The saga of Sunday January 26, 2025 to Tuesday January 28, 2025 in transit from New Delhi, India to Kahna, India
We had just spent two lovely days in chaotic Delhi and were scheduled to fly to Jabalpur so that we could drive to Kanha National Park in search of tigers in the hopes of making Shai’s dreams come true. Why fly to Kanha when there is a tiger reserve in Rajasthan? Because I had see poor reviews of the reserve online and asked the tour company to help us find a better reserve. Upon reflection, my gut tells me the reserves are likely not very different and our out of the way travels to Kanha were overboard. We’ll throw this decision into the “crazy things a parent will do for their child” category!
It was 2:45AM in Delhi. We hurried downstairs and packed into the awaiting van, our bags on top without any real way of assuring they wouldn’t fall off. Putting our trust in our driver we set off for the airport. Although there was almost no traffic, I was floored by how many people were eating at street vendors and driving on the highway in the middle of the night. I guess this is what happens in a city with 33 million people.
At the airport, we learned that in India one must show their passport and boarding ticket prior to entering the airport. One must also take out all of their electronics, including plugs and converters, for the security check. We had so many of these assorted items in various locations that it took us forever to unpack our stuff to go through security. Lesson learned: Put all electronics in one or two cubes for easy access during security checks in India. After repacking all of our stuff, we waited outside our gate for two hours. Gratefully, we had our pistachios and raisins from Old Delhi for breakfast while waiting.
To board our plane, we had to take a bus to the plane where they checked our tickets for a third time. One thing that we really liked about traveling through the India airports is their use of portable ramps, instead of stairs, to board the planes. This made it so much more pleasant getting onto and off the planes. We talked about who the ramps served and the kinds of problems they addressed that portable stairs do not. We noted that sometimes an innovative idea is a very simple change and not always a big shift or flashy new concept. After our discussion, the boys suggested more airports adopt the use of ramps instead of stairs. We agreed.
Our flight was straight forward. A driver met us outside the airport. After securing our bags with to the top of his van with some rope, we set off for a three-hour drive to Kanha. We stopped at a rest stop, which was really a shabby looking hotel with western style toilets, and a small playground that screamed: “UNSAFE; MAXIMUM FUN!” The boys were in heaven, making the most of their freedom to run around and explore. As they played, Chaim and I struck up a conversation with an older couple who were taking a pitstop on their way to Kanha. Funny enough, they’re from Rockville. We had absolutely no connections to one another but found it statistically amusing that we who live about twenty minutes from each other, ended up meeting in the middle of a rest stop in India.
Twenty minutes later, and much to the boys dismay, we continued our drive to Kanha. Chaim and I tried sleeping as much as possible. When we couldn’t, we watched the world go by: Women doing laundry in the river, naked children running along the rocks, cows in the middle of the streets unphased by the cars speeding by, a dance party happening at the back of a van blasting music in the middle of a small village. The scenes felt like they were from another world.
We arrived at Aranyak Resort, a midrange, nothing fancy kind of place. Perfect for our family. The staff greeted us with refreshing kiwi drinks and towels. The drinks were so amazing I could have had one every day.
The boys quickly discovered a volleyball net and a soccer ball, badminton equipment, a small playground, swings, a pool table, carom, chess, a ping pong table, and a swimming pool on the grounds. The sun was high and beating down on them, but they didn’t care. All they wanted was to be able run around play with abandon. We never went swimming. The pool was cold with too many mosquitoes floating around. No matter, we had plenty of great swim time in Israel and could wait a few weeks to swim again.
We learned that this resort sets up teatime every day about an hour or two before dinner. The boys learned they really like black tea with a little milk and sugar cubes – except Shai who prefers his without milk.
India is a great place to be a vegan and/or vegetarian because there are so many people who are vegans and vegetarians for religious reasons. It was easy to order vegan/vegetarian food. I overate at every meal. I truly could not get enough. Moreover, I was shocked and elated to see Amichai and Eitan trying so many new foods. All of the boys really enjoyed the Gulab Jamun – small donut balls drenched in syrup.
Despite the highly caffeinated black tea we had during tea time, almost everyone was asleep by 9:00PM.
The next day began with breakfast, davening, brotherly discussions to help everyone feel included, and hilariously non-sensical creative videos the boys made of themselves rapping and popping out of random hidden places in the room. Afterward, the boys had some screen time while Chaim worked. Meanwhile, I got in touch with our tour company to inform them that we had no interest in being in Agra for Shabbat, as was the plan, and that we wanted to be with the Chabad in Pushkar instead. After a little back and forth, they informed me we could switch locations without issue. I was glad to hear this because Shabbat with Chabad is when our children get to eat the most, especially protein.
After lunch, we waited in the front lobby for a safari jeep. Our search for the elusive tigers was about to begin. Of course, with only 145 tigers in the 2,074.31 km2 park, our chances were not great. We tried preparing our children, especially Shai who is obsessed with tigers, for disappointment. But after our incredible luck on safari in Tanzania where we saw the Big Five, it was hard not to think we’d get lucky. A topless jeep picked us up right on schedule. We hopped in, the boys wondered where all of the seatbelts were. They had a bit of a time adjusting to different safety levels, but in the end had a fine time driving down the road with the wind blowing through their hair.
While waiting for the park gates to open, we tried some fresh cane juice. It tasted like a super sweet and sour lemonade. Only Amichai and I enjoyed it, but it was neat to see the vendor use a machete to cut down the cane stalk and then juice it. We also ran into our friends from the rest stop. They were incredibly lucky and saw a tiger walk right in front of their jeep during their morning safari. It only got our hopes higher. Just before the gate opened, an additional guide joined our driver in the front. We learned that there are always two people accompanying us on safari, the driver and the guide. Together they work to spot tracks and animals.
In the park we saw three kinds of deer (Sambar, Barasingha, and Chital) wild boar, jackals – one trotting with a baby deer in its mouth, beautiful birds – including the Kingfisher and fork-tailed Drongo-Cuckoos, monkeys, and vultures feasting. We saw tiger claw scratches on trees, which Shai taught us is one of their ways of marking their territory. Disappointingly, we didn’t see any tigers. We returned from the safari cold and hungry.
Worried that two safaris would prove fruitless, Chaim and I decided we would add a second third safari to our itinerary. With so few days in Kanha, this meant we had to schedule two safaris in one day – a sunrise safari and an afternoon safari. We tried getting the boys to sleep early, but to no avail. This time, the black tea at teatime kept them awake. Poor Eitan barely slept at all.
When we woke the boys at 5:00AM the next morning, the sun was still asleep, and it was freezing outside. Eitan was in such a miserable state and had no to join the safari. Chaim was happy to stay back with him and sleep a little longer before getting to work. The other boys and I put on as many layers as we could and hoped we would warm up quickly. We waited much longer for our jeep than anticipated, which made everyone anxious about missing the opening time. In the end, everything turned out fine. We were given blankets and hot water for the ride and brought a packed breakfast with us.
For this safari we opted to rent binoculars from the street hawkers swarming us at the gate. They were $10.00 a pop, so we only got one set. We explored a different part of the park that traveled through the buffer zone, where there are likely fewer tigers. We did see Indian Wild Bulls (aka Gaur) which are huge and fresh tiger paw prints in the sand, which got us all very excited. However, no tiger sightings. Knowing we only had one more chance that afternoon, I started the “what if we don’t see any tigers” conversation with Shai. We decided he could always come back when he’s older to try and see tigers in India if we didn’t see one in the afternoon and that I would come with him if he wanted.
We were back at the hotel by 11:00AM. Everyone rested and then had lunch. Our next safari was scheduled for 3:00PM.
The boys were happy to learn that our driver was also one of the hotel staff who the boys really liked. We had a great guide join us who was clearly a bird enthusiast. Of the three guides we had, he was the only one who took time to teach us about the different animals we saw and the park itself. This time we saw pawprints, claw marks, and heard a tiger roar. But sadly, no tiger. On the upside, we saw the cutest little owl perched on a high branch and two jackals that trotted alongside or near our jeep for a solid ten minutes. Shai managed his intense disappointment incredibly well, using his imagination to explain that there was an invisible tiger with us the whole time and we just hadn’t realized it. Looks like Shai and I might be returning to India to search for tigers when he’s older.
