2657 Productions News

We get up extremely early and head out to find out if we have managed to get a Jeep for ourselves. After waiting for some time, we find out that Amy’s pressuring got us one, and that it would be here in a few minutes.

It’s freezing—even for me—and being in an open Jeep doesn’t really help any. Still, it’s a good adventure, and bundled in the wool blankets provided by our hotel, we venture into the forest keeping our fingers crossed that we would get to see a tiger lounging around somewhere.

Pee break… but still on the lookout for tigers….

Part of me can’t figure out how realistic the experience is. We have a driver and a guide. Every so often, they stop and listen for either a tiger’s call or the call of some other animal. A particularly still area indicates that the tiger is likely to have been in the area, and thus, has frightened the other animals away. Another telltale sign, supposedly, are the tiger footprints on the side of the road—apparently tigers like the soft sandy road better than tromping through the bushes.

My opinion? “Well, you know how Indian people like to stamp things and ‘attest’ them, right? I bet they’ve just made some stamps of tiger paw prints and there’s a guy hiding in the bushes making these trails to make us feel like we’re really hot on the tiger’s trail.” I’m kidding, but later seeing two men taking a cast of a tiger’s paw print only helps to add to the amusement of the concept.

So, we see no tigers, but we still have a lot of fun. We see some monkeys swinging from tree to tree. We see lots of deer, and a few peacocks. We get to experience at least the thrill of the potential to see a tiger in the ride, sometimes going on high-speed races through the forest based on updated insider info from other safari guides in the park. In the end, none of the trips that morning got to see a tiger, so at least we weren’t left out on anything.

After getting back to the hotel, we have a late breakfast and try to warm up. Then we pack up and check out and get ready to head to Jaipur. We’ve heard the roads are nicer, so we shouldn’t have to spend too much time driving.

On the way, of course, Raj continues to cater to Henny’s curiosity. He seems to have picked up on her fascination with water, so when we pass by a lake that is mostly dried up, we pull over to take a look at the women doing their washing and the buffaloes grazing. We are quickly surrounded by a crowd of children in their colorful Rajasthani clothing. We take a picture, and are quickly back on the road.

A little while later, Raj slows down to a crawl.

“Ma-ma. Do you know what that is?” he asks, pointing to a little building on the side of the road.

“No.” “It’s a school. Do you want to see?” “No. We shouldn’t disturb them in school. Can we do that?” “No problem Ma-ma. Come. Let’s see.”

This is actually two different grades (as you can probably tell by the different size of the children). The school is literally on the side of the road, and there are workmen right next to the children puffing away on cigarettes while they are taking a break….

So, we make another impromptu stop. Out in the dusty grounds of the school, there are several groups of children seated on little rugs in very tidy rows. They are separated by standards, and you can see as the standards get higher, the enrollment lowers. Apparently, during the winter, they sit outside since the classrooms are too cold. During the summer, they sit inside since it’s too hot outside. We get a chance to see what the two classrooms look like for this school, and one of the girls in one of the upper-level classes reads a paragraph to us.

It’s nice to have Raj as a driver, because I’m sure we’re seeing a lot more than we would get to see simply as tourists, and his enthusiasm and curiosity about Henny’s enthusiasm and curiosity makes even the repetitious drives fun.

We get to Jaipur in the early evening and check into our hotel. After our last three hotels, this place really seems quite dingy, but it’ll be more than sufficient for our short three nights there.

After we check in and clean up, we get some dinner at a small place across the street from our hotel and we decide to check out a Hindi movie at Jaipur’s famous “Raj Mandir Theater.” I’m pretty bored by it—I actually start falling asleep!—and I’m afraid to hear Henny and Karin’s reaction. I know Axle is familiar with Hindi movies, so I’m sure that she’s enjoying it fine, but then to my surprise, at the intermission, Henny and Karin start raving about it and want to stay for the rest of the film! Who knew?!?

Anyway, we head back to the hotel to chill for the night and to get ready for exploring forts the following day….