[gd1418]

Thank you NSK. This model of Olympus has interchangeable lens? And won't putting a 75~300 on this would have balancing issues?

Originally Posted by NSK123

Nice photographs. They are really good. It reminds me about getting 75-300mm lens for my E-PL1.

[gd1418]

The details of cost of boarding, lodging & jeep safaris in Ranthambhore organised by Jungle View Resort for me, is given below. Please do remember that the rates for Christmas & New Year differ; meaning the packages are more expensive.

I must mention here a fact. I like to spend the least on lodging as the concept is that we have to come back to sleep in the night. Rest of the day we are out sight-seeing. Hence I always try to take a room with extra bed so that we 4 can manage. Most of the times we are only 3 - Wife, I & daughter. Then we don't need the extra bed. Based on this principle, the cost was worked out for me. The jeep safaris that we undertook were on sharing basis. The cost for exclusive Jeep per trip was Rs.4500/- and the maximum number of persons is six.

Room - Three nights & Four days

Rooms on AP - 1500 x 4 x 3 = Rs. 18000/-

Jeep Safari

3rd Oct - Eve Safari - 3 persons - 750 x 3 = Rs. 2250/-

4th Oct - Morn Safari - 4 persons - 750 x 4 = Rs. 3000/-

4th Oct - Eve Safari - 2 persons - 750 x 2 = Rs. 1500/-

5th Oct - Morn Safari - 4 persons - 750 x 4 = Rs. 3000/-

5th Oct - Eve Safari - 2 persons - 750 x 2 = Rs. 1500/-

6th Oct - Morn Safari - 4 persons - 750 x 4 = Rs. 3000/-

Total - Rs. 14250/-
------------------------

Grand Total - 18000 + 14250 = Rs. 32250/-

[gd1418]

6th October, 2010 - 12:00 hrs

We checked out from the resort. the only settlement was for the laundry bills. Rest was all prepaid. Brought the car in and loaded the luggage. The family sat in the vehicle and then I discovered that the rear left tyre was flat. It was a tubeless tyre. Made everyone get out and after inspection discovered it was a nail embedded in the tyre that was the culprit.

Jodhpur was roughly 400 odd Kms. I contemplated that if I fill the air a bit more than what I do, I can run for 300 odd kms, if I don't remove the nail. Then I remembered, while turning in from the Ranthambhore circle, I had seen several tyre repair shops lining either side of the road.

Took out the electric air pump and filled air. I normally keep 32 psi in all the four tyres, but I filled 35 psi in this tyre. Drove out and reached those tyre shops. Enquiring from a few about repairing the puncture did not elicit a satisfactory response. And then I spotted a swanky showroom of Goodyear Tyres just after the circle on the Tonk Road. Went there, it had some sophisticated equipments but wrapped in plastic sheets. I asked the person manning the counter and he responded that they only sell tyres but don't repair punctures as they don't have any person to do that. How disgusting..!

Resigned to fate, decided to head straight to Jodhpur. Now, you all will ask, why did I not install the stepney. It was already 1 pm and I wanted to reach Jodhpur well in time, so did not want to waste further time. Also the this was going to be an unknown route for me. As i proceeded a fe hundred meters, spotted a tyre shop manned by a person who somehow looked quite experienced. On a hunch I stopped and asked him if he could repair the puncture. He took one look at the tyre and the nail, nodded his head and got on with the job like a pro. In 10 minutes flat he had raised the car on the jack, applied soap solution on the whole tyre to check for any other leaks, removed the nail, filed the area, inserted the sealent, cut the extra protruding out, filled air and then again applied the soapy solution to check. After he was fully satisfied, lowered the jack and I was set to go. Charges: Rs.150/-. Peace of mind.

The route I took was - Sawai Madhopur - Tonk - Deoli - Bar. After reaching Bar, then upto Jodhpur was like a daily route. I have done it several times and know probably each curve and speedbrakers.

The route map:

Sawai Madhopur - Tonk



Tonk - Deoli



Deoli - Bar







to be continued.../-

[gd1418]

The Sawai Madhopur - Tonk road was nothing to write about. This two-lane road was being widened to a four-lane, so at most places it was actually a single lane, potholed, gravelled & muddy.

This part of Rajasthan was different than the Rajasthan I had seen & visited. It was almost as if I was driving through Punjab. Lots of water bodies on both sides of the road, buffaloes and village urchins bathing in it and lush green fields on either side. Farming was in full swing. The Rajasthan that I had seen earlier was brown, dusty & dry.

On our way we saw this magnificent Fort atop a hillock - The Khetri Fort built in 1770. founded in the 18th century, Khetri was the second wealthiest Thikama under Jaipur.

Khetri Fort



Driving further down I came across a narrow bridge, that was still under construction, over a water body that was so large that it had waves like that of a sea. Calling it a water body is wrong. It was a huge river - The Banas River. Till then, I did not know that such a huge river as this existed in Rajasthan.

Banas River







Continuing our journey we passed many small villages and hamlets and in one of them saw this modern technology being used to create old traditional farming equipment like plough etc.



Reached one Railway intersection and waited for this goods train to pass.



It was evening and the sun was setting when we neared Jodhpur. As was driving west, saw this mesmerising sunset right in front of me.

Sunset



Reached Jodhpur by 8 pm and straightaway went to my regular haunt - RTDC's Ghoomar and settled into my room. While my wife would go & meet her relatives and do her shoppings, I would give rest to my body over the next few days by getting a Panchtatva oil massage daily for an hour at the Kerala Ayurvedic Vaidyashala spa located in the Hotel.

7th October, 2010

Got up lazily, sauntered into the spa, had a relaxing massage and came back to the room and took a hot water bath. It was soothing. Picked up my camera and walked over to the Zoo that was located next door. Found this croc sunbathing.

Crocodile



8th October, 2010

In the evening went to the Kaylana Lake on the outskirts of Jodhpur. The rains had done wonders to this lake.

Kaylana Lake



9th October, 2010

Had kept this day for wife's relatives. Went to meet them, had lunch with them and on my way back to the hotel saw this very interesting vegetable. All these years the cucumber or Kheera as called in Hindi that we eat raw as salad is a 7 or 8 inch long vegetable with a 2 cm diameter.

What I saw on a handcart was a foot & half long cucumber with a 10 cm diameter. Funnily, it was not being sold as a vegetable, but as a fruit. On enquiries i was told that it could be eaten raw, but it is normally cooked as a vegetable also.

Big Cucumber





Jodhpur never ceases to surprise me. A few years back I was served "Gulaab jamun ki subzi" at my relative's place. The word 'gulaab jamun' always reminded me of a delicious sweet dish, but a subzi with salt, onion & garlic - never ever heard off. Surprisingly this "Gulaab jamun ki subzi" is a delicacy here and prepared & served on very special occasions.


10th October, 2010

My holidays were over and it was time to get back. Left Jodhpur and reached Gurgaon in the evening taking the tried & trusted NH8.

Thus this travelogue comes to an end. Hope you all enjoyed it. Thank you for staying with me till now.

[llamrei]

Excellent report Guru! Sorry I came in late. As a veteran of Ranthabhore, I can assure you, it is sheer luck that you did not sight the Big Cat even in 5 safaris. The last time we went there, the first three safaris yielded nothing. The fourth and fift gave us very nice sighting of two tigers and one female tiger. I am happy that the bird sightings were good. Excellent photos! My advice would be to do Ranthambhore again, but this time in the Summer. Heat will be intolerable, but sighting is more likely almost on every safari.

[fazalaliadil]

GD sahab,
Thats beautiful photography!
Love your passion and involvement in all things yo come across.
Looking forward to more and more.
Regards,

[Guderian]

Hey BCG !
Fabulous photographs - especially the 'animal' in jungle gear. That for me was the spot of the trip !
So what if you didn't spot ol' Stripey this time - you spotted him earlier.......but then keep trying, and sooner or later you'll get to see all 1400 of them !
Once again a great photologue despite the disappointment.

[gd1418]

Thank you Sir. Ranthambhore beckons me again. And if everything falls in place would love to go with you.

Originally Posted by llamrei

Excellent report Guru! Sorry I came in late. As a veteran of Ranthabhore, I can assure you, it is sheer luck that you did not sight the Big Cat even in 5 safaris. The last time we went there, the first three safaris yielded nothing. The fourth and fift gave us very nice sighting of two tigers and one female tiger. I am happy that the bird sightings were good. Excellent photos! My advice would be to do Ranthambhore again, but this time in the Summer. Heat will be intolerable, but sighting is more likely almost on every safari.

Thank you so very much Fazalbhai.

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

GD sahab,
Thats beautiful photography!
Love your passion and involvement in all things yo come across.
Looking forward to more and more.
Regards,

Thank you Herr Guderian,

Value your thoughts very much. I spotted Him & Her later. Actually this travelogue should have preceded the Sariska one.

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hey BCG !
Fabulous photographs - especially the 'animal' in jungle gear. That for me was the spot of the trip !
So what if you didn't spot ol' Stripey this time - you spotted him earlier.......but then keep trying, and sooner or later you'll get to see all 1400 of them !
Once again a great photologue despite the disappointment.

I would like to mention here that tomorrow on the 20th Feb, I am going again to Sariska along with two TBHPians ( kp_zen & Deky) and photographer friend Sridhar.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by gd1418

@mallumowgli: I love to travel and love more to do so with the family. This was one of the rare trips where the entire family was with me. My daughter & son were disappointed for not having been able to see a Tiger in the wild even after 5 safaris in Ranthambhore.

Seeing their dejected face, I too was disappointed.. And when my wife & I saw the Cat in one of the least expected place, my kids did not accompany us both the times.

Well, the PM did not spot one because at that time Sariska had no Tigers. All were poached. The relocation started only after he visited and took an initiative.

Interestingly, Priyanka Gandhi camped at Sariska during New Year for two days. The forest department went out of its way to enable her a sighting. But she couldn't...

If what I saw hiding in the bushes, is what you call "saw a leopard", then that is not a sighting. In fact in one of the jeeps waiting, there was a person who had a Nikon 600mm f/4 lens. Even he couldn't manage a decent picture.

GD saab - I said what I said in a lighter vein. Sitting in office and seeing your photos would of course make any man go green with envy. I can understand your disappointment, but that doesn't take away the fact that this is a wonderful travelogue with some great photos. Hence my comment

I know that Sariska tigers were wiped out - thats why I said you were able to see them at Sariska because of the PM's visit

And hats of to you for planning another trip. Waiting for that report also

[gd1418]

Thank you so very much mallu. I can't wait for Sunday to come..

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

GD saab - I said what I said in a lighter vein. Sitting in office and seeing your photos would of course make any man go green with envy. I can understand your disappointment, but that doesn't take away the fact that this is a wonderful travelogue with some great photos. Hence my comment

I know that Sariska tigers were wiped out - thats why I said you were able to see them at Sariska because of the PM's visit

And hats of to you for planning another trip. Waiting for that report also

[hvkumar]

Much as I share your disappointment about not seeing the Tiger, I envy you for having such a fabulous album of photos of flora and fauna! I especially liked the Overflowing Lake photo.

Did not know that the system of entry into the jungles was so complex, looks like the resort-forest dept nexus can be good and bad. Difficult for walk-in visitors to get in, I guess.

That is a good selection of routes to get to Ranthambhore that all of you have listed there. Which would be the most optimal route, assuming that the Laslot route does improve sometime during the year?

[AarEmm]

Hi GD - nice travelogue with some great snaps. Love to read your travelogues, hopefully will get a chance to do a trip with you sometime in future.

[gd1418]

Thanks HVK. It is difficult for walk-in visitors in some sanctuaries like Corbett & Ranthambhore.

Sariska, Rajaji & Dudhwa are easy for walk-in visitors only if you are aware of the opening & closing time of the Park.

From Gurgaon the optimum route to Ranthambhore is what I've posted. If it is from Jaipur then via Tonk is the optimum route.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Much as I share your disappointment about not seeing the Tiger, I envy you for having such a fabulous album of photos of flora and fauna! I especially liked the Overflowing Lake photo.

Did not know that the system of entry into the jungles was so complex, looks like the resort-forest dept nexus can be good and bad. Difficult for walk-in visitors to get in, I guess.

That is a good selection of routes to get to Ranthambhore that all of you have listed there. Which would be the most optimal route, assuming that the Laslot route does improve sometime during the year?

Thanks AarEmm. We will, we will someday.

Originally Posted by AarEmm

Hi GD - nice travelogue with some great snaps. Love to read your travelogues, hopefully will get a chance to do a trip with you sometime in future.

[gd1418]

Tiger Man - Fateh Singh Rathore

What the late 'Billy' Arjan Singh was to Dudhwa, Fateh Singh Rathore (FSR) was to Ranthambhore.

On 1st March, 2011, this brave 'tiger' lost his battle to the cancer of lungs that he fought with for so many years.

The Hindu : Other States / Rajasthan News : Tiger Man Fateh Singh Rathore dead



Another passionate wildlife conservationist, poached by God..

RIP FSR....

[NSK123]

Originally Posted by gd1418

Thank you NSK. This model of Olympus has interchangeable lens? And won't putting a 75~300 on this would have balancing issues?

Somehow I missed to reply back to this. This model has interchangeable lenses. Also, 75~300 lens of Micro 4/3rd is much smaller compared to DSLR.

I found few reviews saying they are good and comfortable to take pictures.