Ranthambore National Park

November 25th Entry:

I took a "local" bus from Jaipur to Sawai Madpur, (the closest town to Ranthambore) and the Ranthambore National Park (a tiger sanctuary).

What an interesting six hour journey...first off, the bus broke down about an hour outside of Jaipur.
Some of us disembarked and found other transport (another "local" bus stopped to pick us up in 15 minutes).
This bus managed to hit a cow, and the driver had trouble keeping control, but was able to straightened out and we continued on our way.
The poor cow! They are such terrible drivers here! SIGH! Metta, metta, metta!

Moving on, we passed through a lovely lush agriculture area with lots of water (both natural and man-made). There were fields of mustard, that is used for oil, or so I was told, by a young man on the bus. Bless all the lovely young men who want to practice their English!

I was up the next day at 4:30 to hire an auto rickshaw that would take me to the booking office. There I would be able to book a tour of the park.

Unfortunately, there were no tiger sightings, but our guide pointed out some fresh pug marks (paw prints) in the sand.

We did see lots of sambar, and some spotted deer, as well as mongoose, langurs, tree pies, plus a large serpent eagle.

After the safari ride, I opted to stay in the park, and walk up to the Ranthambore Fort, which was about 1.5 km. The area is considered a buffer zone, with lots of locals and Indian tourists visiting the Ganesh Shrine at the top. But it's still within the park, and quite a lovely walk with only the occasional vehicle to disturb the relative peace and quiet.

 Just before I got to the fort, an alpha male (I'm told) Langur Monkey put on quite a display of screeching  and thrashing about. He was probably warning his troop that there was a tiger or leopard nearby. I really do not think that he saw me as a threat, because they are generally very tame and ignore us for the most part.

Perhaps there was a tiger watching me as I walked up to the shrine...I like to think so.
Too thrilling, eh? 

Anyways, the monkey went crashing through the bushes at the side of the road and stopped at a large tree where his troop was hanging out. Then with a great "oomph" (roaring), he shook the tree violently...which scattered the troop.

 

Keoladeo National Park

November 17th Entry:

After getting conflicting reports, my sister decided to see the Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, for herself.

So, herewith are her musings about the park and her camel trek.

"I spent most of one day at this bird sanctuary...the first half in a bicycle rickshaw with an amateur guide, cum naturalist, who really showed me around the park!

I saw a family of mongoose (so very cute) and seven spotted owlets.

I did see lots of birds (the park is a famous protected bird sanctuary, that boasts over 230 species of birds making it their home during the winter).

There were storks, cranes, ibis, kingfishers, sunbirds, and bee-eaters, to name a few".

 November 19

As dawn breaks over the city, another day....another power outage, or two.

But, life goes on.....

I am very sore this morning from the camel trek....but well worth the trip to the edge of the Thar Desert.

We saw gazelles, or chinkara, and what I think was a dhole(Indian Wild Dog) that looks somewhat like a fox. We also saw doves, bulbuls, vultures, and a couple of hoopoes, with long curved bills and crested heads...sort of punkish!

The sunsets seem to go on forever, here in the desert....and then we get treated to an amazing star show....featuring the Milky Way, shooting stars, and an appearance by a satellite in the night sky.

It was a blissfully quiet night, with only thew crickets to sing us to sleep..well almost!
We could hear music and singing from the distant villages. Apparently, according to our guide, they were celebrating three weddings in a row!


 I fly to Katmandu on the 25th, and then start on the Buddha Trail at Lumbini, Nepal.