The Long, Long, Long Road to Jodphur

The morning started with our last game drive at Ranthambore, no tigers this time, but we saw wild boar, antelopes, deer and tons of monkeys. The lack of tiger sighting was also due to the fact that people were allowed to enter the reserve on foot (actually they were all barefoot) for the fourth day after the new moon for the festival of Ganesh. Lots of Indians scampering around the park are not conducive to tigers’ outings.

After leaving, alas not without saying goodbye to our lovely tent, we boarded our minivan, very comfortable, but it was going to be our prison for the next nine hours….
We found out that the Indian style of driving is similar to the one in Naples, basically honk your horn at anything that moves: honk at men, women and children, honk at cows, honk at the ubiquitous not so wild pigs, honk at motorcycles, honk at cows, honk at trucks, honk at cars and, did I mention, honk at cows?

The villages we passed before passing Jaipur where your typical run of the mill, Sunday in any village: the men all out sitting around in bars, the women hardly anywhere to be seen. One interesting thing is though that the Indians refuse to live their lives unadorned , from the fronts of their trucks to the butts of their camels everything is painted, tasseled, bedazzled and even the poorest women in the smallest villages wear the most amazing saris with the most beautiful colors and with nose piercings, bangles on their arms, and beaded, painted, mirrored fabrics.

We finally arrived in Jodhpur in time for a late dinner and our hotel called Raas is absolutely amazing….more to come.

Tiger Beat

Yes we did see our tiger at Ranthambore and it was a mighty sight! After a long wait, apparently tigers like to show around 4.30 pm for tea, a beautiful specimen of the family of the Lake appeared. She was no more than 20/30 yards from us in the open jeep so it was awesome and a little weird. Apparently we were making Split’s acquaintance, a young female whose mother’s, the original tiger of the Lake, is now at the ripe old age of 16 after having laid at least five litters of cubs. Unfortunately we were told that poachers still manage to enter the reserve and sometimes they kill the tigers to sell them to the Chinese (damn the Chinese they really are evil!) who use all of them from the teeth to the nails, to the fur to their organs used for their medicine.

In any case the tigers are managing to repopulate and now there are between 35 and 40 and more cubs will be born soon. Our Split almost let us watch kill a deer, in reality she truly was not interested in us but she was fixated on four deer very close by. As soon as the deer though became aware of her presence (apparently they have poor eyesight and they need to smell the tiger) they made a really strange sound, they warning call and at that point our tiger, spotted, looked really pissed off and walked way growling. I suggested we tossed a baby ,who in another nearby jeep had started waling and disturbing the whole awesome moment, to the tiger to compensate for the escaped deer. It was an Indian baby, there are so many anyway…..

What Do Tigers Dream of When They Take Their Little Tiger Snooze?

Mauling zebras? Halle Berry in the Catwoman suit? We were one step closer to answering this question today. Yep, that's right. We. Saw. A. #%$@ing. TIGER!!

And it was GORGEOUS. Seriously, one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen. We nearly saw it make a kill, too, but then the herd of deer noticed it, sounded alarm call, and the tiger sulked off growling. WE COULD HEAR IT GROWL! I'm telling you, it was awesome. It was probably only about 50 feet away from us.

Tigers are extremely rare in the wild, bordering on extinct. It is thought that there are fewer than 3,200 left on earth. Supposedly, India is probably the best place to see them, and from what I understand Ranthambore National Park is one of the best places in India. That being said, there are only approximately 30 tigers that roam the area of the park open to tourists (approximately 125 square kilometers) and tigers are nocturnal, solitary, territorial animals, so each tiger will command its own area and rarely leave it. Thus, seeing a tiger today was far from a sure bet.

Furthermore, there were late, post-monsoon season rains in this part of India, which means the grass, trees, and brush are thicker and greener than is normal for this time of year, which makes it difficult to see the cats when they are lounging around during the day, as they tend to do. I still can hardly believe we got as good a view as we did! Jusuf was correct: seeing a tiger is an almost emotional experience. Maybe it's just an instinctive adrenaline high one gets from being so close to such a giant predator, but it was seriously so cool.

You can find more information on tiger conservation here.

*Oh, also, we saw monkeys, crocodiles, peacocks, deer, antelope and other things I would have tried to make sound reeeeeally cool in the absence of seeing a tiger, but now that we saw one, who really cares about the other dudes? :)

Camp, Rajasthani Style

Evenings at SherBagh are delightfully tranquil. After teatime in the library, there is ample time to relax and freshen up before campfire begins around 7:00 p.m. We enjoyed cocktails by the bonfire, followed by traditional North Indian fare in the company of trusty Jusuf as well as the six other guests at the campsite: a family from Kent, England with two tweenagers, and an American couple living in London.

Sadly for us, no tigers made an appearance at dinnertime. Apparently, although unusual, it isn’t completely unheard of for them to wander through camp. I also learned that if you are being charged at by a tiger, you must under no circumstances run, or you are sure to become lunch. If you spot a tree nearby, your best bet is to sprint to it and haul yourself up to the highest branch you can climb. Tigers do not climb trees. I will file this under my growing repertoire of animal defense techniques (such as punching a shark in the gills, running in zigzags to escape a crocodile, and curling up fetal position if being attacked by a bear.) Jusuf claims to have been charged at by both a leopard and a tiger on two separate occasions. I might hear the full stories of both these incidents.

Operation Rescue Lizard

After a five hour train ride that involved sitting up in a sleeper berth too short for people of our height, we finally arrived at Sawai Madhopur, our gateway to exploring Ranthambore National Park. Representatives from the SherBagh met us at the rail station in a swank open-air jeep and drove us to a luxury tent camp bordering the national park. This. Place. Is. Awesome.

Our canvas roofed tent has running hot and cold water, lovely sisal rugs, and mosquito netting. It also had a tiny visitor waiting to welcome us: a pink lizard in the toilet. Once I saw the little dude was definitely alive and kicking, I couldn’t bear to flush it, so mom and I searched our tent for an appropriate lizard removal device, and settled on a water glass. I was able to scoop our friend out of the toilet bowl, but he lost his tail in the process. I released him outside, and after a moment of shock, he scampered off. I’m pretty sure his tail will regenerate, so I don’t think I’m premature in calling Operation Rescue Lizard a success.

While cool with lizards, mom is decidedly not cool with their reptilian brethren the snake. We were assured that the most harmful, poisonous ones are already hibernating for the winter, but that was little comfort for mother, who cannot bear the sight of them. I’m already wishing I had brought along one of those fake rubber ones; Then again, that’d be a fast way to be disowned.

Also worth noting is the presence of our Aide de Camp/Host/Concierge/SherBagh factotum, Yusuf. He is the man. Not only does he speak in the most perfect British English you have ever heard, but he also rocks a serious handlebar mustache which he twists at the edges as a nervous habit.

Ranthambore is home to crocodiles, sloth bears, hyenas, leopards, and--of most interest to me--TIGERS. I read in the guest book that a family leaving today saw not one but two great cats while out on jeep safari, so I’m hoping we have similar luck between tomorrow and the following morning. I brought a tiger leash because I’m all about being prepared.

Day 1 Arrival in Delhi and...the train...

The fourteen hours on the plane actually went very fast, It was as if we boarded on Wednesday evening and when we arrived in Delhi even though it was a whole day later it seemed to us like it was still the same night. As a result of it and because we slept quite a bit on the plane we did not mind going to be at almost 1 am and waking up at 6 am in order to catch our train. The Imperial Hotel in Delhi is a true triumph of the Raj, gorgeous, marble everywhere, incredibly beautiful and comfortable!
The rude awakening comes with the train to Ranthambore, a train that makes the worst Italian train seem luxurious…I wish we could see more from the windows, but , on the other hand, it may be a blessing in disguise. The little I see is huts, cows, buffaloes, open sewers and of course people….
Can’t help thinking that Jimmy would have already run away…screaming.…I just hope I can manage NOT to go to the bathroom until we arrive at destination! That is a must even though as my usual hypochondriac self I have brought seat covers for the toilet…ha ha ha…..