Chattisgarh

We tried to enter the state of Chattisgarh through the village of Venkatapuram, on the western side of the southern tip of the state. From there we hoped to get through to Orissa on a main highway called #16, but on the way we somehow got lost coming out of an Andhra Pradesh national forest. When we stopped and asked for directions, everyone kept giving us bafflingly roundabout directions, indicating that we should go south in order to enter Chattisgarh, rather than east, which made more good Christian sense. In case you'd like a map, here, to help you out, I crudely drew on this one for your enjoyment, with Microsoft Paint:



So we're lost. And we keep getting odd directions about entering the next state from the south. And then we finally find someone who speaks English, who tells us that the road from Venkatapuram is impassible because it is controlled by Naxalite Maoist rebels. I don't know much about these guys or their gripes with the government, and actually, up to this point I thought a Naxalite was a type of Christian, but boy was I wrong. These guys are REALLY VIOLENT!!!!:)!!!! In fact, they're considered terrorists by the Indian government.

We snapped some pictures of them as we went through the border crossing in South Chattisgarh, just to steal their souls and tempt fate. The one thing that was out of place was that I saw the words "Naga Army" spraypainted on some of the sandbags outside of their barracks, which is a reference to another separatist militant movement in way-Northeastern India. Maybe militant rebels in India share equipment. Maybe they have book clubs and cocktail parties! Maybe they trade recipes for tasty casseroles, curries, and pipe-bombs!

Here are some photos:







I apologize for the quality of those photos. It was an interesting scene, though. Driving a rickshaw through Naxalite rebel barracks. Good stuff.

Later, we visited the lovely Chitrakot Falls, billed to us as "One-third the size of Niagara". That it was not, but it was still really beautiful, and one of the various stops that the Boondogglers made, but other teams didn't, which made our trip worthwhile and a bit slower than everyone else's.

The falls,



meditating under the cascade...



friggin' Rogier...



We made paper airplanes. They dive-bombed...





On the way back from the waterfall we were racing the clock, because it always ended up that Benji would be behind the wheel when the sun went down. He would moan and groan, "Oh, God, this road!" so much. Rogier almost killed him for being weak, and abandoned his cowardly body. Then again, he and I never really wanted to drive at night. So it was cool. Here's what we saw on the way back:







And the Boondogglers fan club: