Paradise of Luxury. Review on Orange County Resort, Kabini

We zeroed down to Orange County to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and I am glad it was the best pick.

Location:** The property is situated in the land of Kadu kuruba tribe of Nagarhole forest and offers a pleasant view of river Kabini.

We were welcomed with tilak and garland with a traditional tribal tune played in the background by local tribes hired by the resort. We were assigned a naturalist who briefed us about the activities for the next two days. Sipping a sugarcane juice in a spacious lounge was a nice and refreshing after a long drive. They were courteous to call and check if we had any difficulties getting to their place.

Amenities:** The resort offers Ayurvedic Spa, children's activity centre, a souvenir shop, reading lounge and an infinity swimming pool. The reading lounge is located on the other end of the property and has some nice view of the river. You could grab a wildlife book and keep sipping coffee, of course for a restricted time period.

Activities:** You could get an elephant ride, jeep safari and a boat safari at an extra cost. Package includes a coracle ride, fun time with Meenaxi, a cycle ride to nearby tribal village.

Bathe with Meenaxi:** We had fun bathing elephant as she was probably one of the friendliest elephants I have ever met. I was asked to sit on her back and in no time I was totally drenched as she gushed loads of water from her trunk on me. Do not hesitate to get wet, believe me it was real fun! Kids will love this activity. We opted for an elephant ride for an extra cost.

Boat Safari:** We opted for a boat safari and we managed to see 50 elephants, a dancing peacock, pack of wild bores and few rare to sight birds. A team from Overdrive had come to shoot for their 100th episode so our boat was packed. Our naturalist was very enthusiastic and was able to spot few animals that were not visible with naked eyes. Most of us had to share binoculars so spotting an animal at the right time was tough. We managed to see a male elephant involved in mud paddling activity.

Watch Wildlife Documentary and Tribal Dance:** A Wild life documentary is screened on every evenings and a tribal dance is performed by the locals on every alternate evenings with a bonfire. The guests are invited to join the dancing group of tribes. One of the staff from the tribal community hosts this tribal dance program and I was really impressed at his extempore speech. In the end we got to taste steamed tapioca with honey collected from the jungle by the tribes and a steamed corn smeared with chilly powder and lime juice. There were few naturalists who volunteered for a chat and shared their experiences during the snack time in one of the evenings.

Food:** The most cherishing moments of our stay was dining at the restaurant. Continental, Chinese, Italian, Mexican and local cuisine is served in Buffet style. The arrangement is commendable as it is easier to distinguish veg/non-veg and a local/continental cuisine. The Mexican/Italian salads, local cuisine and the desserts are must try. The other chefs inside the counter did encourage me to try everything that was displayed.

The restaurant staffs were very helpful and offered to get a customized meal for our kid. The main chef readily shared few of his recipes over an email. I unwillingly managed to gain 3 Kilos at the end:-(

They promptly take feedback after lunch/dinner so I feel they are striving to improve on quality and service.

Room: **We had a to walk through the well laid stone pathway to reach our Pool Hut which was facing the river and the trees planted around the campus has a local and botanical names written at the trunk. The ethnically designed Pool Huts has a private courtyard with a plunge pool(what a luxury!) with a sit- out area and there is a small inner courtyard within the living room. Reverse Osmosis units are installed in each room that provides safe water all 24 hrs. Mini fridge is packed with cool drinks and the guests get to have complimentary roasted cashew nuts and nice chocolates too. A bowl of exotic fruits waits on the other corner of the living room on a dining table. The living room opens up to an exterior sit-out area with reclining benches to relax.

The ceilings look very unique with the bamboo mats bound by eucalyptus poles. A distressed cement floor just blends with the interiors. The curtains in the bedroom looked so perfect with tribal prints at the bottom. The bedroom has lot of provision for storing luggage. The bathroom is spacious with a bathtub and two wash basins with wide mirror and a glass enclosed shower and a WC. This also has a courtyard that opens up to the plunge pool.