Rajasthan 7 January 2010

Rajasthan 7 January 2010

Today we have a four and half hour drive through rural Rajasthan. We pass through a hundred small communities, sometimes only a few buildings around a courtyard, sometimes a village with some shops and stalls. We are regularly negotiating our way around cattle which roam freely and with no road sense. Much of the local transport of produce is by camel carts. The fields are well organised and very clean. This time of year we are seeing the yellow of Oilseed rape/Canola, or is it mustard? There is also winter sown barley and cultivated fields awaiting spring crops.

We arrive at Hotel Raj Palace in Ranthambore. The gardens are beautiful, and in glorious sunshine we enjoy a delightful lunch including banana lassi.

Then we are collected in an open-top dwuc (how do you spell this Anne?) type vehicle for The Tiger Safari. The track rises and falls through the thinly wooded reserve. We are in a valley with steeply rising hillsides and mountains in the distance. There are lots of deer, big brown ones called Sambar and dainty spotty ones called Chital. A beautiful blue-backed kingfisher is sitting on a wire over a dried up stream. Black and white monkeys with incredibly long tails throw bits of tree at us from branches above. When we stop for a break, more of these monkeys come right up to us, presumably hoping to be fed. They have no fear of humans, even when we are walking around. We don't see any tigers, but this is a beautiful place to visit.

In the evening there is folk dancing and singing back at the hotel, followed by an excellent meal in the hotel restaurant. I am quite pleased with myself so far, chosing indian dishes for most meals, all of which are spicy to some degree despite what the waiter says. (More than half of the group have had tummy trouble at some stage of their time in India, but so far I am 100% ok.)

A great day. All the Best, John