Today we received word that the orphanage received Sajel's passport! Marcus has been calling and e-mailing some "bigger fish" to try to make it happen and I think it really paid off. An e-mail was sent to the passport office on Monday telling them to promptly dispatch if all paperwork was in order and....they did! Yea!!! We already scheduled appointments with Embassy Doctor and Embassy interview for Tuesday and Wednesday in hopes this actually happened. Flights home were another story- we will be leaving on Friday the 6th (earliest we could get a flight). The 'not so good' news- SOMEBODY booked a flight that leaves at 0400! WHAT! That means we have to be at the airport at 0100. Not nice Brown Bear, not nice.
We decided to come to Rajastan while we waited. The plan was to leave on Tuesday, but I was not up for 5 hours in the car. I woke up very nauseated- Marcus blames the snap peas I was eating the day before, but I think it was the coke on ice he gave me. I was good as new the next day and off we went.
Wednesday we drove to Jaipur. We had one minor delay about an hour and a half in....the car stalled. Ummm.....it was hot. Our driver got out (looking like he knew what he was doing) and popped the hood. He made several phone calls and went back and forth starting the car, stoppig the car, turning the air on, turning the air off...Is anyone else worried? Never fear, we made it (without air) to a garage down the road. About 30 minutes and 3 Indians later, we were back in business! How come we can't get our cars fixed that fast at home? I was impressed, I thought there was no way we were going to have a happy ending after that first stall. :) Meanwhile; Sajel was an awesome traveler as usual! We arrive in Jaipur and stopped for lunch. Sajel was really enjoying the live music. Our guide met up with us after lunch and we took a tour of Jantar mantar (a solar observatory) and Palace of the Winds. Both are in old Jaipur which is known as The Pink City. It was really beautiful. We also saw the cannons being fired at City Palace during a coranation of a new king. We couldn't go into City Palace due to the celebration, but we will visit there tomorrow. That evening we checked into our hotel and I had an amazing bubble bath. I so miss bath tubs. I thought Sajel might enjoy bubble bath also, but I was wrong. :(
Thursday, we left at 0800 and were off to Rathambore (another 5 hours). Our driver warned us that we had about 1.5 hours of bad road we would travel on and he was not kidding. Ouch. We arrived at Tiger Moon Resort (not so much a resort) and had about 2 hours to rest before our 1st safari. Sajel was ready to play because she slept through the worst of the drive while Marcus and I were jostling all over the place. Noise and movement put her straight to sleep. Marcus played with her while I took a little nap. At 3:30 we left in our open-air jeep, 8 adults and 1 toddler. I know the other passengers must have been inwardly groaning when they saw us. Sajel showed them- she was an angel. She loves animals and was very excited to see the deer and monkeys. We were very lucky and spotted a tiger about 30 minutes out! Marcus managed to get a picture as well. Then, he got up and was growling very loudly. We were very far away and uphill, but it was amazing how loud and effective a growl can be. We also saw lots of birds, a snake and some crocs! The last hour was very bumpy (ouch) and Sajel slept. :) When we returned to our cabin/ concrete tent, we battled the crickets for bed and bathroom space and went too bed early.
Today we woke up at 0600 to go on our 2nd safari. Everyone told us how lucky we were to have spotted a tiger on our 1st trip. The people with us had been out twice with no luck. Luck was on our side again...we saw tiger and bear tracks and followed them. Seriously people, I think I can work for Nat Geo now. We came to a spot where other jeeps were and the tiger was very far in the distance. We could barely make him out. After sitting and sitting and sitting (ok, maybe I can't work for Nat Geo), another tiger was spotted and we quickly took off! Sajel was very excited and was tolerating the sitting around better than I was. The 2nd tiger was much closer and easier to see. She was sitting in the water. We watched for awhile and then she went into her den. Success! Marcus was able to snap another tiger shot and we were very happy. Guess who passed out when we hit the bumpy road? We had brunch and headed back to Jaipur...another 4.5 hours. When we reached the hotel, Sajel ran around like a maniac! She had a lot of energy and we had a nice afternoon in our room. This evening I tried the bubble bath again.....and she played and laughed. It was such a great moment for me. Great ending to a great couple of days. We tour Jaipur some more tomorrow and then head back to Delhi.....Love, Sajel's Mom
We decided to come to Rajastan while we waited. The plan was to leave on Tuesday, but I was not up for 5 hours in the car. I woke up very nauseated- Marcus blames the snap peas I was eating the day before, but I think it was the coke on ice he gave me. I was good as new the next day and off we went.
Wednesday we drove to Jaipur. We had one minor delay about an hour and a half in....the car stalled. Ummm.....it was hot. Our driver got out (looking like he knew what he was doing) and popped the hood. He made several phone calls and went back and forth starting the car, stoppig the car, turning the air on, turning the air off...Is anyone else worried? Never fear, we made it (without air) to a garage down the road. About 30 minutes and 3 Indians later, we were back in business! How come we can't get our cars fixed that fast at home? I was impressed, I thought there was no way we were going to have a happy ending after that first stall. :) Meanwhile; Sajel was an awesome traveler as usual! We arrive in Jaipur and stopped for lunch. Sajel was really enjoying the live music. Our guide met up with us after lunch and we took a tour of Jantar mantar (a solar observatory) and Palace of the Winds. Both are in old Jaipur which is known as The Pink City. It was really beautiful. We also saw the cannons being fired at City Palace during a coranation of a new king. We couldn't go into City Palace due to the celebration, but we will visit there tomorrow. That evening we checked into our hotel and I had an amazing bubble bath. I so miss bath tubs. I thought Sajel might enjoy bubble bath also, but I was wrong. :(
Thursday, we left at 0800 and were off to Rathambore (another 5 hours). Our driver warned us that we had about 1.5 hours of bad road we would travel on and he was not kidding. Ouch. We arrived at Tiger Moon Resort (not so much a resort) and had about 2 hours to rest before our 1st safari. Sajel was ready to play because she slept through the worst of the drive while Marcus and I were jostling all over the place. Noise and movement put her straight to sleep. Marcus played with her while I took a little nap. At 3:30 we left in our open-air jeep, 8 adults and 1 toddler. I know the other passengers must have been inwardly groaning when they saw us. Sajel showed them- she was an angel. She loves animals and was very excited to see the deer and monkeys. We were very lucky and spotted a tiger about 30 minutes out! Marcus managed to get a picture as well. Then, he got up and was growling very loudly. We were very far away and uphill, but it was amazing how loud and effective a growl can be. We also saw lots of birds, a snake and some crocs! The last hour was very bumpy (ouch) and Sajel slept. :) When we returned to our cabin/ concrete tent, we battled the crickets for bed and bathroom space and went too bed early.
Today we woke up at 0600 to go on our 2nd safari. Everyone told us how lucky we were to have spotted a tiger on our 1st trip. The people with us had been out twice with no luck. Luck was on our side again...we saw tiger and bear tracks and followed them. Seriously people, I think I can work for Nat Geo now. We came to a spot where other jeeps were and the tiger was very far in the distance. We could barely make him out. After sitting and sitting and sitting (ok, maybe I can't work for Nat Geo), another tiger was spotted and we quickly took off! Sajel was very excited and was tolerating the sitting around better than I was. The 2nd tiger was much closer and easier to see. She was sitting in the water. We watched for awhile and then she went into her den. Success! Marcus was able to snap another tiger shot and we were very happy. Guess who passed out when we hit the bumpy road? We had brunch and headed back to Jaipur...another 4.5 hours. When we reached the hotel, Sajel ran around like a maniac! She had a lot of energy and we had a nice afternoon in our room. This evening I tried the bubble bath again.....and she played and laughed. It was such a great moment for me. Great ending to a great couple of days. We tour Jaipur some more tomorrow and then head back to Delhi.....Love, Sajel's Mom
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