My Trip To India: The good, the bad, the ugly

In the first two weeks of April, 2026, I took a trip to India to, primarily, photograph bengal tigers in the wild. It's kind of my goal to see as many beautiful creatures on this planet as possible before I can't. This kind of trip is a huge decision for me because, let's admit it, they are expensive, at least on my budget. But during this time, my life was kinda blah, I really needed something to satisfy my soul. I had met Jennifer randomly in the woods in North Carolina while photographing bears. We exchanged info and followed each other on social. That's where I learned that she organizes these kinds of photography trips all over the world. When the tiger trip popped up on her social, I was immediately interested. It took a few months to commit. Jennifer is awesome at organizing these things. I can barely manage myself while traveling, yet she handles everything for everyone (8 people on this trip). This trip was a great experience and it gave me what I needed. But it wasn't all fun and beautiful scenery.

The Good

I'll start with the good. The things I went for were all great: the lodging, the food, the people, the leadership of our tour organizer, and most of all, THE WILDLIFE!

Upon landing in New Delhi, a driver with a sign with my name on it, greeted me and drove me off to the hotel. It was a very nice hotel. They treated you like a king. I had time to rest, take a hot bath/shower after the long flights, enjoy a free breakfast in the morning and relax most of the day. That evening we all met in our own private dining room, went over some details about the following day, had some drinks and enjoyed authentic Indian food.

The next day, we were off to Kanha. We were driven to the airport and flew to Jabalpur where we were met by a driver who drove us by van to the Kanha Earth Lodge. This place was awesome. After being shown my private cottage, I just wanted to hug Jennifer. I knew from this point that everything was handled and I could just relax. We were served breakfasts, lunches and dinners, with sometimes 3 desserts! For 4 days we took morning and evening safaris. We had breakfast in Kanha Tiger Reserve and came back for lunch and dinner. Not gonna lie, it made for long busy days. But we were never pressured to participate. If we wanted to skip a meal, a safari, and just relax and enjoy the lodge (which also had a pool), we could. But you know me, if I have adventure at my fingertips, I'm taking full advantage of it!

Next we were off to Bandhavgarh. Bandhavgarh National Park is a premier tiger reserve renowned for having one of the highest densities of Royal Bengal tigers in the world. We stayed at the Tree House Hideaway. Our individual cottages/treehouses were suspended 30 ft above the ground where the wildlife actually roams at night. We had a couple incidences where tigers came through while we were at dinner. We had to have escorts while walking the property at night. This lodge had the same great service, meals, and guides. A huge advantage to this location is that it actually borders the park. So it was a very short drive to the gates for our safaris. We did 4 days of safaris from this location as well.

So to summarize the "good", the people, the lodges, the service and the experiences were awesome. Jennifer only assigns 2 people to each safari vehicle, giving you lots of room for gear and to move around for the best shot. We saw other vehicles out there with 8 people in them, in addition to the driver/naturalist and guide. The guides are unbelievable. It's totally amazing how they find and spot the wildlife. Then they do everything in their control to position you for the best view/photo. On our first safari we spotted a tiger in the morning. Some of us got good photos...some of us got AWESOME photos. We saw many other species including but not limited to, 3 types of deer, peacocks, leopards (only 1 and no photos), Indian bison, wild boars, wild dogs, jackals, 2 types of primates (monkeys), a monitor lizard, 3 types of owls, and many other birds. Most of our crew were lucky enough to see a sloth bear. They are rare to see as they are skittish and mostly nocturnal. I, unfortunately, didn't get to see it. In total, I think we saw 11 different tigers...some multiple times. The guides have names for all of them and can identify each one. Upon return from each safari, we were greeted by a gentleman with moist towels to cool down and wipe off the dust, and a refreshing beverage. Our group enjoyed lots of laughs and stories. I'll never think of water polo the same way (had to be there). Enjoy this short round up video I made of some of our fun experiences.

https://facebook.com/1355059295/videos/1437743827612882

https://www.facebook.com/1355059295/videos/a.10242963010315301/1437743827612882

The Bad

Now, I'll talk about the not so good things. These things were my personal experience and for the most part uncontrollable. You know, the crap you get dealt when you're prone to bad luck. As you know, security at airports can suck. Well it's very multiplied when you're a photographer with lots of "electronic" equipment and you have 2 metal knees. You basically have to know where and where not to carry it. I booked my trip through Delta, but flew Virgin. At MCO I went to the Delta counter where they told me I need to go to the Virgin counter on the other side of the terminal. There, for the first time, they weighed my carry-on and told me it was too heavy. This has all my cameras and lenses. So I had to move my biggest lens and laptop to my back pack which is my "personal" item. Once on the plane, I place both in the overhead compartment. So basically all that did absolutely nothing but cause me stress. It's still the same weight in the same place. At the second airport to go to our first lodge, I'm with our group. We already checked our bags and were at the gate ready to board the shuttle to take us to the plane on the tarmac. The lady gets on the mic and calls my name. She said there's an issue with my checked bag. So she escorts me to a private room where I am on video call with security at another location with my bag. Upon discussing the potential issue with the lady escorting me, I realized the problem is probably with a trail camera that i packed in my checked bag. It has a large lithium battery in it. She said they will probably have to throw it away. I was not happy about that. Not only is it expensive, I also won't be able to use the camera without it. I was also concerned that it was locked and they'd have to take the whole camera. So while on video call with security I'm trying to explain where it is in my suitcase as they tear all my clothes and items apart. I guess due to the language barrier, they just weren't getting it. They even sent it back through the scanner. Finally they found it and tossed it and all my other crap back in and said good to go. They didn't even take the battery thankfully. So the lady rushes me back to the gate. I catch the last spot on the last shuttle. All my colleagues are already on the plane. Jennifer is stressing out. But I made it. Again, nothing changed except my stress level.

The next issue happened after a few safaris. The roads are very rough. I was already experiencing back issues due to my knee surgery. I had been seeing a chiropractor for help. My back started bothering me so bad, I couldn't walk right. But Jennifer came through again. She had the staff bring me a heating pad. With that, and loading up with ibuprofen and figuring out a better way to sit and absorb the shock, I was good the rest of the trip, UNTIL...

A few days in, my stomach started feeling weird...not like poopy weird, but tight weird. Then that turned into serious stomach pains. Then I developed a fever. Maybe it was something I ate. Maybe it was something I drank, maybe it was the monkey that peed on me. Ya, that happened. It wasn't as brutal as the ai photo I posted but it happened. Pro Tip: don't let your guide park you right under a monkey in the tree. Apparently the monkeys do that on purpose. Anyway, another guest, Cathy, had some meds. I missed a dinner and a lunch. Wasn't about to miss a safari. And the stomach pains really sucked on the bumps. I suffered through those for 4-5 days. Then I was good, UNTIL...

The final night before dinner, we were surprised with a tribal dance festival by nearby villagers. It was very entertaining and we got to participate at the end. I tried to throw a little "Hammer Time" into my moves and on uneven ground I rolled my ankle and experienced a bad POP. From that point on it was difficult to walk. It would pop again every time I would flex my foot a certain way. Just what I need for dragging luggage through multiple airports. I managed to get through it and made it home without too much difficulty. Just painful pops from time to time. This was nobody's fault but my own for being younger than I really am. As you all know, that's never gonna change.

The Ugly

Now the ugly. First of all, I hate the travel part of traveling. I got lucky and only had one layover in London. But as I mentioned, it's such a pain in the ass...the security for sure. But 2 9.5-hour flights are also brutal, especially with a bad back and 2 new knee replacements. I don't tend to sleep sitting up in my normal life. Airplane food really sucks. The bathrooms are nasty. There's all kinds of documentation that needs to be filled out prior to flying like visas and entry authorizations. It's quite stressful.

Then, there's India. I'm not gonna lie. It ain't pretty. It's gonna look pretty in my photos. But what you don't see is the poverty, the litter/trash, the starving dogs and cows, the places these people live in. It's quite sad. Also, I have a hard time communicating with people whose language I don't speak. It stresses me out. Thankfully, one of our other guests, Irvind, is Indian and paired up with me on the safaris. He spoke the language and asked lots of questions and then translated to me. That was huge. Thanks Irvind.

The driving in India is CRAZY! There are basically no rules. I didn't go into the city. I only saw the suburbs and back roads. I saw no traffic lights. Stops signs really didn't mean anything. In most cases it was 2-way traffic on a single lane road. You literally play organized chicken, heading straight at each other and swerving out of the way at the last minute. I'm not exaggerating. Probably 70% percent of transportation amongst the locals is scooter or motorcycle. These aren't Harleys and sports bikes. They are old school tiny motorcycles that don't go very fast at all. And it's totally amazing what they can carry on a scooter. I even saw up to 5 people on one bike at a time. It's like their version of a minivan. I saw rickshaws with like 15-20 people crammed in them. I saw trucks or busses with loads of stuff on them and then a family riding on top of that. There's a lot of honking. But there, this is not a sign of aggression. It's simply to let someone know they're about to be passed (possibly on a curve) and to move the hell over. I mean it's constant honking. Do that here and you'll get shot. Also while you're surfing through the oncoming traffic and the scooters, you're narrowly missing dogs, goats, cows and pedestrians. If this kind of thing stresses you out, sit in the far back seat and close your eyes.

So what about the safaris? This is the awesome part of the trip, right? UGH. While, yes, it's great to be out in an open vehicle amongst the beautiful forests and the wildlife with a very experienced guide that can show you amazing things, it gets a bit crazy. They DO limit the number a tourists that can enter the park per day, thankfully. But still, when a tiger or leopard is spotted, somehow (which I won't mention), every one of those vehicles finds out about it. Next thing you know, there are 20 safari vehicles on location. You might not even be able to see the animal, but they know it's there and are positioning you for when it decides to come out. And when it does, all hell breaks loose. Every driver starts their vehicle and immediately tries to get you in the best position possible to see and photograph this beautiful animal. You are literally cramming in, bumper to bumper with other safari vehicles. Everyone is yelling. You can't take a photo until they get you situated because you're bouncing around in total chaos. I don't like that at all! And I feel bad for the wildlife. They have to try to navigate around all these annoying human knats. When I'm in the woods, I like the peacefulness of nature. I want to hear just nature. I want to be one with the wildlife. But, in this case, it's the only way. If you want to see tigers in the wild, you can't just go for a hike in the jungle. Africa is similar. I don't remember my experience being quite as chaotic but it was along the same lines. It's the way the world is now.

One more thing, that in my opinion, in theory, is actually a good thing. Mobile phones are not permitted in the tiger reserves. Mobile phones are banned on Indian safaris to reduce tourist-driven disruptions, such as overcrowding around animals, noise pollution from phones/reels, and to stop drivers from using them to track wildlife for photo opportunities, ensuring a calmer, natural environment. While this sounds like a great plan, it's a new one and isn't quite working yet. Maybe it will in the future. But if you plan to go, just know this. You'll need to take some kind of stand alone camera to capture your experience.

I hope you're not the type that complains about our country (United States). You complain about that $1 hike in gasoline prices, the politics, gender identity, religion, traffic, high housing costs, blah, blah, blah. You don't know how good you have it. Go live with the average family in India. Carry 20lb bags of rice on your head as you walk miles from the street market. Live in an open air shack with no A/C. Then reconcider your circumstance. I do some of this complaining as well. But a light has been shed. It's kind of like complaining about your back hurting as you run a marathon, but your mom is dying of cancer. Someone else always has it worse and by no choice of their own.

Summary

Keep in mind, these are just MY opinions. Maybe airport security, and lengthy flights don't bother you. Maybe you accept the way of the word and the process to experience it. I am happy I went on this trip. It is a memory I will treasure forever. But I most likely will never return because of "the ugly". But even if it was awesome through and through, on my budget, I'd rather have a NEW experience. India is now on my been there, done that list. But if you do decide to go, especially if you are a photographer, I highly recommend Jennifer whether you're going to India or one of the other great locations she offers. She really makes it the best experience possible. And if you're a new photographer, she also shares her expertise during safaris and in classes between meals. She'll help you with camera settings, editing and storage organization. I hope this helps you if you decide to visit India. I want to thank Jennifer, our tour organizer, and all the great people in our group for such a good time, Cathy, Kevin, Irvind, Chip, Tom, Rob and Barry. Keep a lookout for my photos in the coming weeks on facebook, instagram, LinkedIn and youtube.

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