Ranthambore (Part 2)

So just after I pressed the ‘post’ button on my last blog entry we had a 20 minute power nap in which time the rain stopped (typique). We woke up and packed our bags (after watching a couple of pigs humping outside our room) but we found ourselves in a dilemma; we could head straight to Jaipur (4 hour drive) or try to see the Bengal Tigers (the whole point of visiting Ranthambore) on an afternoon safari for which we had to wait 4 hours to begin. After finding out everything was closed in Jaipur on a Sunday (oh yeah Happy Easter everyone!) the decision was made for us, we were staying in Ranthambore (oh the joy of unpredictable weather). This turned out to be one of the best decisions we made on our trip.

To kill 4 hours, we checked out of our hotel and went for a well overdue breakfast of Pakora, Chapatti, Daal and Aloo Chole which was scrumptious then we hopped into the car and were taken to Ranthambore Fort. The thought of another Fort (hey I’m a poet!) did not exactly fill us with deep joy, especially after the horrendous morning we’d had but as there was nothing else to do (essentially it’s just in a village in the jungle) we had no choice. It had been chilly in the morning so we’d switched into jeans, big mistake.

We jumped out the car at the Fort, our driver Govind (who is awesome) suddenly became our personal security guard and we timidly followed him through throngs of cars and people up to the steps of the fort. What hadn’t been explained to us however was the epic climb we had to make to reach the top, hundreds of steps in 30 degree+ heat and blazing sunshine that literally came out of nowhere. In jeans. IN. JEANS. Unsure of what we were going to find at the top we started the climb, amongst hundreds of local tourists that were as intrigued by us as they were the fort – there were no other westerners at all. When we reached the top, (sweating and knackered) the climb couldn’t have been more worth it. We found ourselves surrounded by ruins of a huge fort, the second largest in Rajasthan which had pretty much remained untouched by humans, just left to naturally weather since the 1600s. We were able to wander around everywhere, completely free to explore and appreciate the natural beauty both of the jungle and the architecture of the fort, no entrance fee, no guide, no hawkers, just us and our new security man turned photographer.

 We wandered around the palace, climbed through doorways and down passages in what used to be the palace (we think) then headed to a Jain temple where I was blessed with holy water and given a yellow bindi (a mix of tumeric and water). Crazy how this working temple is in the middle of centuries old ruins. We moved on in the direction of the Hindu temple (a Mundir) only to find ourselves in the weirdest of situations, completely surrounded by monkeys trying to nick stuff, dodging cows laying on the ground, navigating around crowds of local people and trying not to fall into gigantic puddles. It was pure and utter chaos but absolutely fantastic. We sat to one side watching the goings-on in front of the temple whilst Govind went inside to pray, taking offerings with him for the gods. Trying not to stare at the child taking a dump on a hill, we became as much of an attraction to the the people as they were to us! We spent a good 15mins just taking in all the craziness, being Sunday everyone was going to the temple to pray so it was packed. Govind returned with a bright orange bindi on his forehead and looked content, so we made our ways back through the monkey/cow craziness, down the steps we had ascended earlier back to the car. We’d had the most incredible off-the-cuff experience which was magical almost, left to do our own thing without time pressure or forced to listen to an overload of historical information from an animatronic tour guide. Absolutely loved it.

 

After a quick costume change it was safari time, finally! We got into a jeep with a couple from (of all places) Canada and a woman and her 8 year old daughter jumped in after us, from (of all places) Sheen in London – 20 mins down the road from me! Ha. We had a great group in the car and we felt really positive that today was the day we would see Tigers. The lady from Sheen and her daughter had been on 4 other safaris but had seen nothing, but ask the universe and it shall give you – right?

The 10km ride to the park gate was incredibly windy and bumpy, Chantelle and I were in the back holding on for dear life, ironic that we had been so careful in the taxi to make sure our seat belts were fastened and doors locked from the inside at all times yet in the jeep there was nothing except a couple of handrails! No doors or windows even. We picked up a guide at the entrance and followed 10 or so other cars into the park. After about 15 mins of scouring the terrain for signs of movement and adrenaline running high, our guide and the driver suddenly shouted that they could see a tiger through the bushes eating a carcass. This was our first spot of the day, and even though it was difficult to see, there in front of us was a wild Bengal Tiger tucking into its lunch. Incredible. Unfortunately all the other jeeps wanted to get the view we had so it was seconds before we were completely and utterly boxed in, people even climbed into our car from other cars to take photos! Only in India. Then suddenly out of nowhere a second tiger emerged through the bushes, so majestic and powerful, it touched he first one on the nose as a ‘hello’ then walked up toward the wall and gate of the park. We were shouted at to sit down by our clearly nuts driver and guide who then went seriously off-piste to get as close to the tiger as possible, at one point I felt like I was standing at the higher end of a sinking Titanic holding on for dear life. It was worth it though and we got some fantastic shots of the Tiger. The one rule was that you weren’t allowed to get out of the car, however hanging off it and standing on the bonnet were completely allowed, my hyper-mobility came seriously into play to get me some fantastic shots around the volumes of local tourists blocking my view, who knew I was so flexible!? We spent an hour or so fighting against other jeep drivers to get the best spot to watch the Tiger loll around and do its thing. Apart from some of the attitudes of the Indian tourists, it was pretty darn special, and something that will stay with me forever. When it became almost impossible/pointless to try to get close to the tiger (around 6pm by this point) we made a group decision to go back to our hotels. We had a 4 hour drive to Jaipur ahead of us anyway so this suited us just fine.

 

After a disastrous start to the day, it couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. We went from disliking Ranthambore to loving it within a few short hours. Feeling excited and pumped yet knackered from a full on day, we set off on the road to Jaipur, intrigued to what lay ahead for us in the Pink City…

Until Jaipur

SJ xx