This was the longest trip yet attempted in India. It was 18 days long and the second half was supposed to be spent in tiger parks and not close to any creature comforts. The group was the same as the last trip - Pranav, Manoj, Aparna and Manoj's mum.
Indian railways had reduced the advanced booking time from 120 days to 60 days. That alone ensured that we lost out on train tickets. So we flew into Delhi instead. Pranav threw a big tantrum during the flight and we had (and still have) no clue why. Luckily, it was a short flight. He calmed down as soon as we landed. We then took an 1.5hr taxi ride to Greater Noida.
Today was a very long drive to Gwalior. First 2hrs went like a breeze and we reached Agra on time. We had given him a meal on the way. But crossing Agra was a nightmare. The traffic was slow and jams pretty bad. We stopped around noon at a Domino's for pizza. Pranav threw another huge tantrum at the restaurant. We believe it was due to hunger. We were about 30 mins past his meal time. Once we managed to get some food in, he calmed down. He again got a bit upset when we were searching for our hotel in Gwalior, but nowhere as bad as what he did in Agra. We eventually reached the hotel at around 3:30 pm. We had left Delhi at 8:30 am.
Pranav cooperated immensely today. We had to climb up a hill to visit Gwalior fort. He calmly walked up the hill, listened patiently to a guided trip and calmly walked down. Close to 3 hrs on foot with no hint of annoyance. We also visited Jai Vilas Palace and Tansen tomb in the afternoon. Pranav was reasonably well behaved in the afternoon as well.
Two hrs drive brought us to Shivpuri, 1.5 hrs after that we were at Jhansi. We took a guided trip of the fort and 30 mins later we were at Orchcha. Went smoothly according to plan. We had all meals prepared and ready for Pranav.
Today was supposed to be an easy day long sight-seeing in Orchcha. For some reason the guided trip upset Pranav today. But we had budgeted for it. We left him in the hotel for most of the afternoon while we took turns to see the town.
A 3.5 hr event free drive brought us to Khajuraho. No issues. Avomine and timely food helped, I guess.
A day long sightseeing started off badly. Pranav was cranky from the start. So we cut short the tour and brought him back to the room and took turns to see the place. We had budgeted for this eventuality. We had all day in Khajuraho and one can see the place many times over in that time.
A short 45 min drive brought us to Panna. Today was the only "drive" day when we did not give Pranav Avomine. In the evening, Aparna and I (Manoj) to a safari. The night was very cold. But that did not bother Pranav at all.
Another day long drive. After a morning safari (Manoj and his mum went on it), we started to Bandhavgarh at 9:30am. We reached the destination at 4:00pm. Pranav was quite well behaved.
Two days with 4 safaris. Pranav did not go on any. So it was just like staying at home for him.
Started driving to Jabalpur. But today was the state elections in MP. So we were stopped mid-way by the police. Pranav actually helped us today. Seeing his condition, we were let go and reached Jabalpur on time. Manoj and his mum visited the sites while Pranav and Aparna rested in the hotel.
Event free 4 hr drive brought us to Kanha. Manoj and Aparna went on the safari today.
Another safari day and Pranav stayed at the hotel all day.
Drove to Pench. It was going quite well when we decided to take a break for lunch (an hour before our destination). Pranav had a melt-down for no apparent reason. We had stopped 30 mins earlier for his meal. So he wasn't hungry. He calmed down after 20 mins or so and the rest of the day went event free.
Another safari day and Pranav stayed at the hotel all day.
Event free 4 hr drive brought us to Nagpur
Today was the worst day of the trip. Our flight got delayed by an hour. So we had to spend an extra hour at the airport trying to keep Pranav engaged. The flight back was very choppy and the pilot's first landing attempt failed and he had to do it all over again. All that brought Pranav's motion sickness back. The morning's Avomine was probably worn out by now. Pranav did not stop vomiting till we got back home.
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