Monkeying around
Leisure
SundayMumbaiMirror
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27
Rau Ram
Sunday, March 19, 2017
28
Monkeying around Uganda gives you a chance to spend time with the majestic mountain gorillas PICS BY SAYONI SINHA
The grilled striploin steak is perfect at Rau Ram
Stepping inside Rau Ram is like stepping into an earlier era, a time when the likes of George Orwell and Pablo Neruda roamed the streets. It’s one of the latest restaurants opened by Ivan Pun, a prominent businessman and son to real estate magnate Serge Pun. Ivan, who studied at Oxford and spends half his time in Hong Kong, imbued Rau Ram with a sort-of international class and romance. Red hues reflect off palm-pint wallpaper produced by Mya Myitzu, a prominent, local interior designer moody, and a rhythmic Latin American soundtrack keeps the place buzzing late into the night. A menu of Southeast Asian “fusion” comes by way of Kevin Ching, a talented young Hawaiian chef rising up the international circuit. Inspired by Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, Rau Ram offers plates for sharing, such as manila clam risotto, root vegetable rendang and the medium-rare grilled striploin steak, as well as smaller items, like the vegetarian cha gio and chicken liver and pork pâté. And don’t miss the cocktail menu — the pho real, a mix of vodka, coriander, chili and pho-spiced syrup, is a must-have. It’s all brilliant, if slightly expensive by Yangon’s casual dining standard. But then, understated decadence is part of Rau Ram’s charm. Yay Kyaw Street, Pazundaung Township
| Sayoni Sinha [email protected] TWEETS @MumbaiMirror
an you see him?” whispers our guide Augustine as we scan the thick vegetation surrounding us, but my inexperienced eyes can’t find any sign of life. As we strain our ears to the sound of branches being broken nearby, a shaggy, muscular arm emerges from the foliage, extending a black leathery hand to tug at a vine. There, just five or six metres away, a mountain gorilla, lying on his back, is busy stripping off leaves from a branch with his bananasized fingers. Soon, he is aware of our presence and swiftly lumbers off deeper into the bushes. We were at the Bwindi Impenetrable National, located in the southwestern part of Uganda, which is one of the densest rainforests in the world. Spread across 320 square kilometres, this ancient, UNESCO-protected forest, known in the local language as the ‘dark and cold’ is home to almost half the world’s remaining mountain gorilla population, estimated to be more than 450. We depart before sunrise, driving higher into the terraced hillsides to meet the rangers. After our obligatory briefing at the Uganda Wildlife Authority station, our group, each armed with tall narrow sticks along to help navigate through the slippery slopes, set off. On the way, we are warned that anyone showing symptoms of a cold should disclose it and go
C
Bwindi National Park trail is not only home to gorillas, birds and butterflies, but also to 120 species; (Above) Crater Lake
back. Illnesses can be passed from humans to animals, so this is a legitimate concern. Own up now and you’ll get a refund; if you persist, and then show symptoms, you’ll be escorted out of the park with no refund, the ranger advises us. Our machete-carrying guide Augustine Muhangi, a 34-year-old dressed in army-style fatigues quickly cautions us that while there is a 99 per cent chance of seeing the gorillas here and the trek to find them can range anywhere from 40 minutes to six hours. Much to our comfort, we are informed that a team of trackers has left early in the morning to locate the coordinates of the great apes to save us time and effort.
A walk in the woods It takes three hours of grueling walking along with hard landings and falls to reach the gorilla’s campsite. The deeper we went into
Bwindi, the denser and wilder the forest became as we finally left the comparatively open trail and began to make our own way with machetes. Before long, Lojas, my 21-year-old porter, was carrying everything but me. Lojas is a student from the nearby village; he comes to Bwindi to supplement his income for his college fees. When the going got vertical, he would hold out his hand as I negotiated treacherous bottomless tangles of roots and the thick vines lashing at me with backward branches. The moist leaves scattered on the soil is slippery, the stinging nettles and une-
ven, untested trails trail urged utmost caution while the impossible tangle of green made it difficult to push forward. “Keep going,” our guides encouraged our exhausted group as I felt the sweat trickle down my back. No matter how much I wanted out, I had no choice but to push on, because it’s impossible to go back without rangers slicing pathways through the wild bush. I march on with my muddy waterlogged shoes, twisted ankle and diminishing enthusiasm. Augustine knows where the gorillas were yesterday, so now it’s a question of finding where they spent the night. After a few metres, he holds out a halfeaten branch, leftover over by the gorillas that had camped nearby a night before. He informs us that with the sight of droppings, broken vegetation and leftover food, he can estimate the direction CONTINUED ON PAGE 34
SundayMumbaiMirror
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27
Rau Ram
Sunday, March 19, 2017
28
Monkeying around Uganda gives you a chance to spend time with the majestic mountain gorillas PICS BY SAYONI SINHA
The grilled striploin steak is perfect at Rau Ram
Stepping inside Rau Ram is like stepping into an earlier era, a time when the likes of George Orwell and Pablo Neruda roamed the streets. It’s one of the latest restaurants opened by Ivan Pun, a prominent businessman and son to real estate magnate Serge Pun. Ivan, who studied at Oxford and spends half his time in Hong Kong, imbued Rau Ram with a sort-of international class and romance. Red hues reflect off palm-pint wallpaper produced by Mya Myitzu, a prominent, local interior designer moody, and a rhythmic Latin American soundtrack keeps the place buzzing late into the night. A menu of Southeast Asian “fusion” comes by way of Kevin Ching, a talented young Hawaiian chef rising up the international circuit. Inspired by Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, Rau Ram offers plates for sharing, such as manila clam risotto, root vegetable rendang and the medium-rare grilled striploin steak, as well as smaller items, like the vegetarian cha gio and chicken liver and pork pâté. And don’t miss the cocktail menu — the pho real, a mix of vodka, coriander, chili and pho-spiced syrup, is a must-have. It’s all brilliant, if slightly expensive by Yangon’s casual dining standard. But then, understated decadence is part of Rau Ram’s charm. Yay Kyaw Street, Pazundaung Township
| Sayoni Sinha [email protected] TWEETS @MumbaiMirror
an you see him?” whispers our guide Augustine as we scan the thick vegetation surrounding us, but my inexperienced eyes can’t find any sign of life. As we strain our ears to the sound of branches being broken nearby, a shaggy, muscular arm emerges from the foliage, extending a black leathery hand to tug at a vine. There, just five or six metres away, a mountain gorilla, lying on his back, is busy stripping off leaves from a branch with his bananasized fingers. Soon, he is aware of our presence and swiftly lumbers off deeper into the bushes. We were at the Bwindi Impenetrable National, located in the southwestern part of Uganda, which is one of the densest rainforests in the world. Spread across 320 square kilometres, this ancient, UNESCO-protected forest, known in the local language as the ‘dark and cold’ is home to almost half the world’s remaining mountain gorilla population, estimated to be more than 450. We depart before sunrise, driving higher into the terraced hillsides to meet the rangers. After our obligatory briefing at the Uganda Wildlife Authority station, our group, each armed with tall narrow sticks along to help navigate through the slippery slopes, set off. On the way, we are warned that anyone showing symptoms of a cold should disclose it and go
C
Bwindi National Park trail is not only home to gorillas, birds and butterflies, but also to 120 species; (Above) Crater Lake
back. Illnesses can be passed from humans to animals, so this is a legitimate concern. Own up now and you’ll get a refund; if you persist, and then show symptoms, you’ll be escorted out of the park with no refund, the ranger advises us. Our machete-carrying guide Augustine Muhangi, a 34-year-old dressed in army-style fatigues quickly cautions us that while there is a 99 per cent chance of seeing the gorillas here and the trek to find them can range anywhere from 40 minutes to six hours. Much to our comfort, we are informed that a team of trackers has left early in the morning to locate the coordinates of the great apes to save us time and effort.
A walk in the woods It takes three hours of grueling walking along with hard landings and falls to reach the gorilla’s campsite. The deeper we went into
Bwindi, the denser and wilder the forest became as we finally left the comparatively open trail and began to make our own way with machetes. Before long, Lojas, my 21-year-old porter, was carrying everything but me. Lojas is a student from the nearby village; he comes to Bwindi to supplement his income for his college fees. When the going got vertical, he would hold out his hand as I negotiated treacherous bottomless tangles of roots and the thick vines lashing at me with backward branches. The moist leaves scattered on the soil is slippery, the stinging nettles and une-
ven, untested trails trail urged utmost caution while the impossible tangle of green made it difficult to push forward. “Keep going,” our guides encouraged our exhausted group as I felt the sweat trickle down my back. No matter how much I wanted out, I had no choice but to push on, because it’s impossible to go back without rangers slicing pathways through the wild bush. I march on with my muddy waterlogged shoes, twisted ankle and diminishing enthusiasm. Augustine knows where the gorillas were yesterday, so now it’s a question of finding where they spent the night. After a few metres, he holds out a halfeaten branch, leftover over by the gorillas that had camped nearby a night before. He informs us that with the sight of droppings, broken vegetation and leftover food, he can estimate the direction CONTINUED ON PAGE 34
