Agra to Ranthambore

Got up early to the sounds of the chanting as they did every morning at 6A in the distance.  Had an early breakfast in the restaurant and took off for Ranthambore in our minibus.  After about 1 1/2 hrs we stopped at Fatehpur Sikri which is the former capital of the Mughal empire.  I loved this guy-- so typical of the Indian men.  If  you notice he has orange hair which we thought was very strange.  The Indian men like to dye their hair and when they do it turns white but in the sun it becomes orange.
Many of the older men still wear moustaches as this denotes masculinity and also part of the caste system.  Many of the younger Indian men do not have facial hair or moustaches.

We continued on to Ranthambore in our minibus.  We did some highway and some small villages.  There weren't too many places to stop and we even had our box lunches on the bus which consisted of sandwiches, chips, fruit and a drink.  Some slept and some enjoyed watching the countryside go by.



People would always hang on and we even saw some that were riding on top of cars or buses



The birds were eating the rice out of the bags--not going to have anything left when he gets home

We travelled thru the desert-land of Rajasthan before arriving in Ranthambore which is known as the tiger sanctuary.  Here we are at the Vanyavilas which is designed as a "jungle Cam' and lies adjacet to the Tiger Reserve.  The resort is set in 19 acres with trees, flora and a large body of water. Our arrival was with 2 large elephants greeting us.

 Our accommodations are in spacious luxury air conditioned tents, beautifully appointed interiors, 

 teak wood flooring, large bathrooms with the claw bathtub and a private deck for sunbathing. They were very large villas.  Walked around the property and joined in on a yoga session that had just begun

 

We enjoyed the pool and the grounds themselves as we were able to relax.  So quiet and peaceful.

Tonight we had a bonfire and enjoyed our cocktails around the bonfire with music. Then retreated into the lounge area wherewe enjoyed a Wildlife presentation by their resident naturalist. Here we learned more about the area and why the tiger is so famous.  After the presentation we had a nice dinner. The night air does get chilly and it was cold as I walked to my tent. I jumped into my bed and found something very warm-- my own personal hot water bottle. 

Jumped in and really slept well!!