India / North - Rajasthan / Nov 2004

Our itenarary was packed into 4 days. I don't think this can be accomplished if you do not have an inside view to India and some help. Our secret was my brother who is based in Delhi. He organized an amazing journey for us.

We started from Delhi by taking the late night train to Ranthambore National Forest. Now, we also in parallel, dispatched our driver and car from Delhi to meet us at Ranthambore (this is because you don't want to burn out in the drive trip right from the start .. the train is a lot more comfortable and quicker).

Ranthambore is known for its tiger sanctuary. Unfortunately, didn't get to see any. We did see a variety of wildlife including a fox who had made a fresh kill (unfortunate baby deer). You will be out in jeeps .. this is the real wild !! You can sense the tension in the air when there is a tiger in the area. BTW> Was just reviewing older pics and noticed that I had a hat on .. this could only have happened if I had underestimated how cold it would have been. At 4.00 am in Nov, it appears I was freezing .. so learn from my mistake.

I normally don't chance anything buy the 'lap of luxury' when staying in India. This time, however, we stayed in a hotel that was a palace that was converted into a hotel / government resort. This is the only hotel within the national forest itself. There is a group of hotels called Neemrana hotels that operate a set of heritage hotels. Check them out. This will for sure, give you a very unique experience of india. Even being Indian, I thought this was unique. These hotels are not 5 star hotels. The palaces have been preserved as much as possible so that you get an authentic experience of our culture. Imagine staying in the 'kings room ..'. These hotels won't break the bank either.

We stayed at the Hill Fort Hotel in Kesroli. I will tell you an amazing experience here. This hotel overlooks a village .. wake up before dawn and watch from the top the entire population around you slowly come alive. First the cocks, then a few people getting started farming activities, then the sunrise .... just truly amazing.

From Kesroli, we drove to Jaipur. Enjoyed a couple of amazing palaces there as well as some ethnic food / shows. Drive from there, back to Delhi .. again, the things you see ... ;-)

Left : Inter village bus. People learn to survive .. dont they ? And what's bizarre, this was not the worst loaded one that we saw.

Right: Fill 'er up !! I did a double take when I walked into this sight. From the angle I first saw this, I could not see the tank, rather, the guy was fueling the camel's back-side.

The things some kings do for love .. of course, the Taj Mahal is cliche.. but take a look at this. This is a place near Jaipur. This is the ceiling of one of the Queen's rooms. It is a set of mirrors that are all angled so that a candle lit in a specific corner (the reflections of which) would make the ceiling appear like the night sky.

Marble inlay (were gemstones embedded).

These dudes invented air-conditioning through natural methods.