Ranthambhore National Park & Wilderness Tiger Reserve

Ranthambore Fort, surrounds part of the National Park, a 325 square km. reserve, and one of India's finest tiger reserves .... up before sunrise, hopes high to see the illusive tigers .... Instead we saw .....
birds, lots of them .... friendly ones

Old fort walls surrounding parts of the park ....

Trading and sharing info on tiger tracks and/or sightings with this aaah, rather motley looking crew .... but alas, no tigers for us that day!

.... But beautiful scenery to spare!

Elk of a kind?? ..

Eagles...

Wild Boar ... lots of them!

Crocodiles ... well, two actually :) ... one in the water, one on the banks of the lake

... and oh yes, more birds ... don't know what kind these little guys were, but they sure were prolific!

.... Spotted deer ..

and aaah .... tiger tracks ..... one group from our train saw three tigers, happily sharing their twenty second video coverage later that evening :) .... totally magical to see such fierce animals in the wild, well, video clip at any rate! ... Royal family tiger hunts were once common when tigers numbered in the hundreds of thousands, but not so today, hence the needed reserves and protection.

Such vast open limitless beauty .... I could just sink into this view ... would have enjoyed camping if it was allowed.

Aahh, guess we were kind of a motley crew ourselves :)

The stars were still twinkling in a dark sky, as we left the train .... surprisingly cold ... we were given heavy army style blankets to shiver under! Still, despite the cold, it was a magical morning. The Bric family and I were first to board our designated truck ... How fortunate was I to have this warm and kind family to share my sleeper car with on the POW! .... hopefully they will visit Canada in the future .... a ski/boarding week perhaps at Fernie! Ales has heli skiied in Canada some years ago and would be happy to come back, family in tow! I regaled them with stories of a holiday Brian, Rob, Sarah and I had exploring Slovenia a few years ago. Turns out we share a love for the same creperie in Ljubljana! .... Slovenians are known in Europe as being very fit sorts, and the Brics are no exception ... hearty, adventurous .... and jolly good fun to boot!

More Jaipur and Amber Fort ... Lunch at Palace Restaurant inside the Fort

Monkeys at play .... I watched these two cuties for some time .... they were hilarious as they batted each other playfully, the younger one, quite the pest actually!

I love this country! Jiva!!

My POW train mates, Slovenians, Rudi, Sonya, Simona and Ales Bric and Grace and Dale Charran from Trinidad/Tobago ....... a cheerful albeit tiny breakfast room ... a quick route to knowing each other well, in these small shared spaces ... I cannot believe how fortunate I am in the people I keep meeting .... just gems, all of them!

Jeremy and Sharon from England ... ..... first couple I met on the train ... we enjoyed a first train dinner together later that evening ... Sharon's sense of humor is a delight and her joy in life is something you could just happily drown in! .... Jeremy obviously adores her!

Calm happiness .... this lady seemed so full of grace. She laughed with delight when I asked for her picture ...

Cooking and selling fresh bread inside the fort walls .... couldn't resist ... delicious! Where is Elizabeth Gilbert's starvation ashram anyway??!!

Standing guard ....

Palace restaurant for lunch! All in all, a splendid first day of exploring Rajasthan ...

First Days on Palace of Wheels tour of Rajasthan ... Jaipur was our first stop

At all the forts, seems there are ladies sweeping up rubbish

Typical Street Scene ... cows wander freely everywhere!

Pink city of Jaipur

Elephant ride up the Amber Fort walls to enjoy a lunch at a restaurant inside the fort, complete with musicians to entertain us ..

.... and a snake charmer

"Pink Palace" entrance

Jantar Mantar .... Jai Singh II's observatory of astronomical instruments ... many resembled futuristic sculptures ... built in the 1700's.

Musicians to greet us as we all start to arrive .... the cheerful greeting crew adorned us all with fragrant flower garlands, scarves and turbans

Another typical scene on the streets and this, just behind the train station prior to boarding ...

The many faces of India ...

A beautiful young lady greeting our POW group in Jaipur

A real comic, this guy ... can't you just tell!! ... part of our entertainment during lunch at the Amber Fort Palace restaurant

Ales with my favorite butler and steward, Laxman ..... the true jewel of Rajasthan!

Anand ... Our other Jhalawar Cabin Steward .... a true gentleman

Ladies at Chandi Chowk in Old Delhi

Shiva, the Cosmic Dancer

India Gate in Delhi .... a war monument to honor those who died in WW1 and other wars in India (between North/West India and the Afghan Wars)

Qutb Minar ... India's highest single tower ... marking the site of the first Muslim kingdom in North India.



calligraphy on the tower

India's crest/symbol ... four sided lion ... I hear it is supposed to be a tiger, but really .... this looks like a lion to me! Like everything else in India, one is just never quite sure what to believe .... India is a country where you most definitely learn to go with the flow of whatever, wherever, whenever .... kind of refreshing, actually ..... Chata hai!