Week 21: More Manic Madness and a Merry Magical Christmas
Week 21: More Manic Madness and a Merry Magical Christmas
Panorama of Bundhi.
Sorry for the blog being late, though I’m sure now one really cares, I’ve been without internet for the past four days doing Safaris through Ranthambore National park. Home of the ever illusive tigers , but more on that later.
The week began in Udaipur though I fairly quickly moved on towards bundhi. Udaipur is for many people their favourite lace in India, for me it wasn’t that. It was a nice town, and a good place to relax and wander, but it was nothing compared to the insane intoxication of Mumbai. That said I met many very nice people, got some writing done and enjoyed my time there.
I hopped on an evening train and met some lovely people, Indian and Nepali who helped me figure out which station to get of at, then I was a quick tuk-tuk ride away from a charming little guesthouse in the shadows of the city palace with a lovely man made lake behind it.
The palace viewed from my Haveli.
Gates to the Palace
Bundhi was an incredibly charming town. The first day I had a relaxing writing day and took a couple of hours to wander through the small town, talking to everyone who stopped me and even meeting a kid who claimed to be a magician. I had some time and a few rupees to spare so I sat down and I must say the kid was a whizz with a coin in his hand, try as I might I could not figure out how he did it. Though those skills did make me worry about being pickpocketed or some such, but of course nothing like that happened and he was just a nice kids pleased to meet me, try out his limited English, and show me his tricks. Like all my experiences in India really, where I have laid small pieces of trust I have always been rewarded.
I wandered to the edge of town and out along a rode through the rolling hills of Rajastan, walking by stone workshops and quarry’s and drawing my share of stairs. I’ll never feel like such a celebrity again (probably) as I do in India. So many people point, stare and want photos, and this past week is full of moments of that.
Paintings in the
Palace
More paintings.
At any rate my second and last day in Bundhi was more spectacular. I walked up to the city palace and explored the small pieces of this wondrous building that were open to the public. It is full of amazing paintings and just incredible architecture. So much of the building was closed off, when I begged to be allowed to explore more they shook their head and said that I’d never survive. Turns out much of this abandoned palace has been conquered and occupied by massive populations of bats, monkeys and poisonous snakes. I still wanted to sneak off, but thought better of it. I found a perch on the outer walls of the palace and spent a nice 2 hours writing before heading up to the fort a few hours before sunset.
Monkeys Everywhere!
I of course rented a large beating stick, as the monkeys are said to be quite aggressive. Don’t worry I only had to beat some rocks to keep them away from me. The fort was quite a hike up and I almost turned back, but boy am I glad I didn’t. I got up there and found myself more or less alone, staring down at the incredible palace, the incredible city, and from the other side a house where Rudyard Kipling spent a good amount of time writing beside a lovely lake. I watched the sunset from up top of this ancient fort which nature is in the process of reclaiming.
So curious.
Me with my stick.
One of many courtyards.
Eating
Sunset over bundhi
One of Three step wells,
sadly dried out.
Sunset and sexy.
Monkeys on their perch
After the stunning sunset I managed to catch sight of a mongoose then walked into a massive group of monkeys. They weren’t very aggressive and seemed quite curious about me, watching and approaching slowly. Monkeys are everywhere here in India, like squirrels back home, but I still find them so fascinating.
The next morning I boarded a local bus from Bundhi, towards Sawai Madhopur. The ride was entertaining, though I think the locals found it more entertaining than even me. I definitely got the feeling that I was the entertainment on the bus, though everyone was very friendly, offering food, drinks and friendly if nervous smiles. Our bus meandered through tiny villages and gave me a chance at a glimpse of the other side of india, away from the madness of the cities, into the rural life. It was a fascinating ride and perhaps the best moments came when several young children (3-5) just seemed fascinated with me and started touching my face and hands exploring, I honestly think I may have been their first experience with a white person up close Their parents tried to stop them at first, but I made it clear I didn’t mind, and despite no overlap in language, I feel like I made some friends on the ride.
I got to my hotel in Sawai Madhopur then had to go on a fairly major quest to find an ATM. It took about 2 hours of night walking but I ended up successful and was able to book my way onto a safari through the hotel for the next morning. Ranthambhore is famous for their tigers, but tigers don’t like being seen and sadly, I did not fully see one, though a small blur of orange fur, disappearing into the long grass followed by a roar gave me a quick glimpse.
Awesome deer.
Awesome tree
I took 6 half day safaris in all, some on canters (20 seat vehicles) and some on Gypsy’s (6 seater open air jeeps) I saw countless things. Deer, crocs, owls, eagles, boar, gazelle, antelope, and even a sloth bear which was pretty amazing. The scenery too was incredible although the foggy and cold conditions made landscape photography difficult.
Crocodile
Monkeys in the tree.
Deer having a spa mud bath for mating season
Sloth Bear. Shy but Awesome
The National bird of India
Sunset over the Lake.
Cliffs of Ranthambhore.
Owls!
Tiger Print
Spotted deer.
Four way fight between monkeys, pigeons, parakeets and peacocks
But there’s always time for sex.
The redhead is awesome
The best safari’s were the two I booked myself, at the local booking office which is an adventure in itself. Every day they open at 1 pm for the afternoon safari booking, and my first visit I found myself the only non Indian person, sandwiched in with dozen of booking agents holding dozens of photocopy’s of western passports and fighting for places. The padlocked cage door is open and there’s a mad rush. I’m laughing it all off and feeling overwhelmed, but managed to get there about 6th in line, of course each booking agent is booking for 20 people. Then a strange thing happened. They smiled at me, said “Guest ids God” and dragged me to the front of the line and helped me get a booking on a Gypsy in a good zone. I think they respected my willingness to come down there and do it all with a smile on my face, but t was amazing. The thing I’ve found about the madness in India, is that in most cases it works, an the people do it with love in their hearts. If you put in place any of these systems or places in Canada people would riot, would push and shove each other and everyone would leave in a foul mood angry at everyone else, here it’s all done with a smile on the face and a sort of joy. It’s wonderful in many ways. Of course this is just the tourism type systems, there are many madness’ here, that do not work for the locals which is to be expected in a very poor and overpopulated nation.
On the first safari I booked myself I saw the sloth bear, who ran away quickly, so the picture is very limited. The second safari I booked myself is where I got the fleeting glimpse of the back of a tiger and then heard the roar. We waited for her to come out, but of course the second we sighted her, one of my fellow safarier’s made a lot of noise and many other jeeps pulled up, so I cant blame the tiger for not coming out. I offered to go out as bait, and lure her out, but they said they’d drive away if I got out of the jeep and I thought at best I had a 50 % chance of surviving the encounter…(not by fighting, I would befriend the tiger.)
This bird was on my head.
My other moment of fame came when at a rest stop in the parks, and a tree pie, this orange bird landed on my head and stayed put for a full two minutes (without pooping thank god) Instantly at least 50 cameras turned to me and just kept clicking. One Indian guy promised to email me photo’s but I haven’t gotten them yet
So I left sort of half satisfied after 4 days at the most upscale hotel I’ve stayed in, (the cheapest option for the area.) I hopped on a morning train this morning bound for Agra, home of the Taj Mahal.
The train was a most two hours late and a cold streak has swept through northern India, so I got a lot of stares for sitting outside in shorts and a tshirt (all my pants were dirty). That said a nice Indian guy sat down beside me and spent an hour talking to me, and yet again I was struck by how open, friendly, and helpful the people here seem. The opposite of what I’d been told to expect.
The ride passed easily enough once the train got there and I arrived to the madness of Agra. The touts here are more persistent, but still I find them not to be a problem. as long as you keep a smile on your face so do they. I’m now staying in a lovely little guesthouse near the Taj Mahal that has the most welcoming and social atmosphere of any of the places I’ve stayed in India. They even have decorated for Christmas with two tiny trees and lots of streamers. It’s nice.
Tomorrow will mark my first Christmas away from home, and honestly I’ve been feeling a little homesick over the past few days, despite the Kingston fire, the Ontario ice storm, and the awesome things I’ve been doing here. Still, I’m glad to be doing this incredible trip and it should be interesting to visit the Taj Mahal for the first time tomorrow. I hope everyone around the world has a great Christmas and that power makes it back to Ontario and the rest of Canada before midnight. Enjoy the holiday season. I know I will, if in a different way than I ever have before.
This song always makes me think about writing, specifically characters in my finished trilogy of books. It scored an incredibly vivid dream I had years ago that set the path for a few major supporting characters in those books. I just adore the song too.
Reading Log: Shantaram is a long book, but damn good. Still plugging away, along with half the other tourists in India.
