Once we saw the condition of the bus from Delhi (It wouldn’t have made the grade for a ‘chicken bus’ in Guatemala.) we knew that a taxi – expense be damned – was the only sensible travel option for the seven-hour trip north to Jim Corbett National Park in Ramnagar. Our turbaned driver, Mr. Singh – all Sikh men are named Singh – explained that there are five things that identify a Sikh: a bracelet, special underwear (way too much information), a beard and long hair worn under a turban, wooden combs for the hair, and a knife. His turban, unwound, he said is five meters long. After some searching he dropped us at the door of the Golden Tusk resort. It isn’t located as near the park’s main gate as other places but it is far and away the nicest place we have stayed in India; nice room, attentive staff and decent food.
One of the prettier birds, blue-throated barbet
If we had taken only one safari, the expense and inconvenience of traveling to Jim Corbett National Park would have been in vain. We didn’t really expect to see a tiger; there are only 200 or so scattered over 1300 square kilometers. We were hoping to see more of the 500 bird species the park boasts. But from the start the cold, foggy weather doomed the safari, though “safari” hardly describes three hours driving the same circuit in the Bijrani sector over and over. Our guide was more interested in searching for phantom tigers and other mammals than stopping for birds.
We'll be late for breakfast
Animals are unpredictable, this we know, which is why we booked the Golden Tusk Resort for four nights. Today’s safari to the nearby Jihrani area was much better. So was the weather. Both our guide and driver worked hard to make the morning a success, which made all of the difference. We saw several elephants, great scenery and numerous birds. But still no tigers, only their “pugmarks” or footprints, possibly from last week’s man-killer. We were late returning for breakfast – an Asian bull elephant blocked the road for half and hour – but they were waiting for us at the restaurant. They had nothing else to do; it turns out we were the only guests last night.
