“For our honeymoon, we took one large backpack and a small one in which we carried our cameras and GoPros,” says former tennis player Somdev Devvarman. That trip was in February this year to Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand. “We are both very outdoors-y people and watch National Geographic, David Attenborough series... We wanted to go on a safari or to a national park. This was one of the best things we did together,” he says. Their whole day revolved around activities such as bird watching, spotting animals, safaris and trekking. At night they went to bed early, watching YouTube videos of people who had earlier spotted tigers in the same national park or other places in India. And their days started as early as 4 am, in the cold, with morning safaris followed by afternoon safaris.
“We saw Himalayan gorals, wild elephants, barking deer and monkeys. Some monkeys even came to our room and stole some stuff,” he laughs. The couple, unfortunately, did not get to spot a tiger or a leopard this time. “We heard a call. We saw some tiger tracks. But we understand when you go on safaris the odds of seeing a tiger are not very high. It’s completely luck.” Both Somdev and his wife have decided to see as much wildlife as they can both in and outside the country. “Over the last few years we have been drawn to Nature and the backpacking culture,” he says.
