Sorry for the absentee blogger... internet access was sketchy in Rathambore Park (RP) (not that I'm complaining...we were in the middle of rural 3rd world after all!). RP was amazing.. and YEAH!! We saw a tiger!! Let's just get that out of the way. He wasn't as up close and personal as we would have liked, but we can't complain - we met a guy who has taken 36 safaris and still hasn't seen one!! Also on the checklist were: crocodiles, peacocks, parrots, langoor monkeys (only found on the Indian subcontinent), mongoose, wild boars, 300kg deer... very, very cool, and all in a Laura Croft Tomb Raider environment, created by a fantastic fort ruin from the 900s.
We decided to 'rough it' in tents at RP... tents complete with cement floor, shower, and choice of heat or a/c. Luxus as this may seem, the outdoor phenomenon was made very real by the company that we had in the tent with us!! On the first morning, picture this: I wake up, yawn and roll over languishingly, rested and relaxed.. To find deb crouched in the corner of our safari tent, flashlight in hand like a weapon. She says "good morning, I don't mean to alarm you BUT..." a mouse had skittered across right above our heads INside our tent 2h prior, and deb had been on vigil ever since!Ick. This is one reason why 30,000 people die of rabies in India every year.
Now, a word on the next bit of unwanted 'companionship': we went on a tour through this fantastic fort noted above, which is inhabited by a few people still (who the government are sadly trying to toss out), but also hundreds of these langoor monkeys (medium size, about 40lb I'd say, see pix). They are totally used to humans so they let you get pretty close, and one even may be tricked into thinking they are cute! As we explored the fort in the company of a wonderful family from Delhi, one of these Scheisters comes galloping along, and reaches out and takes a swipe at the unsuspecting little 8 year old girl in the group! Thankfully, it didn't break skin. We get over this mini attack, and not 5 mins later, her 15 year old brother has THREE of these little ****ers hanging off his arm, thinking he's got food!! No big deal for him though- he's been bitten by rhesus monkeys twice before, at home in Delhi.!! And THEN, as we are walking away and think we are safe, another one comes charging down the path full tilt at us. Being the responsible adult I am, I scream and reflexively jump between the 8 and 15 year old for cover!! I was so embarrassed... The kids were both taking this far more in stride than me. This is another shining source of rabies deaths in India.
The third unwelcome visitor came the following night in our tent (this one is not known to carry the big R, I don't think...am I obsessed?). As we were preparing for bed, Deb reaches up and grabs her sweater off the hanger, followed by the loudest ear piercing scream I've ever heard her make (I remind you we've been hanging out for 30 years)... next thing I know Deb is hiding behind me, pacing side to side in a very PostTraumaticStressDisorder kind of way, and there is a lizard on our bed wearing Deb's sweater! The cycle then went as follows: lizard shifts, deb screams, I scream, we wait for someone to come to our rescue, no one comes. Ultimately I had the wherewithall to take a picture of the event (it's not every day a reptile tries your clothes on for size!), upon which it scurried away and spent the night up in the corner.
Aaah.. India.
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