In Ranthambore, we awoke at 5:30 and were bundled into open-air bus-style trucks and wrapped in blankets for a cold, three-hour fogbound and very jouncy search for tigers. Painful! A former maharajah's hunting estate is now home to 40 tigers, all very well hidden while we careened through their beautiful forest. "We saw two yesterday right here . . . three right there . . . ," the guide insisted. Ah well. Onward to the Chittaurgarh Fort, supposedly the largest in Asia, where we climbed a nine-story tower for a spectacular view and fractured conversations with some local teenagers.
We had a long drive on the bus to Udaipur, the "Lake City," where we lunched at the fabled Taj Lake Palace in the middle of Lake Pichola; it was the best food of the trip. And we got the boat ride; last year tourists had to walk out to it because a weak monsoon left the palace high and dry. Now we waved off the garland-and-tika girls, very blase, and sat through the shopkeepers' razzle-dazzle sales pitches. Our group was buying, however, and the bus resounded with show and tell.
Travelers on the Palace on Wheels train can watch India roll by from the bar car.
(Joanne Omang)
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The next morning we had another early start, this time to shiver in a bicycle rickshaw ride through a Bharatpur bird sanctuary, another former royal hunting preserve. We saw flocks of owls, ducks, spoonbills, cranes, egrets and partridges as well as jackals and the moose-like sambars, but most of the 350-plus resident species were napping in the scenery. Then it was on to the underrated Fatehpur Sikri, built in 1570 and abandoned in 1585, a red sandstone palace fort of latticework and hushed beauty.
At Agra and the Taj Mahal, I was prepared to be disappointed after all the hype. I was not. It is spectacular and utterly lovely. As Mary McCarthy said about Venice, it is futile to think one will have an original thought about something so thoroughly criticized already, so it's best not to try. We wandered at will for a couple of glorious hours. Later, the visiting president of Nepal shut down Agra's fabled Red Fort to lower-caste visitors, so we couldn't get in.
On our final day, back in New Delhi, we said goodbye to Rajesh and Raibari and dashed off the train into the pouring rain. They smiled and waved goodbye, but it was no day off for them: The Palace on Wheels would get a bath and an airing, and another load of tourists would board in a few hours.
Joanne Omang is a novelist and former Washington Post foreign correspondent.
Details: India's Palace on Wheels
RIDING THE TRAIN: The Palace on Wheels train departs every Wednesday evening, September through April, from the Delhi Cantonment Station in southwestern New Delhi. It returns the following Wednesday morning.
The October-March fare is $350 per day per person double occupancy, $485 per person single, $285 triple, with half-fare for children ages 5 to 12. The fare includes meals and soft drinks; one bottle of wine per cabin; afternoon teas and snacks; transfers; entrance fees; elephant, camel, boat and rickshaw rides; and guided tours. Figure at least $100 per couple for tips.
Although it is not advertised, you can arrange to join or leave the trip at any point for a proportionately reduced fare. You could, for example, hop on in Jaipur, then get off in Agra for an extended visit to the Taj Mahal.
WHEN TO GO: The coolest months in New Delhi and Rajasthan are December and January, though fog may also hamper visibility or delay the trains. Reduced fares apply in September (the wet end of monsoon season) and April (very hot weather). A surcharge applies for trips around Christmas and New Year's.
BOOKING: We made all travel arrangements by email, using Sadhana Travel Services (301 Skipper Corner, 88 Nehru Pl., New Delhi, 011-91-11-516-18278, sadhi@vsnl.com). Any U.S. travel agent can also book the trip, or you can do it yourself through Palace on Wheels. The train fills up two to three months in advance, but persistence can often land a spot.
INFORMATION: Palace on Wheels, 888-463-4299, www.palacesonwheels.net. -- Joanne Omang
