11 January -- Jaipur to Ranthambhore
After a well-deserved lie in this morning and an excellent breakfast at our palace hotel, we said goodbye to the parakeets and went to the Amer Fort, which used to be the Capitol before Jai Singh built Jaipur. Each place that we visit is different from all the others and contains its own part of history. So, this fort was very different from Mehrangarh. Also, it was much more "open" in that you could wander down passageways or up stairs and explore as much as you wanted. The audio tour really enhanced the experience as the "walls" talked throughout (as in "if these walls could talk"). The narrator introduced each place as if it were a person, and then the place told about itself in 1st person. Bonus: there were monkeys and puppies hanging around posing for photos.
We elected not to take the elephant ride up to the fort 1) not wanting to take the extra time and, 2) we had no information on how the elephants were being treated. If we want interaction with elephants we'll find a sanctuary or rescue facility.
We are driving now to Ranthambhore, where the national park/preserve is. Tomorrow's programme is to take both the morning and afternoon driving safari in the hopes of seeing tigers. I'm sure there is plenty of other wildlife to see and learn about as well :p
Interesting drive with areas of hills/mountains/quarries alternating with areas of crops (mustard, hay) and small villages. Oh, and it's Sunday market in the towns, so traffic basically comes to a standstill in those places.
It's sunset and we are now settled into our hotel (another winner) the Ranthambhore Regency. Our meals are all included and there is late afternoon tea/coffee being served out in the pool area. Newer construction with lots of common areas for gathering. Very large mosquitoes but we have good repellant.
