India

We had a terrific time in India. As most of you know Brian was there for a month working. He did manage to see some of the sights on the weekends and met some wonderful people in Delhi, Pune, and Gurgaon. I was only there for about 8 days. The best part was spending time together after being apart for 4 weeks.
We visited 2 of their national parks with the goal of trying to see a wild tiger. The first park was Jim Corbett National Park- it was a six hour drive north and a bit east of Delhi. It was very dry there. The park along the foothills of the Himalayas and it was quite cool at night and got very warm at mid-day. We did 2 days of safari drives in this park and each time we did a different area. We saw many birds, deer, antelope, gahrial, Asian elephant, and many other things. From there we were driven back to Delhi where we boarded a train for Rathambore National Park. Our driver helped us see a few quick sites in Delhi while we waited to board our train. We saw the India Gate, President's House, Parliment, the house where Ghandi was assainated, and a few other things. Our train was delayed and after a very long day we arrived into our lodge at about midnight. I was pleased that the first thing they did was tell us our game drives for the morning were already booked and then we collapsed into bed so we could wake up early. We spent 3 days in this park and enjoyed the very warm weather. This area was quite different there were huge escarpments and in the park there were quite a few lakes. These were nice because they attracted a lot of bird and animal life. The park is also filled with lots of ruins from a fort that was built over a thousand years ago by Chauhans. It was also used by the Mughals and the Mahrajah of Jaipur. The ruins are everywhere and a large part of the fort can be visited at the top of the escarpment. Anyway, we saw many great things here including the fort but the highlight was the tigers! We saw a mother and two almost grown cubs. They were just 3-4 meters away and we were able to watch them for about 15 minutes. It was magical. As we left the cubs walked out of the grass where they had been hiding while mom made a half-hearted attempt to hunt. It was gorgeous in the late day light with the lake and parts of the ancient palace as a backdrop. That same day we also saw a wild dog. Our guide was so excited. There are only 2 in the park and sadly they are both male. He was neat too.
Our final day in the country we went to Agra by train and car to see the sites. Brian had already been but I felt I had to go see the Taj Mahal if I was in India. We saw Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal. They were both beautiful but filled with throngs of tourists.
If you'd like to see a slide show of the trip go to:
http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=50451141579995710/l=84826472/cobrandOid=1000131/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
India was great and the people we met their were friendly and helpful. We stayed in nice places and ate great food but saw tremendous poverty. I found the train stations very sad, the children were on the platforms at all hours begging and sometimes between the tracks searching for food amongst the stray dogs and rats. Some of the people here live in absolute squalor while others have it all. I know this is true in many places but it seemed very pronounced here in India. It was a country that wasn't on my list to visit because of this but I am glad Brian convinced me to go.