Houses of the “really rich people”

I had never imagined I’d get nearly lost in a jungle in the suburbs of a major city. But that’s what happened in Prague.

I can’t remember the name of the place I stayed at — actually I remember very few of the places I went to or passed through in the Czech Republic — mainly because the names are so complex. They place two consonants one after the other and that, at times, makes it damn difficult to pronounce. Try saying “Brno” aloud. (They pronounce it like “Burno” with a smaller “ur”)

The place where I stayed at was somewhere around Lhotka. And the way they pronounce this makes it look like they are trying to cough up some phlegm. But that’s besides the point. My bus station was some three stops after Lhotka. And the apartment I was staying in was at the edge of the complex and this jungle started just beside it.

It looked like a really thick forest and when I asked my friend Pat, at whose apartment I was staying, if she’d been inside it, she said yes, and that there were houses of some really rich people there. I decided I wanted to go too.

So, the next morning, I took the narrow overgrown trail that led to the woods. In a few minutes, I was amidst dense trees and I walked on. After a while, there came a little clearing and I saw another path converging there from my right. I walked ahead and suddenly found myself on the edge of a huge open space totally surrounded by trees.

I walked a little way into the clearing trying to figure out where the beautiful houses of the rich people were, but all I saw were trees and not a single sign of life. It felt a little weird and I hung around for a few minutes contemplating which way to go. As I was about the head back the way I had come, I thought I saw some movement through the trees on the opposite side of the clearing.

I looked carefully and realised it was a dog running around a man. I headed that way. Gradually I saw the houses just as I entered the woods on the other side.

There was a little bridge over a stream and beyond that, a quiet road. The houses I was looking for were along this road. Some of them looked empty, but almost all of them had the posh feel. I decided to walk along the road in the direction of the city and take a right somewhere along the way, cross the jungle again, and take the bus from the nearest bus stop.

So, I went. But however far I walked, I couldn’t find a road that turned right. Finally, when I did find a road, it had a dead end.

I considered walking back all the way, but I had already walked at least 3km, so I walked ahead a bit more. And finally I saw it. A gravel path leading to the jungle on my right.

I went ahead and soon the trees were so dense that it was quite dark. It was extremely creepy and I half expected some animal to emerge from behind the next tree. But after a bit, I could hear the sound of cars. So, the main road couldn’t be far! But just as I reached the edge, I saw a huge building in front of me with a high fence that I had no hope of scaling.

This was not happening! I was tired after the long walk and a little desperate to get back on a bus to the city. I started walking along the boundary wall hoping to find an opening. The trail was extremely narrow with stinging nettles all over it and at some places, it sloped scarily on the left. I was growing angry with myself for deciding to wear shorts on my jungle-hike day as my legs started itching.

Thankfully, my predicament did not last much longer. I came out on a small road with some workers there giving weird looks towards this foreigner guy emerging from the jungle. It didn’t take me long to reach the main road and I realised I had covered the distance of three bus stops in the course of my adventure.

After walking for a long time, I saw a gravel path leading to the jungle

The narrow trail leading into the woods

I couldn’t reached the main road because there was a fence in my way

I walked along the boundary wall till I found a lane that led to the main road

Pictures by Arnab Nandy