Tuesday November 18, 2025
We left at 6:00 and
drove to Mongla Port (1 hr 15 min) to board the
houseboat for 2 nights and 3 days. We were treated to a pretty sunrise on the drive and passed
a Petrol Plant, a Navy School and hordes of buses. Piku told us it was the
central bus area. We came to a shipping port where we would board the houseboat.
I chose the houseboat as the Sundarbans
are one of the places where people can see tigers in the wild. Here there was a
chance to see them from land or water. Sundarbans is the largest mangrove
forest on Earth, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mangrove forest is in the
Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna
Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in
India's state of West Bengal to the Baleswar River.
Once onboard we took some time to
choose our cabins. I don’t think any of us had high hopes of the type of cabins
they would have on the boat but I’m sure we didn’t set the bar low enough. We
had a choice of the larger room that had spit beds but had no attached bath, or
a smaller double with the bed crammed against the wall. There wasn’t room for
both of us to stand next to the bed at the same time. It was a ballet sequence
to get things done. Piku said we could use the empty cabins to store things so
we could fit. One needed to either leave the room, pop into the bathroom or get
up on the bed and then repeat for the other one.
Breakfast was served on the boat, and
the cook made us omelets and toast with a delish chocolate spread or jam and
bananas. The boat was for the 4 of us and there were 8 or so crew members
including the captain and the forest ranger that accompanied us in the boat and
on walks. We sat
on deck and went past fishing villages and dredging boats.
We were thrilled to see that the
rowboat had seats, and it was being towed behind the houseboat.
After a couple of hours, we stopped at
an Eco Park and took a nice walk through the mangrove forest on a boardwalk in
search of wildlife. We came across a few Rhesus monkeys and saw quite a few
birds. Since we live in Florida and have been in many mangrove forests with
Cyprus Knees it was quite similar to the “Sundarban Knees" we saw today. We saw
Rufous woodpeckers, Greenish Warblers and Black Hooded Orioles. Piku was excellent
at knowing and spotting birds and wildlife. (as were the other members of the
crew that were on deck with us, on walks or in the rowboats)
We climbed the lookout tower for great views of the area.
At the end of the boardwalk, we came
to an enclosure where they had Spotted Deer. They take care of the injured
before releasing them back to the forest.
We came back to the boat and had a lunch of chicken, fish, mashed green bananas, greens, dhal soup, mashed potatoes.
We spent the rest of the afternoon just
watching the world go by. The cook brought out fried bread as a snack before
going out for the evening rowboat ride.
After the sunset boat ride, we came
back for dinner which was Barramundi, chicken, Dhal soup, sautéed vegetables
and roasted eggplant.
Before sunset, explore a small channel
on a noiseless wooden rowboat, searching for wildlife.
I think we were all dreading going downstairs
to the hot cramped rooms, but we did need to try to sleep.
They turn on the generator so you can
charge devices for a couple of hours a night. So, the fan in the room worked
during that time. The mattress on the bed was thin and was like sleeping on a
board. Of course, the generator is loud, so it was nice when it stopped until
it got hot and uncomfortable without the fan.
There is no sink in the bathroom, so
we brushed our teeth over the toilet. (bottled water only)
In the night Greg had a small bout of
GI issues.
Tomorrow, we have a full day of hiking
and boat rides.
Houseboat Sundarbans https://photos.app.goo.gl/Efd8NMZpgSWDNc2p6
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