The Missing Tiger

June 15 Out of Delhi

We were picked up by the tour operator just as planned at 9:00 am. A late model very clean van stocked with ice water and toilet paper. The driver and guide grabbed our luggage, loaded it into the van and held the doors open for us.  I fear that we are entering the tourist zone.

It was about a 4-hour drive to Alwar. The first hour was spent getting out of Delhi. The traffic was very heavy and the roads do not facilitate fast travel. Even in the Delhi area, and to a greater extent outside the major cities, even the toll roads regularly have small stretches that are unpaved, thus requiring a major reduction in speed. There are also regular speed bumps, which frequently have 4 or 5 ribs. That is very common when the roads pass through villages. So going 250 km can take 4 hours.

Outside the Delhi core area we saw high-rise buildings, commercial and residential, in India for the first time. From the outside they seem to be modern, first class buildings. However, around them there is still the mess and chaos we saw elsewhere in India. There are many pushcarts and small markets competing for space with the high-rises.

The tourist bubble is a strange place. Until you reach your hotel room, most of your needs are taken care of. Luggage is carried, doors are opened, tickets are purchased and lines are circumvented. Drinks are provided, faucets are turned on, soap is squirted on your hands, there is no need to use any language other than English and your picture can always be taken. The downside is that there is no adventure, limited surprise and there is limited contact with anyone other than Indians in the tourist industry who are paid to treat you a certain way. If we do talk to someone else, while the tour guide does not say anything, but it appears to me that they make it known that I am messing up the schedule.  In Amber Palace (on Wednesday) we escaped and were talking to a security guard [that happened frequently; I think they are bored and welcome the opportunity to speak with someone] about the operation of the Palace’s water system, the tour guide came after us telling us that he had been asking people where the couple was with the guy with the white beard. You also walk a lot less in the bubble. Earlier in our trip, we walked for hours each day. In part due to the heat, we are now driven everywhere..

We arrived at Alwar, a small town by Indian standards, about 1:00 and checked into our hotel. This was one of the stops at which I directed the tour company to put us in something other than luxury accommodations.  It is a nice, rustic place, sort of like a resort we stayed at in the past in northeastern San Diego County, Warner Springs. Nice landscaping, a good pool and other activities; this one had target shooting, which was surprising since hunting is unlawful in India. Our room was good sized and was in a fake palace building with an interior courtyard.

After lunch there, Indian food in India, at least in many parts of the bubble, is very heavy on starches and has large portions. In contrast most Indians are very slim, but most Indians are also poor.

Then we went to the Sariska Game Reserve for a safari. Climbed into the back of a jeep and took off with a driver and a naturalist. It was one of the few areas of India that was neither littered with trash nor swarming with people. The Park still contains about 7 or 8 villages and we encountered two women walking with baskets balanced on their heads. We gave them a ride but not before they pulled their head scarves over their faces. When we dropped them off I think that they motioned us to visit them in their village, but we were in the tourist bubble.

We saw lots of animals in their natural habitat. Turtles swimming and sun bathing, hundreds of peacocks squawking and showing off their feathers, several types of deer, one of which is the tiger’s favorite food, antelope, wild pigs, large eared rabbits, small cats, monkeys and lemurs.

Alas we saw no tigers. Due to poaching, and probably killings by the villagers for whom the tiger is a source of income, by 2005 all the tigers in this park had been killed. The naturalist told us that two tigers had been resettled here from another Park and the tiger population was now up to 13, including 4 cubs. But none came out to greet us.

We went back to the hotel by early evening. Had a light, liquid dinner and swam for almost an hour in the pool. It was very refreshing and nice swimming, undisturbed by others (this is decidedly off season) under the stars.