DELHI, INDIA’S CAPITAL, IS ANCIENT: few other cities can match its 1000-year history. It’s crowded: think 32-million humans, and keep counting. And it’s green: someone planted lots of lovely leafy trees a long, long time ago. But something else I didn’t know (and you probably didn’t either) is that there are actually TWO of them. Two Delhis …
There’s spacious, modern New Delhi – created by the British Raj as their imperial HQ, and littered with impressive monuments, forts, palaces and parks. Then, right alongside, there’s the walled-in Old City – a labyrinth of narrow lanes lined with crumbling shop-fronts, bustling markets, and wall-to-wall people dodging the cycle-rickshaws that rush hither and thither, carting goods and tourists through the chaos.
We hired a convoy of these rickety taxis, along with their hard-pedalling drivers, and spent the next hour weaving in and out of traffic, sampling up-close the sights, sounds and aromas of Old Delhi!
What can I tell you, except that this hair-raising ride was eye-poppingly, heart-stoppingly wonderful! And something YOU should do yourself, one day!
However, right now I’m itching to tell you about something even more eye-popping and heart-stopping that occurred just a few days later …
I’m not sure what time our sleeper-train (the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels) squealed to a halt in the small town of Sawai Madhopur. But it was early dawn (5am) when we bleary-eyed Kiwis made our way onto the platform and into a couple of open-top safari trucks.
Ahead was a wildlife jaunt in the mountainous Ranthambore National Park – a famous animal sanctuary covering 1400 km2 of thick jungle, and home to hyenas, leopards, jackals, bears, deer, and squadrons of exotic birds.
It’s also the best place in India for spotting the elusive wild tigers!
With the help of an expert safari guide, we eyeballed a Blackbuck antelope … an eagle (can’t remember exactly what) … a wounded wild boar (had a nasty gash down its shoulder, caused by a tiger?) … some cute little spotted bambis … a grey mongoose trying to outrun us on the road … a flock of turquoise peacocks … a shiny, black-faced turtle … some energetic monkeys … and a sunbathing crocodile.
But what about TIGERS …?
Well, the other truck (with half our group aboard) was bouncing along the track a few minutes ahead of us – and, sadly, they just missed seeing what we saw. Believe it or not, a huge male tiger appeared suddenly up ahead and began padding silently towards us. We watched, scarcely daring to breathe, as he got closer and closer … finally passing right alongside our truck. Apparently, a serving of warm, tasty tourists didn’t tempt him in the slightest. He paused briefly to squat and relieve himself in the grass behind the vehicle … then disappeared, just as suddenly, back into the dense undergrowth.
Incredible? That’s an under-statement!
What a superb, magnificent, powerful animal!
He was the dominant male in that area, according to the guide, weighing in at 250kg. He’d nearly died a few months earlier (after eating a hard-to-digest porcupine). And, in case we had any doubts about this tiger being really wild, the guide reported that our big beautiful cat had recently killed a couple of villagers who were trying to protect their cattle, plus a park ranger who forgot the rules when stepping out of his truck!
And (gulp!) he’d been SO CLOSE we could’ve TOUCHED HIM!
