After our first sleepless night,
we both managed to get a tolerably good night's sleep
on the second night. Before going to bed, we had already
decided that we would not be getting up at 5.30 a.m.
to go to the Ranthambhore National Park. We'd done
a bit of homework beforehand and although the park's
website claims that "tigers can easily be seen",
we had heard that it entailed a cold ride at the crack
of dawn in open sided jeeps over rough roads with
little if any chance of seeing any tigers. Most of
our fellow travellers went on the trip despite the
warnings and without fail all came back shivering
with cold and disappointed not to have seen a tiger!
We, on the other hand, eased into the day, had a leisurely
breakfast and tried not to look too smug!
The lounge area at the end
of the "Bundi Saloon". The table unfolded to form
a small square table where eight of us had cosy breakfasts!
At 10:30 a.m. the train set off
again for the five hour journey to Chittaurgarh. It
travelled slowly, stopping from time to time for signals
and we were able to enjoy the changing landscape and
take several photos.
A brief pause at Bundi station
which was the name of our carriage. What is a Bundi?
Lunch in the Maharaja restaurant.
(The other restaurant was the Maharani)
After lunch, another stop
at a signal. This time we were alongside a tented community.
We learned later that it was home to railway workers and
their families.
Late afternoon arrival in Chittaurgarh
Our coach had to drive through
about twelve narrow gateways to get us up the hill to the
Fort
The sound and light show
(above) that evening was followed by an open-air dinner
in the grounds of a local hotel
Geoff had marrow fritters and rice pudding!
Entertainment was once again provided as we ate (below).
We decided to get an early
night, because the train was only due to
depart at 2.00 a.m. so it was best to get some sleep before
then!
