June 2nd - The "Real India" - Jim Corbett National Park

June 2, 2009

We are ready to get up after about 5 hours of sleep since Uday had a romantic idea to watch the sunrise over the hills of Jim Corbett National Park from Wild Trail.

We take pictures of people doing their usual things such as bathing and fishing on the Kosi River.












We take pictures of the sunrise















of two new friends


















and then we meet some people who want their picture taken with me, as I do with them, since we look so different from each other. The boy is "very shy"!!












We admire the peace and serenity that this place hasd to offer.















Even though I had reservations about this place at first, it has already grown on me and I decide it isn't bad after all.























On this day after eating a fabulous omelet breakfast, and the Wild Trail people being a bit more organized, we are finally off to do some adventure activities. We carpool with another Indian family who is going on the activity as well, but when they get there they all chicken-out and leave us. So Uday and I are the only ones doing the adventure activities.




A group of Indian guys stare and watch me and my butt in the air. Even one time I hit my butt on the ground because I forgot to put my feet down. After I entertained them for the day they finally disperse as we leave.












We got most of it on video and the video footage should be more funny. Click on the arrow below and check it out!





We meet a homeless man, oops I mean "holy man" while we are doing our activities and after he begs for money we get a picture of him and give him some change. I did not want to stare but I did find him interesting to look at.




We finished the activities and I am still feeling a little embarrassed and self conscious. I manage to hold my head up high as we walk away. I was glad that I participated in the adventure activities and proud of myself for not being too shy around the large group of Indian guys watching me. As we walked towards the road we realize that our driver is still not available to pick us up as he got a flat tire and had to drive far back into town to get it fixed. Uday and I walk for miles to get back to Wild Trail and it is an interesting walk...








Thirsty and hot we are fortunate when the leader of the adventure activities picks us up, and all three of us ride back to Wild Trail on his motorcycle. This was my first time on a motorcycle with two other people and it was fun!

Back at Wild Trail...














after having lunch in our room instead of outside, to stay cool, and taking another "Indian Bath" we are on our way for the jeep safari in Jim Corbet National Park.


















































This is an awesome experience seeing exotic wild life in their natural environment.












And finally we see what we were waiting for in the distance... yes a Royal Bengal Tiger!!






It is most exciting when the tiger roars and gets up from laying down, walking a short distance away, and laying down again. This was my first time seeing a tiger in its natural environment and it was great to see. I hope for more opportunities in my future to witness such beauty again.

Click on the picture below to see all of our picture from this day: