let it unfold.  He did, and the memory will never fade.

We had left our apartment at 3am and travelled by minivan to the airport for the first of 3 flights; Colombo to Chennai, to Hyderabad, and then on to Udaipur.  We reached the super Trident Hotel at about 4pm, ready for a little swim and dinner.  The sun was shining high, but we noticed that it was not as hot as in Colombo due to the altitude.  Traditional dancers entertained us whilst we tucked into an Indian buffet, however some members of our group ordered pizza and spaghetti Bolognese!  No names mentioned – but it wasn’t Steve, he having died and gone to heaven with all the spices. 

Sleep came easily along with the expectation of adventures ahead.

Rennie