Sundarban

January 21, 2013

Sundarban

Aerial view of Sundarban

Taking advantage of the long holiday weekend, we took a trip with three lovely families to Sundarban in southern Bangladesh. The Sundarban, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest mangrove forest in the world, and the only mangrove forest with tigers.

This is what I found written on my tray on the plane. I
swear....it wasn't me.

We first flew down to Jessore and then hopped onto the river boat in Khulna. We cruised down the river to Mongla where we spent our first night. The next day we continued our cruise through the winding waterways of Sundarban to Kotka where we spent our second night. Early the following morning we cruised to Kochikhali and then back up the river to Karamjal where we spent our last night before arriving back in Khulna.

Is it real or man-made?

While we did see lots of wildlife like the Ganges River dolphin, rhesus macaque monkey, spotted deer, wild boar, eagles, and cranes. What we were really hoping to see was the Royal Bengal tiger. So far, I have not met anyone who has actually seen one on the tours. There are even rumors that the tour companies have special tools to create fake paw prints in the ground or scratch marks on the trees.

The ranger is supposed to keep us safe from the tigers.
This was also Mason's first time touching a real gun much
to my dismay.

Thinking back to the moment, it all seems like a big blur because it just happened so fast and we were mostly in disbelief. But all I remember is the tour guide, running toward us at the front of the boat yelling, "Tiger, tiger, tiger! Over there...in the water!" We all look out and see nothing but something dark sticking out of the water that could easily be mistaken for a log. But then it starts moving. We get closer and sure enough.......it's a TIGER!!! Everyone scrambles for their camera, of course, and starts taking pictures like the Bangladeshis do when they see our kids. I just cannot explain to you how it feels to see an animal so majestic like the tiger in its natural habitat. Tigers are a rare sighting anywhere, not only because of their shyness, but because they are also endangered. So to actually see one in person is one of the most amazing experiences ever. Our tour guide has been guiding river cruises for five years (~30 cruises a year) and has only seen three. Even the staff on the boat were excited to see the tiger.