February 9 ~ 27, 2006
My wonderful experience in
As a reference,
In February, the weather was tolerable. Temperatures ranged from a cold 29 degrees F during a few mornings on game drives to the upper 80’s and lower 90’s. Days were sunny with no rain. We are told that in the summer, the temperatures reach a humid 127 degrees. Since it was the dry season before the monsoons are expected to begin in March, we were not bothered by insects. Because of pollution generated by vehicles and industry, there was always an overcast of haze.
Some may ask: What is a big difference between an Indian Wildlife Safari and an African Safari? First, the animals in the forests of
Although my adventure was called an India Wildlife Safari, it was actually a balanced visit of national parks and historical places. Since
Mark Rochkind, one of our fellow travelers, had some great observations about our excursion: “
Between February 11 and 26, 2006, we were constantly on the move. We rode airplanes, train, SUV-type vehicles, buses and safari vehicles going to or returning from destinations. Game drives typically began before sunrise at 6:15 in the morning and ended at sundown. A few times we arrived at destinations late in the evening. All this was necessary in order to achieve our ambitious tour schedule. Briefly, we visited the major cities of Dehli,
Mumbai's railway station was built in 1888 in the Victorian Gothic architecture style.
Mumbai's most famous landmark, the Gateway of India, was built in 1911 by the British.
Founded in the 6th century BC, Jainism is based on a doctrine of non-violence towards all living beings. Jains are strict vegetarians.
Today we took a one-hour flight from Mumbai to
We had a break midway between
During our midway break between
Although Kanha is known for its tiger reserves, I saw the rear of a tiger exiting into the forest one late afternoon as the sun went down. Too late and too dark to capture its photo. Kanha is heavily forested and hilly. We were limited to our viewing of animals from pre-assigned route on roads. The weather ranged from cold mornings (29 degrees F) to warm afternoons in the 80’s. No rain. The mammals seen in the park were spotted deer, sambar deer, jungle cat (the size of a household cat), wild pig, blackbuck, bison and monkeys. Birds that I spotted in the dense forest were cattle egret, ibis, serpent eagle, kingfisher, dove, lapwings, crow and peacock. Of course, the birders saw more species.
All ladies performing manual labor always were dressed nicely in their sari.
After a six-hour vehicle trip back to
The "Blow Horn" statement on back of trucks, buses and other large vehicles is a courtesy statement to blow your horn when passing. They say to drive in
The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur, is an oasis of comfort and luxury on 32 acres of landscaped gardens and pools. It was built in the traditional Rajasthan fort style reviving the gracious lifestyle of the Rajasthan princes. These facilities blend opulence with modern amenities. Each air-conditioned deluxe room has a four-poster, king size bed. The spacious marble bathroom overlooks a private walled garden.
In front of Amber Fort there was a cobra snake charmer. The cobra seems to be hypnotized by the pleasant sounds of the charmer’s flute. Scientists say that cobras cannot hear the way people do. However, the cobra is very sensitive to vibrations and, perhaps, is able to feel the music. Indeed, the cobra responds to the sight rather than to the sound of the flute. What the snake actually does is matching the movements of the snake charmer.
Built in 1727, Amber Fort served as the headquarters for many rulers of the area. In the Hall of Mirrors, tiny mirrors are embedded in the walls and ceiling of this chamber. Even the flame of one candle reflected by these mirrors transforms the room into a starlit sky.
Known as the "Palace of the Winds", this city building’s ornate facade is perhaps the most-photographed building in Jaipur. The carved windows were designed so that the ladies of the palace could look out onto the streets unobserved.
We left Jaipur by charted bus for a four-hour drive to
In the state of Rajasthan, the forests of Ranthambore were once the private hunting grounds of the Maharajahs of Jaipur. Their desire to preserve game in these forests for sport was partially responsible for the tigers’ conservation and subsequent rescue by Project Tiger. Since I did not see a tiger at Kanha, I was really hoping to see this beautiful cat here.
A tiger is here! A 20-month old male tiger gracefully strolled out of the forest towards us. He nonchalantly walked toward us and around our vehicle filled with gaping people. What a joy to see this marvelous animal! He was absolutely magnificent.
I was overjoyed to see the Tiger in the wild. Based on presentations by two wildlife experts during my safari, I believe the Tiger will be almost gone from the wild except in zoos and a few national parks. The loss of habitat because of people encroachment and poaching will contribute to the demise of this beautiful creature in the next 20 years.
Instead of going on another afternoon game drive with others, I had the pleasure of exploring the 10th century fort with Vikram Singh, the A&K tour manager.
Mr. Singh tells me that there are many Hindu temples in this large fort. We entered one of the temples. As custom dictates, Vikram bought flowers and sweets for the offering. While he prayed to his God, I prayed to my God. We were both anointed on the forehead by the first priest. The second priest added his anointment over the first one and wrapped some dozen strands of cotton red twine around our right wrists. The bracelet of twine was for good luck. Since it was Sunday, there were many locals socializing and attending temple. One mosque was also in the fort. I believe that I was the only Westerner in the fort at that time.
The Oberoi Vanyavilas, a new luxury resort that has been designed as a "Jungle Camp," is near the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. My luxury air-conditioned "tent" was located at exterior edge of the compound. In front of the entrance were several ponds with beautiful flora. Each "tent" had a wall around it for maximum privacy. The tent featured two outside sitting areas. The “tent” featured 750 square feet of living quarters. Of course, this room contained two sitting areas, TV cabinet, bar, etc. This is my idea of camping! The large well-appointed bathroom had a separate marble shower, commode room, two closets with built-in cabinets, double vanities and bath tub. Lots of space in this bathroom. The desk area with refrigerator and cabinets was between the bath and king size bed.
We took the train from Ranthambore to Bharatpur. Then we were transported to
We toured the fascinating red sandstone city known as Fatehpur Sikriwas, which was built in the 16th century.
One of Oberoi Group's new luxury resorts, the Hotel Amarvilas offers the same unparalleled world-class luxury as the Rajvilas, Jaipur. Each room has a view of the fabulous Taj Mahal and the Amarvilas pool and beautiful grounds. The classical architecture of the hotel is complemented by elaborate Mughal gardens, terraced lawns, fountains, reflection pools and pavilions. The lobby, restaurants, bar and tea lounge also offer spectacular views of the world-famous monument. From my balcony, the beautiful pool and grounds were seen in the foreground while the Taj Mahal is beckoning in the background.
Completed in 1643, the Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631.
We flew from
On one of our “game drives” on elephant back, we observed the Asian Rhino, which has only one horn as compared to the African Rhino with two horns. We did not see any tigers.
As an added bonus, our A&K guide arranged for a tour of a working tea estate. It was very interesting learning about the growing, harvesting and processing of tea leaves. We sipped tea under a tent while the tea estate manager gave us an introduction about his estate. Tea plants are grown under some shade trees.
Only the tender new growth of leaves is picked for tea.
We departed the Kaziranga lodge for our return to Jorhat. After the two-hour ride back to the airport, we discovered that the only flight of the day to Kolkatta was cancelled. So our A&K guide made other arrangements. After a box lunch and one and one-half hour rest at the airport, we boarded our nine SUV vehicles for a long drive to Gauhati, the region’s capitol city west of Jorhat. We retraced our trip back to Kaziranga and passed it on our way west. We arrived in Gauhati at approximately 12 hours later including two short breaks. Traffic was unbelievable! The pollution was so strong that it appeared that we were in a light fog during the night drive. We averaged about 35 mph during daylight and about 25 mph at night. We passed waves of people standing around and near the road, people on bikes, three-wheeled rickshaws, motorcycles, autos, buses and many trucks. We weaved all over the road passed slower moving vehicles, animal drawn carts, bikes, and even cattle hanging around and crossing the roads with a constant collision threat of oncoming traffic. Our hearing senses were constantly bombarded by blaring horns, rumble of vehicles and loud sounds coming from shops while traveling through towns. In the meantime, our smelling senses were being bombarded by unknown strange sources. We experienced cultural overload! This change of schedule necessitate us spending the night in Gauhati at a lesser of a hotel than we had experienced during our stay
The next day we flew from Gauhati to Dehli to have dinner with our fellow travelers and meet our international flight connections.
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