Agra to Ranthanbore National Park
Trip Start
Oct 14, 2005
1
10
21
Trip End
Oct 31, 2005
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Ranthanbore National Park,
India
Saturday, October 22, 2005
We had a very long drive yesterday from Agra to Ranthanbore National Park. We stopped (other than pee breaks at the side of the road) only twice . . . an hour at a palace / city that was abandoned by a Mughal Emperor hundreds of years ago because of a lack of water. It was made all of red sandstone, and was fabulous. I ran into a fellow, Ron Mellman or something like that, who leads tours for one of my competitors -- CODA Tours -- and he was with a very UPscale group. They were all dressed to the nines and dripping with jewelry. Each person had paid $60,000 to tour India for 2.5 weeks staying only in palaces, and traveling only by private jet. Can you imagine? They're missing the BEST part -- the REAL India which you can only see during the endless hours on the bus.
You won't believe this
01 Fatehpur Sikri
. . . we passed one area where the illegal practice of prostitution is allowed with some sort of deal. All the buildings had little red flags on them, and the children were running out to our busload of men inviting us to come in and sleep with the women there. They were really lovely Nepalese women, and our driver and his assistant handed them all shampoos and soap they had collected from hotels along the trip. Mental note to Jonathan for next tour's packing list -- have our guys save shampoos to give to the poor people along the way, and also to pack pens, as the children really are eager for them. Also an extra suitcase for acquisitions that are impossible to resist.The next mind-boggler was when we were leaving Agra and needed an ATM stop, and the bus driver pulled over in a spot where there is a certain class of women who make a living entertaining various bus drivers by talking dirty to them. There is no sex or anything, it is just like calling an 800 number. They say things like "Oh, come and talk with me . . . I will keep you warm if you are feeling a chill . . . " and it goes on from there. The bus drivers are entertained and they pay the women a little something. We called one of them over to the bus and our guide translated while she spoke with the driver.
The drive was so incredible--through fertile fields that had recently received all the monsoon moisture
02 Jumper
. The villages and various markets were teeming with people, and we saw so many different styles of turbans. The guide said that at one time you could tell a man's village and tribe just by the way he tied his turban, but that has become less prominent nowadays.We arrived at our destination about 6:30pm. Dinner was served as a barbecue, and some entertainers were on the lawn playing instruments, singing, doing fire dances and other tribal dances that they would drag us into doing. Great fun!
Hugs,
Dan
