Written Sun 27th Jan, 2002 in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
I have just spent two days at Ranthambhore National Park near Sawai Madhopur in Eastern Rajasthan. I arrived by train from Jaipur - a two hour journey on the Jaipur-Bangalore express. Arriving at a new location in pitch dark is always a little unsettling, but at least I had already arranged my accomodation by phone from Jaipur. Incidentally, the Indian phone system is generally very good, and it is possible to make nationwide and international direct-dial calls from even the smallest hotels or numerous roadside cafes and shops. In most places, a digital display shows the cost of the call while in progress, and a machine prints out a receipt with the cost of the call when you hang up.
The rickshaw ride three km to the hotel was, how can I put it, bumpy! The driver had to weave all over the very pot-holed road but obviously knew exactly which holes could and could not be negotiated by his 'suspension' (I use that word in its loosest possible sense). There is relatively little traffic along this road except for the huge gas tankers which thunder past to the gasworks down the road, but fortunately these stop around midnight so it is actually possible to get a peaceful night's sleep.
Wake-up call for the morning safari was 5:45am, with the truck leaving at 6:30am. The manager had warned me to take the extra blanket - I would need it. He wasn't kidding - it can get very cold in the semi-desert at night, and we'd had an unusually cool couple of days in the area.
The 'canter' truck is fully open to the elements, with bus-type seating for 22 people plus the driver and guide. On the 10km drive to the park gate, stopping at various hotels to pick up along the way, I could feel the wind blowing straight through every bone in my body!
The park is about 400 square kms and contains lots of wonderful bird life, various deer and gazelle, wild boar, fresh water crocodiles, peacocks, monkeys, sloth bears and jackals. But it is famous for one thing - tigers! There are only about thirty tigers in the whole park, and its not the best time of year to see them. There are also leopards, which I was also hoping to see - they are the only one of the African 'Big Five' (Lion, Rhino, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard) which I missed three years ago in Kenya. Chances were not good - there had been no big cat sightings for four days.
On that first morning, we saw a fantastic variety of birds, and plenty of 'tiger meat on legs', but the only evidence of the target was some fresh paw prints from the previous night (oh tiger, what big paws you've got!). The afternoon was quite different - apart from being considerably warmer, there were lots more animals out, including crocodiles sun-bathing by the lakes, and wonderful stags standing in the lakes chewing water-borne grasses as the sun lowered in the sky behind them.
The second day was much warmer, although blankets were still necessary early on. We took a different route through the park (there are seven), but as time wore on and we were peering into long grass and trees, we realised just how good nature is at camouflage - every rock with glints of sun on it could be mistaken for a tiger.
Then, with only 20 minutes left, we struck gold - well, orange, black and white stripes to be more precise - there, not 20-30 metres from the truck, was a beautiful female tiger laid out basking in the sun! The excitement and euphoria was palpable, even the guide looked excited - but we had to keep quiet while everyone tried to get some good photographs - not easy through zoom lenses when hands are shaking.
She sat there for at least five minutes, sometimes looking like she was sleeping, sometimes looking over her back and sometimes looking quizically at us. By this time, another canter and a couple of jeeps had arrived behind us, but we had the best view. Eventually, she heard a gazelle's alarm call, got up and wandered off, first parallel to us then turning to wander into the scrub bush up the hill and out of sight.
So there it is - another ambition fulfilled - we were very lucky, and the moment will live with me, and doubtless everyone there, for ever.
I am now back in Jaipur, leaving tonight to travel by sleeper-bus to Udaipur, the 'Venice of the East'. I will be staying in a hotel with a rooftop terrace restaurant and swimming pool, with 360 degree views of the lakeside and island palaces. Rajasthan has warmed up again - we measured 26C in the shade on our second afternoon in Ranthambhore.
After a stressful, sleepless and jet-lagged start in Delhi, I am now having a great time in India. There are noticeably fewer Western tourists around than three years ago, due to a combination of 9/11 and the current tension between India and Pakistan. The tension is not apparent in most of India's daily existence, but word among the tourists is that Jaisalmer, the desert fort town near the border, is crawling with Indian troops and doesn't feel particularly relaxed - so I may have to skip going there. I'll decide when I get to Jodphur.
But in the last few days I've met some great people and made lots of new friends - mainly fellow Brits, but also people from India, America, Italy, Sweden, France, Germany, Russia, Australia and New Zealand.
Until next time, from the Land of the Tiger and the Rickshaw
I have just spent two days at Ranthambhore National Park near Sawai Madhopur in Eastern Rajasthan. I arrived by train from Jaipur - a two hour journey on the Jaipur-Bangalore express. Arriving at a new location in pitch dark is always a little unsettling, but at least I had already arranged my accomodation by phone from Jaipur. Incidentally, the Indian phone system is generally very good, and it is possible to make nationwide and international direct-dial calls from even the smallest hotels or numerous roadside cafes and shops. In most places, a digital display shows the cost of the call while in progress, and a machine prints out a receipt with the cost of the call when you hang up.
The rickshaw ride three km to the hotel was, how can I put it, bumpy! The driver had to weave all over the very pot-holed road but obviously knew exactly which holes could and could not be negotiated by his 'suspension' (I use that word in its loosest possible sense). There is relatively little traffic along this road except for the huge gas tankers which thunder past to the gasworks down the road, but fortunately these stop around midnight so it is actually possible to get a peaceful night's sleep.
Wake-up call for the morning safari was 5:45am, with the truck leaving at 6:30am. The manager had warned me to take the extra blanket - I would need it. He wasn't kidding - it can get very cold in the semi-desert at night, and we'd had an unusually cool couple of days in the area.
The 'canter' truck is fully open to the elements, with bus-type seating for 22 people plus the driver and guide. On the 10km drive to the park gate, stopping at various hotels to pick up along the way, I could feel the wind blowing straight through every bone in my body!
The park is about 400 square kms and contains lots of wonderful bird life, various deer and gazelle, wild boar, fresh water crocodiles, peacocks, monkeys, sloth bears and jackals. But it is famous for one thing - tigers! There are only about thirty tigers in the whole park, and its not the best time of year to see them. There are also leopards, which I was also hoping to see - they are the only one of the African 'Big Five' (Lion, Rhino, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard) which I missed three years ago in Kenya. Chances were not good - there had been no big cat sightings for four days.
On that first morning, we saw a fantastic variety of birds, and plenty of 'tiger meat on legs', but the only evidence of the target was some fresh paw prints from the previous night (oh tiger, what big paws you've got!). The afternoon was quite different - apart from being considerably warmer, there were lots more animals out, including crocodiles sun-bathing by the lakes, and wonderful stags standing in the lakes chewing water-borne grasses as the sun lowered in the sky behind them.
The second day was much warmer, although blankets were still necessary early on. We took a different route through the park (there are seven), but as time wore on and we were peering into long grass and trees, we realised just how good nature is at camouflage - every rock with glints of sun on it could be mistaken for a tiger.
Then, with only 20 minutes left, we struck gold - well, orange, black and white stripes to be more precise - there, not 20-30 metres from the truck, was a beautiful female tiger laid out basking in the sun! The excitement and euphoria was palpable, even the guide looked excited - but we had to keep quiet while everyone tried to get some good photographs - not easy through zoom lenses when hands are shaking.
She sat there for at least five minutes, sometimes looking like she was sleeping, sometimes looking over her back and sometimes looking quizically at us. By this time, another canter and a couple of jeeps had arrived behind us, but we had the best view. Eventually, she heard a gazelle's alarm call, got up and wandered off, first parallel to us then turning to wander into the scrub bush up the hill and out of sight.
So there it is - another ambition fulfilled - we were very lucky, and the moment will live with me, and doubtless everyone there, for ever.
I am now back in Jaipur, leaving tonight to travel by sleeper-bus to Udaipur, the 'Venice of the East'. I will be staying in a hotel with a rooftop terrace restaurant and swimming pool, with 360 degree views of the lakeside and island palaces. Rajasthan has warmed up again - we measured 26C in the shade on our second afternoon in Ranthambhore.
After a stressful, sleepless and jet-lagged start in Delhi, I am now having a great time in India. There are noticeably fewer Western tourists around than three years ago, due to a combination of 9/11 and the current tension between India and Pakistan. The tension is not apparent in most of India's daily existence, but word among the tourists is that Jaisalmer, the desert fort town near the border, is crawling with Indian troops and doesn't feel particularly relaxed - so I may have to skip going there. I'll decide when I get to Jodphur.
But in the last few days I've met some great people and made lots of new friends - mainly fellow Brits, but also people from India, America, Italy, Sweden, France, Germany, Russia, Australia and New Zealand.
Until next time, from the Land of the Tiger and the Rickshaw
Nigel