Searching for Tigers - Part Two – Ranthambore

Do you see the tiger in this photo?

Searching for tigers in the wild is tough business. If that quote sounds familiar it’s because I started part one of this post with the exact statement, I thought it prudent to reiterate. Our tiger safari crew was pumped-up heading into our fourth and second to last tiger spotting opportunity. We had just spent several days touring the countryside of India with stops at Khajuraho, Orchha, Agra and Karauli before pulling into Ranthambore on an early Monday afternoon. We’ve seen all the temples and forts we can handle and now we’re ready for the real reason we’re all here, tigers. Ranthambore National Park in the state of Rajasthan is possibly India’s most popular tiger spotting destination. Many safari vehicles line the main road of the town and everywhere you turn there is a sign advertising safari booking.

Our Tiger Crew with Yaddu in the front.

Waiting to get into Ranthambore National Park

Our 20 person cantor safari vehicle pulled-up to the Raj Palace hotel and all seven of us jumped-in and took our seats. Five more minutes and a group of 13 boarded the beast of a safari truck for a twenty minute ride into the park. First stop was some passport formalities and a surprise 400 Rupee ($8.50 USD) fee for using my video camera inside the park. Ranthambore is divided up into six different tourist zones totaling approximately 400 square kilometers. Your zone number is determined by random (supposedly) with some zones being distinctly better than others. We lucked out and were granted access to zone three, the supposed best zone of the park, our hopes were high and it seemed fate was on our side.

A crocodile in Ranthambore

Sixty minutes into the hot and bumpy ride our dust-filled eyes caught sight of fresh tiger tracks on the road. A big male heading one direction while a female heading in the opposite. You can tell the difference in the tracks by the toe length, a female tiger has a slightly longer toe. Along with the tracks we came upon some fresh, very fresh by the smell, tiger poop in the road. The driver followed the big male’s footprints up the winding dirt road through the foothills. At this point our adrenaline is pumping, any moment we can turn the corner and come face-to-face with a wild Bengal tiger.

We tracked the tiger until his tracks vanished into the thick brush. When his trail was no more our driver pulled the truck over and parked. We waited there for quite some time hoping the tiger might backtrack and make an appearance. I should also add that there were about six other safari trucks in the area, all jostling for position to spot the elusive tiger. Unfortunately fate was not on our side that day. The elusive tiger never reappeared and we spent our afternoon driving around the park looking at various types of deer, some birds and a few crocodiles. The crocodiles were the bright spot of the afternoon as we were pretty tired of seeing the deer and birds. Sunset came and we were out of the park by 6:00pm with an optimistic view for our 5^th and final safari the next morning.

Sunset in Ranthambore

Six o’clock the next morning came all too fast. Pamela and I jumped out of bed with four minutes to spare for our safari meet time. We threw our clothes on and ran outside expecting to see everyone waiting for us on the truck. Fortunately, or unfortunately, our safari truck that morning was at least 30 minutes late. When it finally showed-up our crew of seven was quickly ushered onto a relatively full cantor, most stuck in the very back, Pamela and I up front sharing a seat. Not only was the truck 30 minutes late but we also were given permission to visit zone one of the park, supposedly one of the worst zones. Fate was not on our side that morning.

Larege male deer in Ranthambore

One of the many langur monkeys in the park.

Thirty minutes into the ride things weren’t looking well, we stopped to look at many little birds and deer, all of which our crew could have done without. We were there to spot tigers, we didn’t want to spend 10 minutes staring at a little bird. We drove around for the next 90 minutes looking for any signs of a tiger but to no avail. We spent part of the time dodging other safari vehicles which always seemed to be going in the opposite direction as us on tiny little roads. Our safari truck was teeming with small children and hearing impaired adults, all of whom talk very-very loudly, any tiger in their right mind would have been catching the next train to Mumbai if they heard us coming.

Carol, Linda and Steph waiting patiently to go.

Our 5^th and final safari culminated in a 25 minute bathroom break, which we found very fitting. All the safari trucks stopped, the guides had some tea and discussed the mornings events or lack thereof, while our tiger crew waited ever so patiently in the truck. Our driver and guide eventually corralled the remainder of our trucks occupants and we drove back to the hotel with very dejected looks on our faces.

The only tiger we saw on this day.

Ranthambore may be a decent place to spot tigers but we felt like we had a much better chance in Bandhavgarh National Park. If we were to do this again, which we probably won’t, we’d definitely skip Ranthambore and spend more time in Bandhavgarh. In Ranthambore your chances of getting a poor zone (like we did with zone one) are pretty high and zone selection could make or break your safari. Not to mention the tiger density in Ranthambore is much less than Bandhavgarh. Ranthambore is reported to contain about 34 tigers spread out over 400 square kilometers where Bandhavgarh is reported to have 23 tigers spread out over 106 square kilometers.

Our tiger, from 30 meters in the near dark.

We came to India to see wild tigers and we succeeded in seeing one wild tiger in Bandhavgarh. We hoped to see many more but with a dwindling population I think we were fortunate to see just one, especially considering we were here just after monsoon season which as we know now, is the worst time to visit. a

Here is the video we managed to get of the only wild tiger we saw in India. Unfortunately the tiger was at some distance in the near dark so it's a little hard to see.

Along with our tiger spotting came many other positives from this portion of our honeymoon. First and foremost we met a new group of friends in our wonderful tiger safari crew. Second we visited many beautiful places in India, most of which I’d never even heard of before this trip and last but not least we had the opportunity to tour rural India and see how India lives outside of the large cities. We will forever cherish the memories of this trip and are so thankful to have the opportunity to come to such a place as India for a chance to view the highly endangered Bengal Tiger.

All the photos from our Tiger Safaris can be found here: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/SearchingForTigers?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Cheers for Now –

Pamela and Dave

South Asia – Done and Done

Sunset over the Betwa River in Orchha, India

We've just wrapped-up the 86^th day of our honeymoon with flights out of South Asia to Europe. So far we’ve traveled about 34000 kilometers (21000 miles) on our honeymoon. Much of the distance has been covered in the air but quite a bit in busses, trains, cars and countless tuk-tuks and rickshaws. We’ve spent the last 41 days in South Asia and have made some awesome memories and friends along the way.  Nepal, Maldives and India were all really good to us but we’re excited to move on to our next adventures.  The below is a brief summary of our last 6 weeks and a quick update on budget and health.

Nepal
We spent the majority of our time in Nepal and are definitely thankful for it. While in Nepal we trekked, rafted, jungle walked and relaxed; all the while trying to immerse ourselves in the culture and customs of the local Nepali people. Our second day in Kathmandu brought us to a Hindu temple where we witnessed cremation ceremonies on a river that flows to the Ganges, this was a bit of a culture shock but definitely very interesting and something that shouldn’t be missed.

Trekking in the Annapurna range of the Himalayas was one of the highlights of the trip so far and possibly one of the highlights of my life, at least so far. Unsurpassed beauty, decades old trails, welcoming villagers and amazing company are just some of the memories we’ll take from our trekking. Seeing how the local villagers lived in the mountain villages was really a source of inspiration. We passed so many kids on the trails who had to walk a long while to school each day, most with smiles on their faces. Spending some time in the Himalayas caused me to appreciate my own life and all of things we’re blessed with on a daily basis. This was the case for all of Nepal though. We really enjoyed our stay there and would definitely go back.

Maldives
There’s not much more I can say about the Maldives that I didn’t say in our Paradise articles one and two. We had an awesome time and want to go back sooner than later, preferably today if possible. Next time we’re going to shoot for an island farther away from the main islands as we want to fly on the floatplane. This was the “official” portion of our honeymoon and it was well worth it.

Wishing I was back here

India
You don’t just visit India, you smell, taste, touch, hear and feel the subcontinent. It really is an assault on your senses (some not all good) but a place not to be missed. We spent 16 days in India, managed to see a wild tiger, saw quite a bit of temples, palaces, forts and ate some very good food.

Our overall time in India was great but we did have some rather unpleasant experiences. From the few unpleasant experiences we’ve learned quite a bit for next time. We’ve learned that India train travel is probably not for us. We’ve learned that tourist police are not to be trusted as one stole some money from us, the only theft we’ve had on our entire trip. We’ve learned to stay away from the corn flakes in small hotels. We’ve learned to try and be a little more patient and understanding of individuals despite leering, rude comments, hygiene and just overall nastyness of some people. Of course unpleasant experiences are to be expected with any long –term travel and we try to take them in stride.

Our Tiger Crew at the Jehangir Palace in Orchha, India
From left to right, Pamela, Dave, Carol, Linda, Steph, Liz, Yaddu

The food here was great in India and we had many-many good and big meals. Had you told me that I was going to gain weight here in India I probably wouldn’t have believed you. We didn’t eat much western style food while in India but we sure pigged out on the local cuisine. I’m going to miss the daily curries and naan. We also didn’t get any type of food borne illnesses, no case of the Delhi Belly or anything resembling…I know that’s a bit too much information but hey.

Pamela having a big jump in front of the Taj

What’s Next
Europe and the Middle East is next on our agenda. We’ll be making some short stops in Athens and Paris before heading to Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and the U.A.E.  In between all the sightseeing we’ve booked ourselves a week at a Dead Sea resort in Jordan for some rest and relaxation.  We have quite a bit on our agenda in the Middle East and will probably be exhausted by the time we board our plane for Los Angeles a few days before Christmas.

Budget and Health
We’re still pretty much on track with our budget. Booking the extra days at the Dead Sea resort put us a couple dollars above our daily average target but we think it will be worth it. Otherwise we did really well in the Maldives, considering it was the Maldives and didn’t spend too much on souvenirs in India.

As for health, we are both doing well considering we’ve been on the road for a while.  Unfortunately I (DW) have some small eye infection, supposedly caused by dust, which I have to use eye drops for the next two weeks and can’t wear my contact lenses. Nothing to be concerned about though.

Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoy! Stay tuned…

Cheers for Now -

Pamela and Dave

Searching for Tigers - Part One - Bandhavgarh

On the way to our first safari

Searching for tigers in the wild is tough business. A tigers stripes and color patterns make it one of the most perfectly camouflaged animals on the planet. Have you ever visited a tiger cage at a zoo and had a hard time spotting the tiger right away, even if you were standing still for a minute? A tiger can blend in so well with its surroundings, even in a zoo enclosure, that spotting them can be really hard. Searching for wild tigers here in India is kinda like that, except the tiger can be anywhere through a dense jungle and you’re sitting on the back of a jeep going 10 to 20 kilometers an hour.

So very hectic waiting to get into the park

We started our quest for tigers at the Bandhavgarh National Park in the Indian state of Manesh Pradesh. Bandhavgarh park is said to have the highest population density of wild tigers in the world and therefore the best place in the world to spot them. The main area of the park is 106 square kilometers and per park rangers (and some fact checking) is said to contain 23 tigers. This is approximately one tiger per every 5 square kilometers, really-really good numbers.

Sunset from the back of our jeep

Our first of three jeep safaris picked us up at our resort at 2:30pm on a Monday afternoon. The jeeps hold up to six guests and have spots for a driver and guide. From the resort you drive to the park entrance, fill out some paperwork, pick up an official ranger/guide, and you’re on your way. This process can take up to an hour so as with anything in India, bring your patience. After the formalities are done you’re on your way through the park with eyes wide open hoping to spot the elusive tiger. While searching for the tiger you’ll come along all sorts of deer, monkeys, wild boar and birds. It’s nice to stop and take a couple photos of the deer but in the end you’re here for tigers so you don’t stop for long.

One of the many Spotted Deer you'll see in the park.

One of the many Langur Monkeys, Two of our jeepmates got urinated on by one of these from a tree.

Next thing you know you’re whizzing along in the jeep and the guide will suddenly tell the driver to stop. It’s a tiger track, and a fresh one at that! We sit for several minutes and listen to the langur monkeys shout their alarm calls (meaning a tiger is moving nearby) and we wait. Our pulse is on the rise, maybe the hair on the back of your neck is standing-up and we’re so excited because we think we’re about to see one of the most endangered big cats on the planet. Five minutes of excitement turn into 10 minutes of disappointment when your guide tells the driver to continue on. The monkeys have stopped alarming and the tiger is gone.

Hoping to see tigers.

We left the official park disappointed after our first jeep safari, all feeling a bit down from not spotting a tiger. As we’re driving down the main road towards the town we see a large commotion ahead. Many jeeps are parked along the road and staring at something in the trees to the left. Our driver slams on the gas and races up to the commotion, nearly colliding with other jeeps to get the best vantage point. We look to our left and there he is, the elusive Bengal Tiger!! We found one and are so very excited, the whole reason we’ve come to India is to spot the tiger and we’ve done it!! Unfortunately the tiger, a big male, is so well camouflaged that we can just make out his head and body behind some bushes and trees at a distance of 25 meters. Still our cameras are snapping, people are yelling, jeeps are posturing for position, and more and more people are coming to watch. Even the locals driving by stop to have a look. After about 5 minutes the tiger decided he had enough of the commotion, got up (boy he was massive) and walked back into the thicker jungle. He was gone in second, the elusive Bengal Tiger!! Unfortunately the visibility was too poor for any of the photos to come out but we did manage to get the tiger on video which we’ll be able to publish in time for part two of this article.

We took two more jeep safaris at the Bandhavgarh park, one early AM safari, leaving the hotel at 5:30am and one more afternoon safari. Unfortunately neither of the safaris turned out a tiger sighting, we got close to a couple of tigers but never laid eyes on them. The lack of a sighting on these safaris was a bit disappointing, I even tried the old rally cap method but even that didn’t work. We were fortunate enough to see one wild tiger while at the park and that’s more than most people will ever see in their lives.

This is the sign you see as you're leaving the park. Very fitting.

Getting to Bandhavgarh
It’s not easy, not easy at all. From Delhi we boarded an overnight train to the city of Katni. The train left Delhi at 3:30pm and arrived in Katni 14 hours later at 5:30am. Overnight on the train we slept in 3^rd class A/C cabins on three tier bunks, Pamela in the middle bunk and me (DW) on the top bunk. If doing it again we would definately pay for a more expensive train ticket and go at least 2^nd class. We didn’t feel all that safe in our carriage and had to sleep on our backpacks to ensure their safety. From Katni we took a jeep for three hours, some over a very very bumpy road, to the park area. Our older model 4WD car’s suspension didn’t make the bumps any easier either!

While in Bandhavgarh we stayed at Mogli’s Jungle Resort. The resort was really nice, staff very friendly, cabins were cozy, food was really good, but there was no hot water. The second night we used an electric water heater and basically showered using the bucket method. I poured warm water over Pamela while she washed and vice versa, it was pretty funny. We found out later that the hot water wasn’t working because the resort had just opened for the season and the boiler was in need of repair. In any case we’d recommend the resort for anyone coming to the Bandhavgarh area.

Wrapping this long article up…It was a bit disappointing that we only saw one tiger in Bandhavgarh but then we could have just as easily seen no tigers so in the end we are very grateful for the experience. Stay tuned for part two of this article where we travel to Ranthambore National Park in the hopes of spotting even more tigers.

Cheers for Now -

Pamela and Dave

Chitwan National Park, Nepal – Part Two - Not your Everyday Walk in the Park

Dave, Pamela and Alex in the very small and leaky canoe on the way to our jungle walk.

I (DW) have taken a lot of walks in a lot of parks in my life but the first half of our Chitwan Jungle Walk was one of the most exhilarating I can remember. Now this tale might be a bit long so I apologize in advance and thank those of you who get through it…

Chitwan National Park is home to over 40 species of mammals including the bengal tiger, rhinoceros, sloth bear and occasional wild elephant. The place is also home to two different types of crocodile and many other reptiles including the king cobra.

With all of this in mind we decided to take a canoe ride down the river followed by a half day jungle walk. Three of us, Pamela, Alex (our friend from the tour) and I boarded a rickety hollowed out tree canoe at about 12pm for an hour long float down the river. Accompanying us for the ride was a local guide we hired named Ramsey and his assistant guide. While in the canoe we saw two different types of crocodile; the marsh mugger crocodile which grows up to 12 feet in length and the larger gharrial crocodile which can reach a length of 18 feet. It was a little unnerving seeing the larger gharrial croc as it looked to be about as wide as our canoe and definitely sturdier.

Very large croc in the river

About 30 minutes into the canoe ride we started to hear a very loud distressed elephant. The noises this elephant made were making my skin crawl. It turned out to be a young elephant which had been separated from its mother and anyone within 500 meters could hear the poor thing.  We saw the young wailing elephant starting to cross the river about 200 meters in front of us. At about the same time we saw the panic stricken elephant we came across a rhinoceros having a dip in the river. Ramsey, our guide, instructed the canoe driver to pull over so we can have a closer look at the rhino. Now we were only about 25 meters from the rhino but behind us was the panic stricken elephant. Needless to say I was a bit scared. In front was one big rhino and behind was one crazed elephant. We got some pics of the rhino, let the elephant disappear and we were off again. My heart starting to beat a normal rhythm again.

The rhino exiting the river a little too close for comfort.

The plan was to take the canoe to the trailhead so we can begin our walk through the jungle. Unfortunately we soon discovered the banks of the river had been so eroded during the monsoons that the trailhead was inaccessible. Floating another 500 meters or so on the rickety canoe got us to a point on the river where we could disembark, too bad there wasn’t a trail in sight.

Just after disembarking from the boat Ramsey started to tell us about all the people who’ve been injured, mamed, killed out in the jungle, this included the guides. Mind you he and the assistant guide did have a wooded stick. A wooden stick!! At this point I was wishing for a large bore rifle.  After the doom and gloom speech he started to tell us what to do if we got into trouble. For a rhino we needed to keep very quiet and stick close together, when/if charged we should look for a tree to climb. If we came across an angry sloth bear (Chitwan has the largest population in the world) then we needed to stick together and make a lot of noise, useless to climb a tree. I should probably also point out that we knew this was dangerous and were required by our tour company to sign a release of liability form indicating our guide strongly advised us not to take the walk and doing so was at our own risk. Apparently there’s been quite a few incidents and a very nasty one witnessed by our own guide.

Langur monkey up a tree.

So we’ve been warned and we’re on the way, scared $@%^less I might add.  Ugh and “by on the way” I mean we’re literally hacking our way blindly through dense vegetation as there was no trail to even follow. So let me sum up our situation; we’re not on a trail, we can’t see anything as the vegetation is so dense, we’re in a jungle with tigers, rhinos, bears and king cobras, our guide Ramsey hadn’t been there in months (I asked ), and nobody else knew where we were dropped off except a canoe driver who was all of 12 years old.

Sure, this looks like a trail.

About 10 minutes into the walk we heard our first loud noise very close to us, my heart nearly jumped out of my body and ran for the hills. The loud noise turned out to be a bunch of langur monkeys jumping around. My heart jumped back into my body and I had a good laugh, still feeling very exhilarated. About 45 minutes into the walk we found a very fresh Bengal tiger footprint. We also saw a tree where a tiger had scratched-up to mark its territory. Seeing this fresh evidence was great although it really hit me that we were walking around where a tiger could be just steps away.

Bengal Tiger footprint

Tiger claw marks on a tree. Better the tree than me.

Soon after the tiger footprint Ramsey found the actual trail and we were off on the right direction. It was very-very hot and humid and by this time all of us were sweating bullets. I also forgot to mention the leeches. Pamela had a leech go right through the seam of her trekking pants and our guide had a leech on his head. With the heat, leeches and sweat we walked for a couple more hours on the main trails.

Saying it was hot and humid is an understatement

The rest of the three hour walk was pretty uneventful. We saw some deer, monkeys and a lot of bugs - big bugs. The park service is putting in a large road for a jeep safari so there was some large equipment in a couple of places which I have to imagine would have scared most of the animals away.

Pamela and Ramsey

At the end of the walk we were met by a jeep which drove us over to the Elephant Breeding Center where we all got to play with a baby elephant. This was a nice way to end a very exhilarating day.  If asked to do it all over again I think I would. It was a good day (we lived) and definitely a chance to feel like you’re part of a real nature show on the Discovery Channel.

Pamela playing with the baby elephant. She was just four months old.

Alex saying hi to the baby.

Checking out the elephants at the Elephant Breeding Center.

The rest of our photos from Chitwan can be found here: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/ChitwanNationalParkNepal?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Cheers for Now -

Pamela and Dave

Tiger Kingdom - Chiang Mai

Sitting with a tiger named Jackie Chan

Like an interactive zoo just for tiger lovers! Tiger Kingdom is absolutely amazing, and like nowhere else in the western world. This place lets you get right up close and personal with the tigers. Of course, you have to sign a disclaimer before buying your tickets, stating that you are entering at your own risk, that they are not responsible for your safety. It’s a pretty humbling feeling you get when cuddling up to a 180kg tiger cat (and this is still only half of its potential size when fully grown) as after all, even though they have been raised by humans in captivity, they are all still wild animals, and their natural instinct is to hunt and kill.
                             

SAFETY - Of course, there are basic safety precautions you have to abide by, and listen to the trainers at all times, as they spend a lot of time with these animals, and know how there behaviors better than anyone – so they can keep a look out for you, and get you out of the way, or distract the tigers where needed.

With the "small" sleeping tigers.

THE TIGER’S EXPERIENCE - It’s an indescribable feeling, giving a tiger a bear hug, and resting your head on its stomach, listening to its heart, and hear it breathing in and out, and its stomach gurgling. You are putting yourself in absolute trust of the tiger, that it’s not going to decide it’s had enough of you, and turn around bring you down in one strike of its massive paw. For the most part, they are super sleepy, and just laze around (especially in the heat of the middle of the day) so many people think that they are drugged etc. in order for them to be around people safely, but after spending a few hours there, you start to see the tigers in all the states of their daily cycle. Sometimes they sleep, but that very same tiger 5 minutes later can be pouncing up on a table to get the palm leaves the trainer is hovering around for them (just like  a cat chasing after a ball of string). So you see, that they just sleep when they want, and play when they want, everything revolves around there natural life/sleep cycle. If they do get too overactive, then they can take that particular tiger out into another caged area, and switch it out with another one, as they have many tigers there. This also means that the tigers get some nice time off to themselves, and aren’t being patted and loved all day long, even though you can clearly see that the tigers do truly love human interaction, just like a dog or a cat. Remember that these ones have been bred in captivity, and it’s all that they are used to.

Pamela and the tiger called Jackie Chan

ENDANGERED SPECIES - Bengal tigers are extremely endangered, and very rare to see in the wild, as there are less than 2,500 left in the world, due to poaching, and destruction of their habitats. So this breeding program helps increase numbers of Bengal tigers, and populate our zoos, increasing our knowledge and research on them  – helping this endangered species.

This looks like a good place to lay your head.

Relaxing with the 4-6 week old cubs.

OUR EXPERIENCE - Upon getting to Tiger Kingdom, you can choose what size tigers you want to play with, you can buy a package that includes all sizes if you want: newborn, smallest, small, medium and big. Once you’ve got your ticket, your into the park to visit these amazing animals.

The smallest tigers at Tiger Kingdom. 

We originally played with the smallest, and big, but after visiting the newborns, I (PW) had to play with them as well, and this was for me the best experience by far.  It takes out the humbling and fearsome side of it somewhat, and just lets you enjoy playing with one of the cutest baby animals you will ever see. Seeing how small and vulnerable they are, after just playing with their parents – knowing just how big these babies are going to grow up to be is amazing. They really are like oversized kittens, only with much sharper teeth, and bigger claws!

This tiger loved it when we rubbed his belly.

The small-medium tigers are probably the most dangerous to be around, as they are still young enough to be so playful just like a kitten or puppy, but they are still big enough that if they playfully bite you, it does really hurt, and can be dangerous. ( I got quite a few scratches and teeth marks, but nothing serious!)

You normally visit the tigers for 10-15 mins in small groups of 5 -8 people at a time. But when I went back to visit the newborns, no one else was there – so I had a room full of six 1-1.5 month old tigers all to myself. Dave didn’t want to pay to visit these ones, as they weren’t active enough to interest him so much. So, he did a great job of videoing me with the babies instead! 

Check out the two videos in this post if you haven't already done so. They will show you more than words could ever explain how happy and excited I was to be with the baby tigers. If you are an animal lover, you will want to be on the next plane to Chiang Mai, Thailand.

You've got to see the rest of our pics from Tiger Kingdom: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/TigerKingdom?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Possibly one of the most incredible things you could ever experience in life!

In October we're going to India for a two week tiger safari. Hopefully we'll be able to spot these magnificent animals in the wild and post some pics to prove it. 


Cheers for Now - 

Pamela and Dave