A post, at last

Just going to do a bit of a running account...
January 8 -- and then there were two (John and Anne). Met at the airport. Thank goodness! We could never negotiate roads jam packed with cars, buses, trucks, motorbikes, bikes, auto rickshaws, bicycle rickshaws and pedestrians, all vying for each square inch of space on the road and beeping away in a cacophony of chaos. We arrive at the hotel and crash and then venture forth for a brief walk before dinner. Crossing even a side street is an adventure!

January 9 -- and then there were four (Joanne arrives midday, Dorothy late in the evening). John and Anne tour the streets of old Delhi with Suru our guide who takes into nooks and crannies we would never see on our own. Favorite -- the wholesale spice market where the air is so thick and pungent, we depart coughing. Or is that the air pollution? As we walk around in the dense smog, we appreciate in a new way the pollution controls at home and see how important it is for developed nations to the lead the way in cleaning up the air we all share. Suru finally lets us try street food but insists it can't come from the street. We lunch at the Indian version of a food court, Eatopia, where we join office workers on break and learn to dine with our right hands only! Joanne joins us for dinner. Wonderful to see a face from home!

January 10 -- and then there were six (Rama and Gopi now here). The four early arrivals visit a Sikh temple where Dorothy is afraid to entrust her favorite traveling shoes to the shoe guard but finally surrenders. We enter and sit respectfully on the floor, or so we thought, watching the worshipers acknowledge the holy book and center of devotion. Dorothy is politely kicked out because she can't bend her bad knee and has inadvertently pointed the soles of her feet toward the altar. A definite no-no! She is glad to retrieve her shoes. And then of course we shop and John is patient with this harem of women.

January 11 -- a day of travel with an airline delay and a harrowing journey through country roads to Bandhavgarh National Park, home of the tiger. Alas, we arrive too late for the afternoon game drive but ready for heavy drinks. The game of chicken with truck after truck passing on one lane roads has tested our courage to the limit. Our minibus driver is a saint and his dashboard shrine to Ganesha, the god who removes obstacles, no doubt saved our limbs and lives from disastrous encounters with trucks, herds of cows, and villagers. Anne begins instruction for the women on the art of the "bush break."

January 12 -- finally out in search of the tiger. We see the footprints, hear the distinctive rumbling "arun" of a tiger in the bush but no tiger deigns to appear. We note that the sign at the park entrance does post a message from the tiger -- "please be understanding. I am here. You may not see me, but I have seen you!" Our guide points out that we have frittered our time away looking at birds, jackals, wild boar, mongoose, spotted deer and samba and thus arrived at the magical "central point" too late in the morning to take full advantage of the complex tiger spotting distribution system.

We return in the late afternoon for more bumping down road after road in search of the tiger. As the park is about to close, we and 15 or so other vehicles hear the deep, deep roars of an animal near the entry and jockey to position ourselves where the tiger might appear from the bush, but to no avail. Thankfully a wonderful bush dinner awaits and we console ourselves under the stars with delicious food and drink. We plot to be the first to the park in the AM and resolve to leave the lodge at 5:45 am to be in line by 6 for the 6:30 gate opening.

January 13 -- the knock on the door announcing it is 5 am is brutal even if it is accompanied by steaming hot coffee and tea. We trickle into the main lodge and head out for the park, a little late but close to on target. Will we be the first, second or third in line? Bets are placed. We head down the road and see that at least 15 or 20 other vehicles have beat us there! When the park opens it is like a carnival bumper car ride as everyone jostles to be fast "out of the gate." John predicts we will see three tigers and we roar with laughter.

Today we are disciplined -- we agree there will be no stopping for deer, birds, etc -- no matter how often our chief amateur spotter, Dorothy, begs us to. A leopard or bear will earn a quick photo stop but nothing else. We rush to the central point to get the best chance at a sighting and a place in the queue for a ride atop an elephant to see a tiger should one happen to be hiding in the bush. Elephant assignment in hand and recent tiger spotting info sends us roaring forth.

We need to get there before the tigers leave! Joanne has turned her hat backwards for luck (and so that her hat flower does not distract the tiger.) It turns out that hats play a major role today. Gopi's baseball cap flies off twice and the driver must backtrack to retrieve it. We are mostly good humored about this -- everyone except Rama who insists he must tie his hat down with her scarf. And off it flies again! Rama confiscates the hat. We worry silently that the tiger will be gone but suddenly see vehicles ahead and a huge male tiger and his mate cross the road right in front of us. It appears that Gopi's hat delays have put us in the right spot at exactly the right time. Karma!

Finally, we find the elephants only to discover that we have lost our place in line. Anne tries to charm the park ranger with her awful Hindi while our guide begs his forbearance. Something works and we are off. Four of us (John, Anne, Dorothy, and Joanne) climb from the back of the truck onto one elephant -- poor beast! Rama and Gopi hitch a ride on another animal and we crash through the bamboo in search again. We do not find our tiger but the ride is great!

All tolled we end the day with three tigers and an elephant ride -- not bad. We stop at the shrine of the reclining Lord Shiva to give thanks! Some are off to see the hilltop fort this afternoon but a few of us, including me, are resting (literally) on our laurels. More when I get a chance (Anne) and I will nag the others to post as well! (Not going to proofread -- deal with it!)