Tag Archives: Jungleside

Coorg – Garden Variety Birds

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As promised, here are some shots of the birds we saw in the garden of Jungle Side.  We had heavy fog in the mornings so didn’t get reasonably clear shots until at least 8am.  I haven’t been able to identify all of them, just the ones with distinctive colour patterns so if anyone can help me out, I’d appreciate it!

Common Kingfisher in the mist

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Crimson-backed Sunbird

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Asian Fairy Bluebird

IMG_2603Loten’s Sunbird

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Imperial Green Pigeon (I think, the colours didn’t come out with the poor lighting).

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The last one might be some kind of Ground Thrush.  I couldn’t figure these ones out for sure.  My Indian bird field guide is pretty old 1995 and the pictures are drawn, not photos.

 

 

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Lodge Review: Jungle Side, Coorg, India

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Ironically, when I was planning this trip I had never heard of Jungle Side, nor did it come up in any of my searches.  I had been to SAI Sanctuary before and was hoping to stay there.  They were still looking for staff to run their guest houses so arranged for us to stay at Jungle Side which is only a few minutes down the road from them.

Jungle Side is not easy to find. IMG_2470

We took a bus from Gonikoppal to T-Shettigeri, where we had been told to get out and take a taxi to the lodge.  We had trouble finding someone who spoke English well enough so a kind local used his cell phone to call Mr Muthanna who is the owner of Jungle Side and was able to explain to the taxi driver where to take us and negotiate a price.

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Once we arrived, the Muthannas showed us to a charming cottage with beautiful views of a river and their garden.  They immediately offered us tea (chai) which we both love and really miss when we are back home.

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They are building another cottage next door to this one.

IMG_2477 IMG_2478Meals are included in the price and I had already asked my friends at SAI to tell the Muthannas that we don’t like spicy food.  I don’t think they quite believed us as the first night was less spicy than a local guest would like but once I was able to convince them we didn’t want ANY chilis or capsicums at all, subsequent meals were really good!  We really got a good night’s sleep here, it’s so peaceful and quiet!

The next morning, we woke up to very thick fog blanketing the whole area.

IMG_2479 IMG_2480IMG_2482My heart sank, I knew birds would be very difficult to spot, never mind photograph!  In tomorrow’s post, I will show you more of the bird life in the property of Jungle Side.

You have to book this property directly with the owners.  In Nov 2013 we paid 4000 rupees for a double room with full board just as a ballpark figure for you.  This was mid week and low season.  If you are staying longer, they also have a list of other activities you can do in the Coorg (aka Kodagu) region which includes visiting coffee estates and river rafting!

Choosing The Best Lodges For India & Sri Lanka

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Yesterday, I showed you how I put together an itinerary for a birding adventure in southern India & Sri Lanka.  Today, I will show you how I chose the accommodation in each place.  In all cases (except Bangalore) I was prioritizing lodges that were located in birdy locations as I love being able to sit on a deck and watch birds any time of day!   Oh yeah, and we were on a tight budget being a somewhat impromptu trip!

I will be doing detailed reviews with photos on each individual lodge in subsequent posts.

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BANGALORE

The first night, we would be arriving around midnight and getting a bus to Coorg early the next morning.  Bangalore has horrible traffic jams so I wanted to stay as close as possible to the Mysore Satellite Bus Stand.  I used a Google map to zoom in on the bus stand and found the Transit Hotel Mysore Road right across the street.  I Googled the name, saw it bookable on Agoda (unfortunately not on Pointshound) and booked an AC room for a whopping $12!

COORG

On a previous visit, I had accompanied some friends to the wonderful SAI Sanctuary and really wanted to stay there.  Unfortunately, their staff had left and they couldn’t accommodate us but they booked us at a guest house just down the road called Jungleside Homestay.  We made a day visit to SAI to visit our friends and watch birds.

WAYANAD

I had no idea where to stay so I checked on Expedia since I had a $50 credit in my account.  I found a nice-looking place called Grassroots Wayanad, checked the photos & reviews on Trip Advisor and decided it sounded like my kind of place.  I booked it on Expedia to use the $50 credit.

MUDUMALAI

I was researching the sanctuary online and wanted to stay in their accommodation.  However it seems you can only book it with their office in Ooty or at the facility and they had no email.  I resorted to Google mapping the area and found the nearest town was called Gudalur.  I searched Gudalur on Trip Advisor and found a place called Gouri Farm which sounded good.  They weren’t on any booking sites so I emailed them and booked and they agreed to let me pay on arrival since we were there on a weekday.

BANGALORE

We would be arriving in the evening by bus and I have plenty of Club Carlson points so I booked the Park Plaza.

KITHULGALA

I read a few birding trip reports that highly recommended the Kithulgala Resthouse.  I wanted to book and pay on arrival so I used Booking.com which was the only booking agency that allowed for this.

SINHARAJA

Unfortunately this visit fell on a weekend and my first & second choices (Martin’s Simple Lodge & Blue Magpie Lodge) were booked up (according to Sri Lankan travel agency Red Dot) and they tried to get me to book a place for $200 a night that looked lovely but was out of our budget.  I did some researching online and stumbled across a place called Rock View Motel Kalawana which had room so I grabbed it.

Flights and accommodation booked…………………..the journey yet to begin!