This is very weird, writing blog posts 3 days after the event but, after all the hurly burly of city life in Delhi and Jaipur we've spent a few days in the suburbs in rural locations with no internet or TV (and sporadic electric supply).
The touristy areas of India are plagued with hawkers and touts and its impossible to wander round without being harassed by them. They are persistent to the point of being aggressive so it was a pleasure to leave all that behind us for a while.
What can I say ..... Ranthambhore National Park is a wonderful example of India's Conservation Programme. There are tigers in the park but no guarantee of spotting one.
Our first trip into the park was to visit the Fort atop a steep hillside. The views were fabulous. The place was full of noise and colour - peacocks everywhere we looked and monkeys too .... and the parakeets were deafening! I went over the top with the photographs as it was all so exuberant and colourful and exciting. Sadly, 48 hours later I was yawning at the sight of yet another peacock or monkey ... just so many of them.
In my next post I'll show some photos of our 2 drives into the Park to view the wildlife
This was a battle between monkey and chipmunk (squirrel) over a piece of tasty food on the walls of the Fort
Loading up the mules with blankets for the travellers in the park
Such gorgeous birds and they were everywhere we looked, in trees, fields and strutting around the old buildings ..
The Fort itself is built on a steep hillside with LOTS of steps ..... but we needed the exercise after all the wonderful curries we've been eating. There is a temple within the Fort which ensures a regular flow of Indians who come to pray. This man was carrying water for the Chai (tea) stalls dow the steps from the temple
This was our room for the couple of nights
and one of the birds that kept us amused - so small but so very noisy. Its a red vented bulbul
OK I'm battling against time here. We are now in Agra (having visited the Taj Mahal yesterday) and about to leave for Delhi where we may or may not get the rickshaw ride round the old town that we missed earlier last week. Internet was so poor last night that I couldn't post on the Blog so this morning I have just 10 mins left before we leave .... here's another assortment of street scenes taken through the coach window. Sorry its all a bit jumbled but I hadn't realised how limited our internet access time would be
The street scenes still fascinate me. So much noise and chaos but very few accidents it seems. Just as well, probably. Our guide told us that when an Indian buys a car it is compulsory to take out 1 year's insurance. Thereafter insurance is optional and many drivers prefer to put their trust in their Gods ... so they feed the street dogs and cows to get 'good Karma' and pray that they won't be involved in an accident
Bath time
No room inside! We've seen so many overloaded buses, trucks, tractor carts etc.
Street kids in the middle of the road. They all wave and smile at us as we drive by and even the most dour looking older folk smile and wave
Shoe repairer. Nothing much gets wasted in India (except plastic which is slowly contaminating the countryside and towns, killing cows who eat it and blocking drains etc). The traditional leather shoes will last many years if patched at regular intervals.
The touristy areas of India are plagued with hawkers and touts and its impossible to wander round without being harassed by them. They are persistent to the point of being aggressive so it was a pleasure to leave all that behind us for a while.
What can I say ..... Ranthambhore National Park is a wonderful example of India's Conservation Programme. There are tigers in the park but no guarantee of spotting one.
Our first trip into the park was to visit the Fort atop a steep hillside. The views were fabulous. The place was full of noise and colour - peacocks everywhere we looked and monkeys too .... and the parakeets were deafening! I went over the top with the photographs as it was all so exuberant and colourful and exciting. Sadly, 48 hours later I was yawning at the sight of yet another peacock or monkey ... just so many of them.
In my next post I'll show some photos of our 2 drives into the Park to view the wildlife
This was a battle between monkey and chipmunk (squirrel) over a piece of tasty food on the walls of the Fort
Loading up the mules with blankets for the travellers in the park
Such gorgeous birds and they were everywhere we looked, in trees, fields and strutting around the old buildings ..
The Fort itself is built on a steep hillside with LOTS of steps ..... but we needed the exercise after all the wonderful curries we've been eating. There is a temple within the Fort which ensures a regular flow of Indians who come to pray. This man was carrying water for the Chai (tea) stalls dow the steps from the temple
This was our room for the couple of nights
and one of the birds that kept us amused - so small but so very noisy. Its a red vented bulbul
.OK I'm battling against time here. We are now in Agra (having visited the Taj Mahal yesterday) and about to leave for Delhi where we may or may not get the rickshaw ride round the old town that we missed earlier last week. Internet was so poor last night that I couldn't post on the Blog so this morning I have just 10 mins left before we leave .... here's another assortment of street scenes taken through the coach window. Sorry its all a bit jumbled but I hadn't realised how limited our internet access time would be
The street scenes still fascinate me. So much noise and chaos but very few accidents it seems. Just as well, probably. Our guide told us that when an Indian buys a car it is compulsory to take out 1 year's insurance. Thereafter insurance is optional and many drivers prefer to put their trust in their Gods ... so they feed the street dogs and cows to get 'good Karma' and pray that they won't be involved in an accident
Bath time
No room inside! We've seen so many overloaded buses, trucks, tractor carts etc.
Street kids in the middle of the road. They all wave and smile at us as we drive by and even the most dour looking older folk smile and wave
Shoe repairer. Nothing much gets wasted in India (except plastic which is slowly contaminating the countryside and towns, killing cows who eat it and blocking drains etc). The traditional leather shoes will last many years if patched at regular intervals.
I'm not sure when we'll next get Internet access which is a shame as I have so many pictures and little snippets of information which our guide has been relaying and which I find fascinating - particularly about the role of Women in Indian life and particularly in Rajhasthan life! More later
Wow, Sue, you're sure going to be spoiled for choice of something to paint when you return! We'll be expecting some great paintings from you, you know!!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you are enjoying yourselves. Pictures are fascinating.
ReplyDelete