Today it is time to go south, the southernmost we will be during the trip. We are making our way to Ranthambore, the most famous National Park for tigers in India. But first we have to fortify ourselves for the day with a homemade Aloo Paratha, potato pancake, while being watched by monkeys from outside. We finally find out why the owner has an old gun in the restaurant, it is to scare the monkeys who recognize it as a threat.
Our driver is on time as always and we make our way through Jaipur towards the outskirts passing through markets and old city gates, slowly, ever so slowly.
As we hit the divided highway we start to speed up past temples with huge statues and herds of camels. The contrasts that India is so famous for are visible almost everywhere as we continue on, rich and poor, modern and traditional, always on display.
We leave the divided highway and continue south still on toll roads but passing through strings of villages, one after the other. We enjoy watching the spectacle of India pass by, surprising on the road we see even a burial procession. We had no idea what it was initially when we passed it and only when the driver mentions it do we notice the body that was carried.
Wildlife that can adapt to living in villages can do quite well as there is a lot of trash so when we see a pig, it certainly seems to be a wild one and not a domestic one.
We know that because later we see a classic, domestic one but who knows maybe it was a mutant pig?
And then we arrive at our accomodation for the next two nights, Bagh Dwar Camp. We looked for quite some time in the area before finding something reasonable. The problem was that most other resorts require a bank transfer and only a few accept reservations without. And this one is a tent based resort which we really liked in Africa so why not try?
The tent looks good from the outside however inside it is not as clean as we would have liked. Also there is some mold but for two nights we hope we are going to be fine.
The bathroom is better designed than the other hotels with at least a ridge separating the bath from the toilet so the water does not mix or touch the toilet. However the sink is leaking, all the water is going on the outside of the drain tube and creates a puddle below the sink. So, not the best maintained room really. At least the view from the bird tower is beautiful and we sit there taking in the views and the birds for some time. Then it is time to go to Ranthambore Fort, something we were able to arrange with our driver and described in a separate blog entry.
Returning from the Fort we continue our birdwatching with beautiful Plum-headed parakeets seemingly everywhere and even a white-bellied drongo on the wires near the resort.
One of the surprises is a big black bird with red eyes that seems to be descended from Hell. It is an Asian Koel and we actually find it quite beautiful and interesting.
We also walk around the compound for some time finding coucals and parakeets and enjoying a beautiful sunset while waiting for dinner.
We ordered the dinner in advance and are informed it is done at around 7:30 PM. This is quite early for India it seems however it is late for us especially that it is dark and cold out and cold inside also, there is no heating anywhere. We are the only people in the restaurant and the food is quite good and satisfied we retire to the tent, it is time to suffer in the cold as we try to sleep prior to our tiger safari at 6:30 in the morning. Try unsuccessfully really, first the tent next door is listening music from an outdoor music box that would be loud even if we wouldn’t be in a tent and hear everything anyway. And then when they stop at around 10 the nearby village women start to chant….all night…the same chant over and over. We find out the next day that it is a new moon celebration but wow, it really did not help us recuperate during the night.
