14.10.2018
Working the “exotic” cruises – that is what the company calls any river cruise outside of Europe – is somewhat like vacation. Usually I have at least 140 guests to take care of on any European River, but on the cruises in India it is never more than 30 or 40 guests. This time I have only 11 guests!
I finished the season on the French Rivers on Oct 10, flew home, unpacked, ran some errands, packed and left again in the afternoon of the Oct 12 by train to Frankfurt. There I stayed overnight and on Oct 13 I flew via Dubai to Kolkatta.
There were supposed to be 6 guests on the same flight from Frankfurt, 3 others would fly from Zurich, 2 from Hamburg to Dubai where we all would meet up and have the same flight to Kolkatta. I only met 3 guests in Frankfurt, however. It is always complicated since the plane is an A 380 and there are so many passengers. Even though I stand around in my bright turquoise uniform clip board in hand … it would probably be easier in Dubai….
In Dubai it was a long way to the next gate – first we parked with the A 380 in an outside position and busses brought us to the Terminal – it was a 15 min bus ride! – then the Terminal 3 is so huge, that it was another 17 min – according to the signs – to walk to our gate. There it seemed easy enough to find my guests since the majority of the passengers were Indian and Westerners were sort of sticking out of the crowd. But again I found only the 3 I knew already plus 1 more guest.
I logged into the free airport WIFI at the gate and as soon it connected the mobile started binging with messages. The Zurich to Dubai flight had been cancelled and the 3 guests had been rebooked – 1 would arrive on the next flight to Kolkatta and the other 2 guests would only arrive 24 hrs delayed….. There were messages from the ship’s manager in Kolkatta and e-mails from Germany , but too little time to do much. Anyway, it was in the middle of the night by now and neither there nor there were they working. They probably would have sorted it out without me by the time we landed in Kolkatta!
Since there were so few Westerners on that flight to Kolkatta the foreigners’ line at immigration in Kolkatta Airport was very short and it went relatively quick – compared to other times I have been here. The luggage belt had not even started yet when we got there and it took a long time, but everything arrived.
Outside arrivals we were met by our German speaking guide Amit. He had more news concerning delays – 2 guests were a last minute cancellation the day before – that information had not reached me at all. And one guest had called the – English speaking – ships manager, who did not understand a word she was babbling in German other than that she was in Dubai. She had left a voice message and he had forwarded it to Amit. She had missed the connecting flight in Dubai and would be coming with the next flight!
Ok, no problem, the one guest from Zurich would be on the same flight as her and the transfer would pick them up and take them both to a hotel, then in the very early morning to the ship in the Sundarbans! So, my group of 11 had dwindled to only 5 guests on the bus to the ship! Sometimes less guests are more work than full house!
The transfer to the ship took about 4 hrs and lead us south right across town. The weather was hazy but sunny, a sort of after the rain tropical humidity and a flat 32°C. It was hot and sweaty! But the AC on the bus worked perfectly – of course the first thing my German guests demanded was to turn the AC off! Well, I guess we sweat!
Traffic was mild, but still crazy as usual. The preparations for Durga Puja Festival were in full swing and everywhere huge temporary shrines were being built and Durga statues were driven in truck beds to them. That night the statues would be placed into the shrines. Durga Puja is the most important festival of the year in West Bengal and is celebrated for 10 days. Durga Puja festival marks the battle of goddess Durga with the shape-shifting, deceptive and powerful buffalo demon Mahishasura, and her emerging victorious. Therefore, the festival describes the victory of good over evil, but it also is a harvest festival that marks the goddess as the motherly power behind all of life and creation. The main days of the festival are coming up just ahead of us.
The first part of the trip was through the city and then smaller settlements. It was very busy, markets were happening along the streets. Shops and everything would be closed for the festivities for 3 days soon. There were already school holidays and everybody just seemed to prepare for the party.
Further south the scenery became more rural and soon we reached the wetlands of the Ganges Delta. Villages lined the road, rice fields and many people seemed to be fishing in the ponds.
In Gadkhali we changed from the bus to a Sundarban Safari boat. It was one of those boats which usually take tourist on tours into the mangrove swamps. To reach our ABN Rajmahal – our home for the next 10 days or so – it took another 45 min by boat.
The Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta is the world’s largest delta and empties into the Bay of Bengal the combined waters of several river systems, mainly those of the Brahmaputra river and the Ganges river. It is also one of the most fertile regions in the world earning the nickname The Green Delta. The delta stretches from the Hooghly River on the west to the Meghna River on the east.
The Ganges Delta forms sort of triangle. It covers more than 105,000 km2, and although the delta lies mostly in Bangladesh and India, rivers from Bhutan, Tibet, India, and Nepal drain into it from the north. Approximately 60% of the delta is in Bangladesh and, 40% in West Bengal, India. Most of the delta is composed of alluvial soils made up by small sediment particles that finally settle down as river currents slow down in the estuary. It is composed of a labyrinth of channels, swamps, lakes, and flood plain sediments.
The Safari Boat took us down a channel along Bali Island to the Bidyadhari River. We passed many of the traditional wooden boats. Some of them are still big row boats with 2 or more oars on each side and one man steering with a huge rudder in the back.
On the southern tip of the island our ABN – Assam Bengal Navigation – Rajmahal was waiting for us. All the crew from last year was still there and a lot of smiling faces all around – Welcome back! With only 5 guests and me today they will have not much to do. They welcomed us with a yellow bindi which signifies prosperity, flowers and refreshments. Settled in our cabins we had lunch straight away before relaxing a little bit. In the meantime our boat sailed up the Bidyadhari River a few kilometers to the mouth of the Datta River where we anchored again.
In the afternoon we took a short excursion across to the Sajnekhali Forest Office & Mangrove Interpretation Center. We had to get the permits for tomorrow’s excursion into the Sunderbans. There was a path to view the animals of the Sundarbans. We passed a pond with the critically endangered River Terrapins, which is a riverine turtle native to Southeast Asia. Maybe, because they are river turtles or maybe, because of the heat they only showed their noses to us every now and again, when coming up for a breath. Very hard to see, though.
Along the path we met several Bengal monitors lizards (Varanus bengalensis).This large lizard is mainly terrestrial and it can reach a length of up to 175 cm from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail. One was rather happy to pose for us, the others prefers to hightail it into the mangroves surrounding us.
In the pond we spotted our first mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris). The crocodiles of Sundarban are said to grow very large. On average females are approx 2.50 m in length and males up to 3.00 m. We only saw the eye and nose – but it was enough! We saw a crocodile!
The Mangrove Interpretations Center had very well done, detailed exhibits and information on all the flora and fauna in the Sundarban Mangrove Swamps as well as conservation and Tiger Rescue. It was very interesting and of course, we now hope to see a Bengal Tiger in the wild!
The path led along the mangrove swamp and low tide was happening. The Interpretation Center is located right at the edge of the protected area of the Sundarban Tiger Reserve. Across on the opposite bank of the river is a village. Therefore the mouths of the small streams and tidal creeks are protected by nettings. They hope the tigers will not swim across the river when looking for food. Maybe it is a somewhat psychological measure to calm both sides …
Our guide Amit got all excited at one point because he thought he spotted a tiger in the distance. There was a group of local tourists following the same path and they joined in the hype. We had just climbed a viewing tower and had a better look from up there. We were all pretty sure what we saw was only yet another monkey … Amit claimed it was a baby tiger with its mother ahead of it….. Who knows? But then again, nobody took a photo to prove otherwise…..
We did however see a very close by spotted deer. The chital (Axis axis), also known as spotted deer or axis deer, is a species native in the Indian subcontinent. Chital are active throughout the day, the live in the mangrove forest and feed on the leaves of the trees. They stand on their hind legs and reach up to 2 m high to feed, which keeps the forest see-through in this height.
While we went back to our ship the sun was setting behind us and a picturesque sailing row boat passed us in the right moment. Just as if we had ordered it to be there…..
After some rest we had our information session in the ship salon. All the does and don’ts on the ship – like “Do use bottled water to brush your teeth because the water from the tap is treated Ganges water and not at all potable! At least not for our sensitive Western stomachs!” and of course the safety instructions, presentation of the crew and the Welcome Cocktail. Much translation to do for me, however, since I have been here a few times now, nothing new or complicated.
Having said all the necessary things, we moved up to the Sun Deck where a local folklore group – actually a family from a nearby village – would give a performance for us. I felt a bit sorry for them, because there were only 5 guests to watch today. But most of the crew came up watching as well, so it was not too bad. The performance took approx 30 min and Amit translated and explained the dances in between. It was interesting to see, that they also had a bottle dance.
We all just managed to enjoy dinner afterwards, but then everybody retired soon to their cabins. It had been a long 2 days of travelling plus the time change of 3.5 hrs. Everybody would sleep very well. The ship would stay at anchor and other than the loud festival music blaring from the distant villages it was quiet.
15.10.2018
We all had a good night’s sleep and the “temple bell” – because there is no PA System on the ship, there is a bell – was ringing in the corridors as wakeup call at 05:30 this morning. A boat safari in the Sundarbans is depending on the tidal movement. Basically, if there is low tide you have the chance to see more wildlife than at high tide and of course in the early morning the chances to see wildlife are better anyway! Therefore it was an early start this morning.
Breakfast at 05:30 and at 06:30 I send the 5 guests of on the Safari Boat with Amit, our German speaking local guide, and Romeet, the ship’s Manager, along with a local forest guide. I had to stay behind, because 2 of the delayed guests would arrive this morning and wanted to go on a boat safari as well.
The 2 ladies had arrived in Kolkatta last night and we had put them up in an Airport Hotel, because driving country roads in India in the dark is not a safe option and during festival times even less. Also, the ship had moved yesterday, so their boat ride from Gadkhali to the ship would be approx 1.5 hrs and that is not possible in the dark either. They had left this morning at 04:00 am at the hotel – sunrise is around 05:30 am – and arrived eventually around 08:45 at the ship. Their drive was quicker than ours yesterday, because traffic was less in the wee hours of the morning.
While waiting for them I had another snooze and caught up on preparing the daily programs for the next days.
The ladies did not want breakfast, so after they powdered their noses, we were off on another Safari Boat together with Kunal, the General Manager, and a local forest guide.
Sundarbans literally means “The beautiful forest”! It is a vast and unique forest in the coastal region of the Bay of Bengal located in the delta region of Padma, Meghna and Brahmaputra river basins. The Sundarbans contain the world’s largest coastal mangrove forest, with an area of about 10,000 km2 of which about 6,000 km2 are located in Bangladesh and about 4,000 km2 in India. The Bangladeshi and Indian parts of the Sundarbans, while in fact adjacent parts of the uninterrupted landscape, have been listed separately in the UNESCO World Heritage List – as The Sundarbans and Sundarbans National Park, respectively.
First we had to go to the forest office at Sajnekhali Mangrove Interpretation Center again to get their permits for the visit as well. Before we even started walking from the boat jetty to the office, we already hat do rescue Mrs. L from the monkeys. The rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) is one of the best-known species of Old World monkeys. They have the widest geographic ranges of any nonhuman primate, occupying a great diversity of altitudes and a great variety of habitats, from grasslands to arid and forested areas, but also close to human settlements. They are like everywhere in Asia. And Mrs. L though to give a monkey her banana from breakfast. Only that she did not see the other monkeys come running out of the mangroves and before she knew it, the monkeys were ripping the bag of fruits out of her hand and started grabbing for her backpack.
In the pond the River Terrapins were more active this morning and we saw many sticking there heads out of the water for breathing. And there was a frog swimming leisurely as well.
We had a quick look through the interpretation center and were lucky enough to see the resident mugger crocodile in the pond sunbathing and posing for us.
The monitor lizards were out and about as well and one of them showed us their bright blue tongue.
Once the formalities were done we took the Safari Boat on a Sundarban Safari Cruise through many different river channels and more or less dense mangrove forests.
The Sundarbans is a complex network of marine streams, mud shores and mangrove forests. The salinity level is higher in the mangroves than in the freshwater swamp forests located further inland.
The Sundarbans Mangroves ecoregion on the coast forms the seaward fringe of the river delta and is the world’s largest mangrove ecosystem, with 20,400 km² covered area. The dominant mangrove species Heritiera fomes is locally known as sundri tree. Mangrove forests are not home to a great variety of plants. They have a thick canopy, and the undergrowth is mostly seedlings of the mangrove trees.
We cruised mainly through the Sajnakhali Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a 362 km ² area in the northern part of the Sundarbans delta. The area is mainly mangrove scrub, forest and swamp. It was set up as a sanctuary in 1976. It is home to a rich population of different species of wildlife, such as water fowl, heron, pelican, spotted deer, rhesus macaques, wild boar, tigers, water monitor lizards, fishing cats, otters, olive ridley turtles, crocodiles, batagur terrapins, and migratory birds.
Of course we were watching out for mainly the tigers! The Bengal tiger is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2008 and is threatened by poaching, loss and fragmentation of habitat. The tiger arrived in the Indian subcontinent about 12,000 years ago and is the national animal of both India and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Royal Bengal tiger. In 2015 a tiger census conducted by India and Bangladesh in the Sundarbans revealed that there were 106 tigers in Bangladesh – a sharp dip from 440 counted tigers in 2004 – and 103 tigers on the Indian side of the Sundarbans. Chances to see one are very slim, though….
We saw many of the spotted deer again. They were often along the shoreline drinking water. Guess, if the deer are peacefully grazing and drinking, there is no tiger near by ….
One of the highlight of our tour was a saltwater crocodile lounging in the sun on a tiny island. Babu, our Naturalist spotter, who was constantly scanning the banks with his binoculars, found it for us and the boat went close by to give us a better look.
The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), also known as the estuarine crocodile, Indo-Pacific crocodile, marine crocodile, sea crocodile or informally as saltie is the largest of all living reptiles in the world. Males of this species can reach sizes up to 6 m in length. This crocodile can live in marine environments, but usually resides in saline and brackish mangrove swamps, estuaries, deltas, lagoons, and lower stretches of rivers. They have the broadest distribution of any modern crocodile, ranging from the eastern coast of India throughout most of Southeast Asia and northern Australia.
Somewhere along the way we got off at a forest station – the Sudhanyakhali Camp – and took a walk to a viewing tower. There were most of the over 50 different mangrove species sign tagged for visitors along the way. We spotted a white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis), which is very common in Asia from Turkey east through the Indian subcontinent to the Philippines.
We also passed a shrine for the Goddess Bonbibi. Bonbibi, the lady of the forest, also Bandevi, Bandurga and Byaghradevi is a guardian spirit of the forests venerated by both the Hindu and the Muslim residents of the Sundarbans. She is called upon mostly by the honey-collectors and the woodcutters before entering the forest for protection against the attacks from the tigers. It is believed that the demon king, Dakkhin Rai (Lord of the South), an arch-enemy of Bonbibi actually appears in the disguise of a tiger and attacks human beings.
Back on the Safari Boat we sailed further through the Sundarbans channels and mangrove swamps. We had our picnic lunch on the boat while keeping watch out for the tigers – or any other wildlife for that matter. We spotted 2 white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) posing for us. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related to Sanford’s sea eagle of the Solomon Islands, and the two are considered a superspecies. Resident from India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to Australia on coasts and major waterways, the white-bellied sea eagle breeds and hunts near water, and fish form around half of its diet. Opportunistic, it consumes carrion and a wide variety of animals.
After lunch we reached the forest station of Dodanki where we caught up and joined forces with our first group again. At this station there was a viewing tower again but also a 4 m raised walkway over the swamp. In the midday heat there was not much wildlife to be seen other than a couple of deer drinking from the pond, a brahminy kite (Haliastur indus) sitting in a shady tree and plenty fiddler crabs and mudskippers scurrying along the drying mud.
However there were plenty of – unfortunately old – tiger tracks to be seen. At least we saw the tracks! My theory was that the tigers are sitting below the raised concrete walkway in the shade, because they know, they cannot be seen from the people there. The walkway leads straight into the swamp with no bends or curves. It is impossible to see below it from above. Definitely they were sitting down there laughing their bum off at the stupid tourists above!
That seems to be my destiny … Whenever I am in tiger country I only ever see tracks …. I only ever see them in rescue stations or breeding centers ….
From Dodanki we sailed with the 2 Safari Boats across a huge river junction where apparently 5 rivers / channels came together and at some point the banks to either side were only seen in the very very far distance. But with the help of binoculars and mobile phones they found the right direction and our ship. ABN Rajmahal had during the day sailed further south and waited for us near Jharkhali.
Here we met the last 2 delayed guests. They had arrived in Kolkatta this morning and a transfer had brought them to the Sundarbans to eventually meet up with us. They were happy to be here and even happier to hear that we would have our short excursion to the Tiger Rescue Station this afternoon and they would be able to join us.
The ship sailed for only about half an hour before we took our little country boat across to the jetty of the Tiger Rescue Station.
The first tiger rescue centre in India near Jharkhali/Sunderbans provides asylum to injured and straying tigers that are either brought to Kolkata for treatment or released in far corners of the mangrove forest. Even though fenced off from the rest of the jungle, the centre is contiguous to the main Sunderbans. The tigers are, however, not able to leave the centre. There is an outer fence to create a boundary that cuts it from the rest of the forest and there is an inner periphery with a lower fence. It has separate enclosures for 4 tigers across a 10 ha area – when we visited there were only 2 tigers living there. Adjacent to the Chhoto Herobhanga river, the centre is enclosed on all 4 sides and has different ponds apart from enough mangrove cover for tigers to feel “at home”.
In the entrance of the station was a small butterfly garden and we watched beautiful colored butterflies there. The first one we found was a Danaus genutia genutia Cramer 1779 – Oriental Striped Tiger! Hallelujah, we spotted our first tiger! Hey, we came here to see tigers – there is one! Our guides and accompanying staff made great fun of us. They been doing it all afternoon, because we were so determined to see a tiger and would expect one behind every mangrove tree along the way…. Now, they found another joke to make!
Walking around the inner fence of the rescue station gave us a good view of the enclosures with the tigers. Between the fence and the enclosures was another big water channel all around like a moat in which we spotted a crocodile. The enclosures for the tigers are very big with lots of grass and trees. Nevertheless, we spotted the tigers easily. They did look a little sad, though. However, they seemed to have a very large space and plenty greenery and trees.
On the short walk back to the jetty I had to have a coconut. There were a few snack and souvenir stalls along the path. The coconut was only Rs 20 and it was delicious. Coconut water is the best rehydration on a hot day like this! And it was hot! We sweated like pigs in the humidity and sun.
Back on board it was time for a sundowner on deck! The sunset was beautiful and the Kingfisher beer was nice and cold!
I had to repeat the info and safety instructions as well as the Welcome Cocktail for the 4 late arrivals before dinner, which was not a big deal. Then followed the daily briefing for the next day just before dinner. The food is very good on board. For lunch they have a buffet with Indian and Asian – say Chinese – food and for dinner it is served at the table and is Indian and Western. Mind you everything is very much influenced by Indian. But it is always delicious and beautifully decorated on the plate.
