India Day 7
We had a remarkable day today! Left Jaipur at 8:15 and drove 5 hours to Ranthanbhor National Park. On the way there we passed through rural villages and what a wonderful experience that was! Our guide stopped the bus numerous times so that we could get out to take photos and to interact with the villagers who all waved at us as our bus went through their villages, smiling and children jumping up and down and everyone being so incredibly welcoming and friendly. The villages are, like the cities, run down looking by developed world standards, but they were,for the most part, cleaner than the cities. As in Delhi and Jaipur, animals are absolutely everywhere. Cows, pigs and piglets, sheep, goats, water buffalo and camels are roaming all over, or laying by the side of the road, or ambling in front of the traffic or running along the side. At one point I saw a family group, a mother and a bunch of children walking along and a family of goats were running along beside them like the family dog would do! It was a riot! Out in the country the men take great pride in their trucks and tractors and decorate them with all kinds of bright ribbons and banners, and equip them with speakers from which blares Bollywood music. So you see a tractor ambling along and hear the Bollywood hits playing out of it! We passed miles and miles of mustard fields, and wheat fields.
When we got to Ranthanbhor we had to make the daily liquor store stop! We've got a bunch of drinkers on this trip! I've included a photo of the sign at the little roadside shack that is the local liquor store, and a photo of the camel that was waiting patiently for its owner who was buying something too! Then we drove out to our hotel which is just a mile or so from the National Park entrance. It is a magnificent complex - a huge, castle like building which looks like something out of Jewel in the Crown! It has 4 courtyards and the rooms are all centered around a courtyard (sort of like the riads of Morocco!). The floors are marble and the walls are white stucco-like material. It is very palatial and regal. We went first to the dining room and enjoyed a fabulous buffet lunch. I never tire of Indian food and this is really of excellent quality. We then were shown to our rooms. They are also beautiful, with marble floors, enormous bathrooms with walk in showers, tiled walls, amenities. I have two four poster beds in my room and a tall armoire and marble topped bedside tables. Its truly elegant.
Then about half of us went on an afternoon ride/hike to the Ranthanbhor Fort way at the top of one of the hills in the National Park. We had a local naturalist as our guide and it was fascinating. We took an open air, rattle trap truck into the park and parked at the foot of the hill upon which the fort sits. There are a couple of Hindu temples/shrines at the fort and there were many pilgrims coming and going from the temples. There are tons of monkeys hanging out in the parking area cavorting around, walking among the humans, climbing on the cars and jeeps. We had great fun watching them, especially the mothers and babies. We walked up to the top of the fort, which is about 500 feet high up 250 wide stone steps. The fort was built in the 5th century CE and is now mostly a ruin, but for the active temples that are still up there. There are at least two HIndu temples up there, as well as a Jain temple and Muslim burial ground. We went all the way up and climbed to the roof of one of the ruins where we had a terrific panoramic view of the National Park. This is where the Bengal Tigers live, although they are hard to see. There are tons of other animals and birds in the park, and tomorrow we will go on two safaris to see what we can see. Its been pretty cold here - we were quite bundled up for the ride to the fort, although we got lucky and the sun came out once we got to the top which warmed us up a bit. Tomorrow morning's early departure is going to mean cold temps so we'll be dressing in layers!
When we got back to our hotel they were serving tea in the courtyard, so we enjoyed tea and cookies and relaxed a bit after the excitement of the day. This evening we have free time, with the dining room open at 7:30-10:00 for us to enjoy our dinner at our leisure. Some of the group will do cocktails in the courtyard at about 7! This group does love its booze!! Tomorrow is a very early day, so an early bedtime tonight is likely going to happen!
The pics today give you a taste of rural India. The shot of the little girl waving is a gypsy family - she was fascinated by our bus and ran alongside us as we drove by, waving and smiling madly! I've also included pics of young boys and a group of girls and women who were working in the fields harvesting food for the livestock, a family that was walking through one of the villages. I love the vibrant colors of the clothes the women wear, even when they are working in the fields. I've also included a couple of shots of the hotel to give you a flavor of the ambiance. I am off now to the main courtyard which is the only place you can get the wifi signal! No internet in the rooms here! More tomorrow....
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