No lions, but tigers and bears

Jaipur - Day 12(? or is it 11? losing track...)

June 4

Yesterday, I woke up at the crack of dawn in Ranthambore. I had to be at the hotel reception area by 6 AM sharp. I got there five minutes early, but our safari was detained as we waited for the other passengers from my hotel (two sour-faced French tourists - do the French have any expressions besides sour and disdainful?). We were headed to Ranthambore Tiger Reserve to see if we could spot any tigers.

By the time our rattletrap canter (basically a large, open-topped jeep that seats about 15 people) jostled into the forest, it was almost 7 AM. The guide warned us against talking, as it would scare away the animals. I wondered what the animals thought about the horrible din our squeaking, roaring beast of a vehicle made. Apparently, it doesn't bother them.

We cruised through the forest, spotting deer, peacocks and monkeys. But no tigers. We stopped a few times to "listen to the forest for the sound of the tiger". I thought these dramatic pauses smacked of cheap dinner theater, but still, I listened. 

After about two hours, we started heading back. No tigers had been spotted. We were all feeling a bit dejected even though we knew seeing tigers is a crap shoot (the enormous forest holds only 46 tigers, notoriously private and solitary animals). Suddenly, one of the passengers in the back of the canter stood up, shouting in Hindi. He had spotted something, but I didn't know what. "Baloo!" he finally shouted clearly, pointing. Ah! A bear! (Thanks, "Jungle Book"!)

Our canter lumbered towards the spot where he indicated, and sure enough, there were two black bears sniffing among the rocks. We watched silently, snapping photos feverishly, until the pair waddled off into the woods and out of sight. So the safari wasn't a total bust after all! We saw some wild bears!

Satisfied, we all settled back into our seats and our canter roared to life. We jerked forward, but our back wheel just spun wildly in the loose dirt. We kicked up a lot of dust, but we weren't going anywhere. The driver got out to look under the vehicle, and we could hear his muffled yells in Hindi. He didn't like what he saw, from his tone.

It turns out we were stuck upon a huge rock. No amount of revving the engine or pushing budged the canter. Luckily, another canter happened to roll by and our guide motioned it over. We were all herded into the other canter, where we squeezed in and watched the men attempt to release our canter. As they worked, someone from the new canter called out, "Baloo!" Sure enough, another set of black bears was poking around the rocks. The men glanced at them nervously and picked up the pace of their rescue mission. Luckily, the bears didn't seem to notice them, or didn't care. They continued sniffing around and left soon after.

As soon as the excitement over seeing the bears had subsided, we settled back into our shared, cramped canter. The sun was getting higher in the sky, and the day was growing warmer. The group was starting to grow restless when we suddenly heard an outburst by a large number of birds in the forest nearby. A good number of them flew off in the opposite direction and there was, for a moment, stillness. Then came a horrible, deafening roar. Everyone in the canter froze. The roar had emanated from the forest that wasn't 50 feet from where we were stranded. The exposed men working on the car paused and raised their heads in the direction of the roar.

When nothing happened, the men resumed their work, and after another 15 minutes, managed to free our canter from its rocky imprisonment. We all cheered (even the French couple nearly cracked smiles) and piled back into it.

That is the true story of my tiger-less tiger safari.

Now I am sitting in a room in Jaipur, the "pink city". It is one of my favorite cities so far. It's what I hoped all the other cities would be - a charming mix of colonial and Indian influences. It has a buzzing central market and curious landmarks. Tomorrow, we head off to Agra, home to the famed Taj Mahal. I finally have met up with three of my fellow students! It is so nice to finally have people to talk to!