Leg Four: Tigerland
I have always loved tigers. Actually I have always loved animals. I remember my first favorite animal being the elephant; I probably drove my parents crazy by re-watching Dumbo and Babar when I was little. After that, I switched to the horse, which has stubbornly remained in my heart. At the same time however, I think tigers are absolutely breathtaking.
Hm, maybe it’s because people who could never say my name correctly just pegged me with the nickname ‘Tiger’? Who knows?
Anyway, one of the main reasons I became dead set on doing a tour in India was because of the tigers. It saddens me to think that they might be extinct in the wild during my lifetime, and I decided that trying to see one would be my personal goal for this trip.
Taking a train to Bandhavgargh National Park, on the other hand, was memorable in its own way.
Cabin fever! |
Our first overnight train was spent in blissful ignorance. Trains run on ‘Delhi Time’, meaning they are either exactly on time or, as is more often the case, running hours late. The train from Agra was 50 minutes late, and we defended our luggage from questionable wet spots on the platform, hawking salesmen and grabby beggar children wagon train style- by shoving it all in a circle blocked by our bodies.
We were picked up at 5 am from the train station and driven to the Mowgli Resort. It was a breath of fresh air being out the city- literally! I could breathe without hacking up lung and my chest didn’t hurt anymore.
Our resort was out in the middle of nowhere, which was a welcome relief at first. We relaxed the first day and took a few walks around. It was great not being stared at nor having to worry about getting pick-pocketed. There were many ridiculous and often inappropriate games we thought up to pass the time.
The next morning dawned bright and early. We wrapped ourselves in some blankets, clamored into a jeep and took off for the forest. Immediately upon entering it we saw a rare Barking Deer, common deer, wild boars, peacocks, jackals and monkeys.
But our eyes were still scanning the brush for any sign of the king of the beasts. The only thing we had seen so far was a paw print in the sand.
Paw prints in the sand |
Just as we were giving up hope, we rounded a corner and saw a group of jeeps at a standstill. Tourists were hanging over the edges and contorting themselves while pointing their cameras off into the grass.
As we pulled up, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust, and then I saw him. His stripes were doing their work because he was practically hidden, lying under a low growing tree. He was looking in the direction of the commotion calmly, apparently used to the paparazzi treatment. Though my camera wasn’t able to catch his face as easily as my eyes could, he was wearing this look that seemed to say, “Yeah? So what are you going to do?”. If you’ve ever owned a snobby housecat, you know this look. Now imagine it several hundred pounds bigger.
Eventually the tiger stood up and wandered back into the forest. I was so ecstatic. I had actually seen a live tiger! In the wild! In India!
Hide and seek with the tiger |
Hide and seek with the tiger, Part II |
As we were driving away, we passed our rival, Charles. I should call him “Gary Oak” because that’s what he was like to the 6 of us. We met by chance on the train to the park and he told us all about how he’d gone on safari in South Africa. Honestly, I am sure that he is a swell guy once you get to know him, but he was a bit too smarmy for us NOT to tease him a little bit about it.
The tiger we saw that morning was the only one we saw. I would be lying if I said I was disappointed, yet I keep reminding myself how lucky we all were. Some people were at the resort for days without seeing a single one.
So yes, all is well that ends well.
Oh wait, there is that bit about the hellish train ride back to Delhi. To be continued…
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