Ranthambore Wildlife Park, Rajastan

Ranthambore is about a 5 hour drive from Jaipur. When we arrived we had lunch at the hotel and went on our first of two wildlife safaris! The big attraction is supposed to be tigers, but we didn't get to see any of those. We did get to see a lot of monkeys and deer though, and a crocodile, and the park itself is absolutely beautiful. The next safari was the next morning at sunrise. Ranthambore was actually my favorite overall place of the trip, for the following reasons:

The mountains and fresh air were awesome, especially after living in a desert. It was so nice to be outside in real autumn weather, and to see real trees!











The little town by the park is not very touristy, and our guide was so cool. He went out of his way to show us a Hindu temple in town, and then took us shopping at a place where actual Indian women would buy the fabric for their clothes. We could tell it was local because the owners didn't even speak enough English to bargain their prices, so the guide helped us bargain in Hindi. Then he took us to a pretty cheap souvenier store that donated a portion of its profits to a children's charity. He also answered every question we had about Hinduism and Indian culture.

women on their way to the temple

Our hotel was awesome. It was an old hunting lodge from British colonial days, and if you've ever seen a movie about the British in India, this is exactly what the hotel looked like. There were little tables with umbrellas next to cricket and croquet fields, big porches on the main building, and a hammock that I laid in and read every free moment I had. It was so peaceful and relaxing, which is totally what we needed in the midst of all the chaos that I mentioned before.











Monkeys are cute!