As mentioned before, we came to India so Carol could see the Bengal tiger which is endangered. Since we were in Rajasthan we decided our first place to try to find them was in a national park named Ranthambhore two hours south of Jaipur with Sawai as the dusty cow town where everything is centered. More accurately, it is a camel town and this beast of burden pulls all forms of wagons hauling sand, bricks, hay, people as well as lots of things I couldn’t identify. Each camel is either shorn, tattooed, branded or painted with individual markings to identify its owner and they silently plod their way up and down the dusty streets. Sawai would seem to be a destination people would otherwise avoid if it were not for the national park which has spawned a whole industry of rooms from the plush to the pitiful…ours tends of the pitiful side of the scale. Jeep drivers, guides, restaurants, hotels, the ever present 50 shops selling the exact same items that I always wonder: “Why would anybody buy this stuff?” And true to our tourist nature, I bought a hat and some tee shirts for the grandsons.
We were booked into a hotel that got changed at the last minute, much the worse for us because we are in a place that calls itself a “3 star establishment,” but should only have three stars after it warning people to stay away…but that’s another story and it has just made us appreciate the nice places in which we have stayed.
We booked several “safaris” to try and find the elusive critter. We knew that it was always an iffy proposition when trying to locate a minimal amount of fauna in a maximum amount of environment. Our first excursion was on a “canter,” A 16 person vehicle which roams the main roads, but can’t get off into the real bush. This first safari netted several animals: spotted dear, crocodiles, large summer dear, the tiger’s favorite meal, the ever present monkeys and several varieties of birds….all of this but no tiger. Not really a surprise since it was an afternoon safari and any tiger worth his/her stripes knows to hide in the shade on a hot Indian afternoon.
This morning’s sojourn was in a 6 passenger jeep and we tooled around areas on paths that were called roads, but in reality were rocky tracts that only the very daring and fool hardy off-roaders might attempt. After a while we saw a cluster of other jeeps and knew that the tiger had been spotted…we hustled to the spot along with other jeeps who also saw the congregation. Like bees to the nectar patch, the drivers all jammed in trying to get to the single spot from which the tiger, a mom with cub, could be spotted…..lots of words were “Exchanged” to the general tune of: “You’ve had your chance, now move so we can see.” I counted 14 jeeps encircling the single viewing spot…with a steep downward slope in front where the tiger was, the jeep was totally jammed in on three sides 3-4 deep. The only way for the one jeep to move was for the others to back up and let him out. In traditional Indian method, as soon as one jeep moved out of the way to make a path, another jeep driver filled the voided spot…
This led to further “discussions” about procedures. This impatience reminded me of Feruza Balt in Willy Wonka: “I want it and I want it NOW.” . In further Indian tradition, those individuals who were in the prime jeep, motioned for others to join them and helped steady old men and ladies from lands far flung to find a place to view and pointed out exactly where the tiger was….this yin and yang of Indian society continually amazes, confuses, frustrates and brings great joy to my heart. In the army we had a term for this whole action…as I recall, it was some kind of a cluster something or another.
The following morning netted a tiger sleeping lazily, rolling from side to side, lifting his head to see what all the commotion was about and then ignoring the whole commotion to sleep some more…we were all jammed in together again but this time we did get a view of the tiger even though we were in the back of the pack…climbing over the tops of our vehicle onto another vehicle and finally to a closer one with the steadying hand of several Indian men who motioned us to come get a closer look since nobody up front was willing to lose their prime spot…After 20 minutes or so, the people in the vehicles close to the tiger were texting, chatting on their phones or looking at the scenery rather than the tiger…no matter, they had the spot and that was that. But it was a better viewing than yesterday and so we called it a success.
The afternoon drive netted no tigers but some lovely terrain and very different flora in addition to the blue antelope…a very large animal about the size of a mule. That drive was made memorable not by the hunt for the tiger, but the attempt to get back to the hotels.
We got to the gate to depart and it was locked…our guide clambered over the wall to find the official with the key and they returned and wanted to see the driver’s paperwork…he didn’t have any. A “discussion” ensued with the usual raised voices which went on for about 20 minutes. Finally the matter was resolved. When we asked our guide what the problem was, he replied: “Misprint.” That was it…no real explanation or further details….since where wasn’t any paperwork, the “Misprint” could have been anything. So off we went, only to be hailed by the official who chased us down on his Honda Hero, the most common brand and model of motorcycle. A further “discussion” ensued for another 10 minutes, and the issue was finally resolved to everybody’s satisfaction, and off we went…WAIT….it’s not over…we get a mile down the road, and here he is again, riding along side our jeep with the running “discussion” animated with hands which would have been better served on handlebars and steering wheels giving emphasis to the subject instead of dodging oncoming and overtaking vehicles, various animals, individuals, both young and old. We finally were pulled over so that the discussion could be completed in calmer, well, at least, safer conditions. At last, all were satisfied and off we went for the third time. It’s finally ended and we can get back to the hotel…But you guessed it, It’s not over…this time we were confronted not only by the official on the Hero, but by six other officials on the side of the road by the police station. Our guide was forced to depart and two female officials got in the vehicle and we headed to town. We had been stopped for about an hour total. We left the hotel at 6:30 and it was approaching noon so everybody was starving. Our driver now headed to town in only what I can describe as the gold standard of hurry. I have noted in the past some hair-raising adventures with drivers, but this one was off the charts…I swear that we could have been mass murderers by the time we finally got back to the hotels…he looked like Cinderella and the clock was 11:59 p.m. by the way he raced hell-bent-for-leather through villages with people scattering left and right, vehicles whizzing past literally inches from “Massive death count from accident on Indian road. Film at 11.”
But make it we did and now it’s on to Jodhpur…the blue city.
Headline of the day: “Bride walks out on wedding when groom fails math test.” When asked to add 15 + 6 … he answered …17…sounds like a good reason to bolt.
