Sundarbans National Park, West Bengal | All about journey on ship

Hello friends, welcome to Visa2explore! This is your host, Harish Bali. You can see the excitement of going to Sundarbans. We have to leave for the bus at 8.30 pm. The B.B.D. Bagh is to be reported at 8 pm, right in front of the Tourism Office. And we've reached here at 7.15 pm. The tourism office is right in front of us. Let us go inside and wait. We started this journey in January 2019. I'm sharing with you the details of the tour packages. If you want to do this trip, check the details of the updated tour packages. For breakfast, we have eggs, apples and sandwiches. Our bus journey ends here. We will continue our journey on the ship. We left Kolkata at 8.30 pm. We reached Sonakhali at 12 pm. We just got off the bus. Now, we're going to walk for another 5-10 minutes towards the boat. Oh yes, we've finally reached it. First of all, let's go out for 5 minutes. After that, we will go to the deck and talk to the guide in detail about this journey. The good thing about this trip is that the local guide will be with us throughout the journey. He is going to tell us in detail about Sundarban. I'm enjoying listening to him and understanding him. It's 1:30 in the afternoon. The food is ready. I ordered 3-4 dishes for myself for lunch. Rice with dal, fish fry, local Katla fish, aloo-gobi sabzi and baingan bhaja. With that, papad. Here, I am noticing that baingan bhaja, baingan fries, will taste delicious wherever you eat it. Very simple preparation! The best part of this place is enjoying the view more than the food. What a beautiful view! And this beautiful journey! Everything is simple, as always, for people of all ages. While I was serving myself the fish, I found out that the fish served here is freshwater fish. After I finish my meal, I'll talk to the guide. Now, after this, we'll see what all we get to see. Right now, we're going to the motorboat to see the first watchtower. In total, we will see 3 watchtowers in this journey. Two will be seen today and one will be seen tomorrow. We've already entered the mangrove forest. These are all mangroves. And the roots down there are called breathing roots. When it rains, the soil slides down and the roots come out. Here, the tiger finds it difficult to walk. So, this is one reason why the tiger can be seen in a lot of water. This is Sundari tree. The name Sundarban comes from here. Right now, we're in the middle of the forest. The forest you see here is for double protection. One watchtower is here and the other watchtower is there. So, it's built for safety purposes. Now, we're going up to see the watchtower. Really, this feeling is awesome! You can feel the freshness of the air here. You can see how it feels to be standing in the middle of the forest. Let us go up. Does the tiger live alone or in a group? It lives together in October, November and December. It's mating season. After the mating season, the animals are separated from each other. They don't live together. And they go to different places to lay their eggs. Because tigers eat their eggs. That's why they go to different places. Let me tell you something about Sundarban. The total area of Sundarban is 10,000 sq. km. Which is huge! Approximately 40% of that area is in India and 60% is in Bangladesh. The total area of India is 4,200 sq. km. Approximately 1,700 square kilometres of that area is covered by bodies of water. You can see that when we're traveling on this ship. Now, Sundarban is famous for three things. Those three things are 1. The world's largest delta. 3. Mangrove forest I don't want to look at these three things in this order. The Royal Bengal Tiger, as far as I know, is 3 meters long. It can be even longer than that. And the weight of this male tiger is around 120-150 kg. And it attacks the enemy with a lot of force. Enemy means other animals. And it is said that it waits for its prey to attack it. Now let's talk about the delta. Sundarban is the world's largest delta. When river water meets sea water, it forms a delta. Because it has sediments in it. So, before it meets the sea water, it drops the sediments. First, it reduces the size of the sediment, then it becomes a slope. Now, here, the Ganges and Brahmaputra meet in the Bay of Bengal, where the delta is formed. This is a different place. From here, Matla, Vidya, Thakuran and Haryana rivers meet. Okay, these two, as I told you, are different. Yes, different. So, they all meet in the Bay of Bengal. - Yes, you did! - That's great! Obviously, it is good that they clarified this. Secondly, we are not going to the delta point because we will have to travel for hours to get there. This journey of ours starts from the starting point, which is almost 10-12km away. And we will come back tomorrow after completing this tour. We've reached the second watchtower. So far, we've seen deer, wild boar and some monkeys. Now, we are going to see the Mangrove Interpretation Centre. We just came back from Gadkhali and right now, we are in Sajnekhali. You will notice on this map that the Bay of Bengal is quite far away. This is the local bird of this Sundarbans area. Here, you can find a lot of birds. And these are all local birds. This is a lesser adjutant stock, called Marabu. You won't find it anywhere else. Here, you will find a lot of tiger sharks. Not tiger sharks, but bamboo sharks are found in Sundarbans. So, there's a lot of fresh water here. See, whenever people go in the water to catch fish, ...their feet get cut off too. They bleed too. They don't get burned. That's why they bleed continuously. That's why people get heart failure and die. And see, the tiger has such a breathing route in the jungle. And whenever the tiger walks, its feet are also closed. It goes inside the cage and then opens its mouth. It doesn't even walk straight. That's why its feet are closed. This is the character of the building. You can easily identify the tiger. You can follow it. You can see it easily from the Duryodhan Research Centre. We also have a GPS, which we use to track the tiger's movements. But how do you reach the tiger's collar to attack it? We use a tranquilizer. We put the tiger in a cage. - I'm not going anywhere. We'll sedate it. Then we apply radio color to it. Then we release it. Yes, then we release it. The guide explained each animal in detail. The mask you see here, the government distributes it to the fishermen. So they can wear it behind their heads while fishing. So, if a tiger or a wild animal attacks it, it feels as if the fisherman is watching it. What other trees live here besides mangroves? Mangrove trees are a different tree. It has a snake-like root. Look at that! That's why it's called the Gewa tree. And it has a snake-like root. What's the name of this tree? It's called Gewa. We've reached the top of the watchtower. - What? We're going to check out the rooms here. How are the rooms? The room is magnificent! There's a sofa outside. And there's a bed inside. The atmosphere here is so peaceful, right in the middle of the jungle. The fare for this room is Rs 3000. Here, the fare is Rs 2500 and breakfast is complimentary. By the way, it is an experience to stay in such an environment. The evening snack! This is Betki fish fry, along with cutlet and pakora. And one special thing that I want to highlight in West Bengal is.... ...wherever you go, you can't miss mustard sauce because it's mandatory everywhere. The Betki fish fry I was talking about. This is the flesh. I've eaten this fish in Kolkata. It tastes delicious. A little sweet! And it's cooked in many ways. First, let us cook it. One method is to fry it. It's hot as a whistle! My personal choice is mustard sauce. Let me tell you the time now. It's 5.40 pm. It was dark at 5:20 p.m. You won't be able to see the rest of the time because it's 5:40 pm. In this zone, it gets dark early. Beetroot and carrot! This is okay but I liked the fish fry better. Very good! Give me some rice. You made chapati today? Just give me one chapati. It's nine o'clock. Dal, some rice, mixed sabzi and mutton! Just like lunch, dinner is almost the same. Simple and good! Very delicious! Dal and sabzi tasted like home-cooked food. Soft, tender, decent masala and very nicely cooked! We've been standing here for the last 30 minutes. We're just feeling the darkness, the silence and enjoying the weather. Good night for today! Look at the view! Almost everyone is going to sleep now. We'll have tea at 6am. And we'll meet again tomorrow. Good night, you. Good morning to you! It's 6.10am. I woke up at 5am. It was cold because we slept with the windows open. It was fun! So, I closed them at 5am. Let me show you. At 5.30 am, our ship has started sailing again. It looks so beautiful! How beautiful! I woke up at 5am today. We're going into the jungle. Give me some tea with biscuits. I set the alarm for 5am yesterday. When we left Kolkata yesterday. I forgot to cancel my alarm. So, I woke up at 5am. Anyway, I'm used to getting up early. Thank you brother! We had hidden these biscuits for today. The tea is ready at 6 am. With biscuits. Let us go out and stand. Really, too good! To your knowledge, from where we left, until this moment, We have covered a distance of 25 km. Now, we will cover another 2-2.5 km. Then, after breakfast, We will continue our journey. Very beautiful! This is the best moment of our journey so far. The weather, the view, and this kind of view in the morning. After tea, we'll go to the deck. From there, we will see the jungle. There's an announcement on the back. to come up. This is the time when you will see animals crossing the river. So, let's walk for another 2 minutes and then we'll go up. This is the small area, Which is outside the jungle. There is no man's land, No fencing, no village. It will take 2.5 hours. Yes, he is right. Yesterday, where our ship stopped, There was fencing there, so that animals could not cross the water. Here, there is no man's land. Here, it is possible to see tigers, Because it's low tide now. Tigers cross the river from one side to the other side. The moon is beautiful too. So, should we sit up or stand here? No, it's better to sit up. When will the next watchtower come? At nine o'clock. Very good. One more thing, There's a motorboat in the back, So let's go there. This ship stops at different places, And when we leave, It goes to the motorboat, which you can see behind me. Everyone has reached the deck. Look at the beautiful sunrise. The sun is shining like an orange ball. To our left is the jungle, To our right is the jungle, Below is the river. Yesterday, I told you that there are water bodies in a large proportion. The ship is moving. We have more people with us. No one is sleeping right now. Either they've reached the deck Or they're about to. Now, for the next 2.5-3 hours, We'll be doing animal watch. If anyone is crossing the river, Let us know. Our speed has slowed down now. We're leaving the narrow creek area. For the first time since yesterday afternoon, We are leaving an area where The jungle is right in front of us. Now, we'll have to watch the animal movement very carefully. There are chances here that An animal could cross the river. Right in front of us, We can see two wild boars. Very close! The animal kingdom! Ladoo, Luchi, what are you doing? Luchi is very famous here, right? Yes, give me three! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Don't you have a bowl? Yes, we have a bowl. It'll be easy to eat in a bowl. What's up? This is curry. It's written here what you get for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can stay for one night or two nights. By the way, this is the first time I'm making such a journey in my life, where we stayed overnight on a ship. So, this is also good. Eat, enjoy, then eat, Then enjoy! And go to sleep at night. If you come to Kolkata, You can't miss Luchi. It's made from refined flour. And Luchi-Aloo Dum is is a good combination. It's delicious! And the rest, It goes without saying, The weather is complementary This kind of taste. In this journey, Even though the animals seem limited to us, But we have to admit that It's a pleasure to eat. Every two hours, We get snacks, tea, Lunch and dinner. Papaya with custard! Earlier, when I ate the boondi ladoo, I didn't feel its sweetness. Right after that, after eating custard, I would have preferred to eat boondi ladoo. Now, we've come to the third point. I was in Kolkata. It's called Do Banki. It's 9:10 at night. The weather is awesome. So, coming here in January is a pleasant experience. Control your expectations And enjoy this place. with a scenic view and fresh air. It's fun! Today is January 10th. It's written here on the board, Do Banki, Tiger Dekha, and the other two. 7:40 to 7:48 pm. Right now, it's 9.10pm. Let's go towards the watchtower. By the way, this watchtower is interesting. You can sit up there. for 2-3-4 hours. It feels good and There is a chance from here that you can see animal movement. This is a Siberian bird. It comes from Siberia. These birds are from Siberia. And right to its right, There is a Otter Monitor Lizard. I can see it very clearly. Let's go to the left now. It's here. It's about 150 meters away from here. On a mud road. One more Otter Monitor Lizard. It's a one-kilometer walk. Everybody is doing it. Let's go straight from here. We'll go back to the board. and enjoy the jungle view on both sides. It looks so natural from here. There's a crocodile right in front of us. Oh, so beautiful! Half of it is in the water and the rest is outside. By the way, The advantage of this is that You can go on a small boat from both sides. And the animal visibility is better. Now look at that crocodile. There's the crocodile! That crocodile! - What's going on? Thank you! This kind of journey is an experience in itself. Usually, you expect wildlife to be a safari, a jeep, You'll go inside and roam around. This is the first time I'm experiencing that we're going on a boat from tomorrow. I mean we're going on a ship. And there's jungle everywhere. But the thing is that we are at a distance. If we get close to each other, Secondly, if there is a binocular, It'll be more fun. There are five rivers here. One river flows from here. Two rivers flow from here. One river flows from here, and one river flows from here. This is the Matla River. If we go straight, we will reach the Bay of Bengal. Bay of Bengal! - Perfect! - What? We had a quick lunch today. We had lunch at 12 pm. We had to eat less rice. And secondly, tell me, What time will we get there? We'll be there by 1 p.m. and will leave by 1.30 pm. Okay, we'll leave by 1:30. Please give me some Dal. What's this? What's this? Aloo and cabbage curry with chicken. Please give me less chicken. Less, less, less! Just a little curry. That's it! - What? Give me some papad. In Kolkata, the food that I like the most, There is this. Baingan fry too. The kala jeera that I ate in Sikkim for breakfast, that is also used here. Kalonji, what's your name? Mangraal in Rajasthan. You can see it from the back. It has an amazing flavor. If you eat it like this, before frying it. Today, we had lunch at 12 pm. We'll be there by 1:30. After that, Kolkata. This trip is awesome! I enjoyed it a lot. And you know what the best part is? To sit on a deck like this and feel the breeze. Just imagine the purity of the air that we're feeling right now. In this place. Very cool! The food is simple. I've been noticing since yesterday that the food is neither too much nor too little. It feels like we're eating at home. Because the cook is downstairs. He is cooking a simple meal. I'm enjoying it a lot. The journey of Sundarbans is coming to an end. Just look in front of you. The water looks like The stars are shining. The sun is shining beautifully. You've already seen the deck above. Now, let me show you the seat and berth. In this portion, There are four berths. There were only 2 berths here. No one else came. These two were ours. It was quite comfortable. If you want, you can see it again. Let me take the sheet off. So, space wise, it's quite comfortable. Normally, there is more space than the two-tier AC. The bed sheet and blanket were provided at night. You saw the air conditioner in front of me. I slept very well at night. the non-AC section. Similarly, there are 4 berths in the non-AC section as well. The seats are the same here. The only difference is the AC in the non-AC section. As for the comfort level, If you come here in January or December, the non-AC section is equally good. There are 4 shower rooms here. For your reference, they procure water locally, Which is not salty, but sweet. There are 4 toilets like this in total. It's spacious, clean, So this journey with the government It's been pretty comfortable. There was very little the visibility of the animals. Still, we enjoyed this trip very much. The views, walking in the water like this, Staying overnight on the ship at night, And a lot more. I enjoyed all the meals. Now, we'll go further In this boat. and then to Kolkata. Finally, our Sundarbans The journey ends at 4.30 pm in Kolkata. Right now, we just have boarded the Sain City bus. We have to go to Salt Lake from here. Tell us your views on this video. As always, I will be waiting for your comments. If you have any experiences related to Sundarbans, share with us. We enjoyed this trip a lot. That's it, bye for now. Thank you for your time!