Indian Safari!

Today we woke at O-dark-30, and stumbled to the staging area for coffee, low tea and biskits (cookies).

Into the dark and cold we headed out to the wilds of the game preserve (Ranthambhore National Park) to find the elusive tiger. The jeep was the same shockless, springless, bone breaking wonder we rode yesterday.

On the way to the park, it became obvious where the morning smog comes from. It's cold, and everyone who was up freezing at 5 am was burning all the trash and wood in sight to keep warm. Can't blame them for wanting to keep warm, but I can't figure out how they keep their lungs working.

We entered the park number 3 in line, and we ate dust. It hasn't rained here since September and it shows. The Kalihari is a mudhole by comparison.

Everything, including us, is covered in a not so fine layer of dust and more dust. And did I mention the dust?. It grits your teeth and stings your eyes. It's so thick that it keeps your autofocus camera from focusing.

We sped through the park as if we had a purpose. Park people would wave us on, enthusiastically pointing the way. People walking the road would point us on the way. However, there's only one road and only one direction if you don't count backwards, so the meaning of all this excitement is not clear to us.

Explanations do slip through our thick and muddled minds. Tigers walk the road in the morning because it's easy for them. Huh? Also, we're not seeing any animals because they have the good sense to stay away from the road when the hungry tigers are walking the road. Ok. Then why were we beating our bones to death yesterday when all the animals were on the road, and the tigers weren't? And what are all the people doing walking around on the road this chilly am with hungry tigers about?

Much yelling and hand waiving later, we meet another vehicle head on, on a very narrow road blocked in by trees. Yell, yell, wave, wave, there are tigers around! But we haven't seen them (yet?), and a passing is attempted.

And comes to a screeching halt with the two jeeps locked in mortal combat. Both are tilting to the center of the road, roll bar to roll bar, locked tight. Mucho circling, waiving, etc., etc., goes on, none of which is going to free the jeeps.

Meanwhile, more assurance that tigers are about.

One of the drivers thinks to place a big flat rock in front of a wheel, and driving up on it gets our jeep level enough to unlock, and away we go.

With all the yelling, clutch burning and gear grinding, there's now little hope in our minds that there's a tiger for miles around.

Speeding forward about 100 meters, and screeching to a stop. Whoa, there's a tiger laying in the road. Big fellow, 400 + pounds, takes up most of the road. Everyone in the jeep jumps up and starts taking pictures, attracting the big guys' attention. Apparently not wanting anything to do with a squealing bunch of tiger food, he gets up and crosses into the bush.

The jeep pulls forward, and we stop in what is the middle of a ravine sloping up a hillside for about 500 meters. We wait. Soon tigers start coming out of the woods everywhere. From no tigers at all , we've now stumbled across three tiger brothers who travel together. We watch them climb the slope, stop and lay in the sun and generally criss-cross the hillside. No sight of mom though, even though she travels with them. I do find it hard to call these boys cubs anyway.

After about 15 minutes they all disappear back into the woodwork. 10,000 miles, 10 hours in a shockless bus on potholed roads (where there were roads at all) and an hour in a jeep feeling like Rocky's workout bag, we finally see 3 tigers in the wild. Fantastic!

Feeling smug and happy because our vehicle was the only one to see tigers this am, we head back for breakfast. The guide and driver engage in lot of yelling and arm waving with every jeep we meet, no doubt telling them, in a language unknown to us, that there are tigers somewhere.

Since we started seeing animals on the road, our new found tiger knowledge lets us conclude there are no tigers around to see 'til evening. Breakfast is a better bet. Later inquiries provide us with the information that some people have come a half dozen times and never seen a tiger. Our luck has held.

Back to the hotel for breakfast, and then on to another hotel inspection.

We visited the Sawai Madhopur Lodge, run by gent in jodhpurs and a moustache that would be the pride of a British Raj colonel. This hotel was built in the 30s to the old British colonial standard. Beautiful woodwork, spacious rooms and grounds, and an attentive staff fit for royalty.

Which it is. QE2 her royal highness self and hubby came here to hunt tiger in the good ole days when it actually wa outsid of town. The suites are beautiful, just what you'd expect in a place fit for a queen. Comes complete with a cricket court for a quick wicket of cricket. An don't forget a rousing game of croquet between tiger hunts.

After the tour, they fed us a great lunch of local dishes. Service was provided even though lunch was a buffet.

This hotel's a keeper and we'll definitely stay there the next India run. You'll feel like a queen, and you won't even have to dress in drag.

Do we ever stop eating? We are slowly becoming vegetarians from the lack of much of anything but chicken meat to eat.

A short rest, and back into the jeeps for a ride to a different part of the park. We weave through the traffic consisting of every vehicle known to man: camels of the one hump kind, pigs, bikes, goats, holy cows! ™, cars, sheep, motorcycles, pedestrians, donkeys and more camels. Dogs and trucks.

An interesting sight was the woman making, drying and stacking cow pies to be used for fuel. A reminder that we are in a country where every resource counts.

Eventually we reach the park and we see a leopard cub who was abandoned by its mother. She now lives in a large enclosure, looking like she's enjoying life. Plenty of food, water, and toys. The plan seems to be to raise her and then turn her loose in the main park.

Then off into the (different) wilds to find a free leopard. To do this, we slowly and jarringly wind our way up a huge scarp, the quasi mountains that form most of the park. The scenery is stunning -- high vertical walls, then shear vertical drops when we reach the top. We see the train tracks for tomorrow's journey. We see hill and dale, canyon and cliff, but alas, no leopard except our little caged friend.

On the way out we see some of the collateral wildlife- deer of various ilk, a hyena, an owl, and a woodpecker. All in all, an interesting afternoon.

Then, guess what, more food. Off to bed for a 5:30 am wakeup call for tomorrow's train ride to the ultimate India cliché, the Taj Mahal!

Drifting off to sleep to the light of a nearly full moon and the toot of nearby train whistles, we bid a fond adieu etc.