How to describe India? Hands down the most exotic place I’ve ever been. Exotic people—most of the women wear a saree. Those beautiful shawl coverings all embroidered with shimmering threads into gorgeous designs. Exotic places—the tiger safari in rathambore, the Taj Mahal, the leopard safari in Rhajastan…even the names of these places are exotic. The plants and animals were different than I’ve ever seen. Peacocks displaying around every corner. Monkeys climbing all over the old ruins. Parrots chattering overhead. The spotted deer had antlers the size of an elk. We were lucky enough to see a mother tigress and her cub. I absolutely loved being in the back of an open air vehicle, bouncing along looking for awesome wild animals. It was like the Indiana Jones ride, only more exciting. When the guides shout “monkey warning call!” and the Jeep peels out as you take off full speed in pursuit of the leopard—that is living.
And the Taj Mahal! Underrated if you can believe it. It is a place that takes your breath away. I had no idea the intricate inlay stonework that went into it. We dragged our jaw along with us as we gaped up at the gorgeous building. I absolutely loved it.
The amber fort in Jaipur and the Red Fort in Delhi looked like movie sets too good to be true. We had a blast poking into every nook and cranny and hiding from our guide. The architecture of these buildings is just beautiful. Exotic food—the curry there is amazing. We always got one half portion of curry and a roti to go with it and were stuffed every meal. Let me tell ya—these people know spicy! I learned very quickly to order the mild and I’d still be sweating. Exotic temperature—the lowest it got was 100. Usually around 110. The weather app said 110 and unhealthy dusty. The forecast for the day was smog.Exotic smells—your nose just tingles as you walk along the spice market. I kept sneezing as the air was full of the smell of spice. Imagine sticking your nose inside your spice cupboard and breathing in deeply—that’s how it was. Also exotic smells—the place is filthy. The most dirty and disgusting place I’ve ever been. I thought China was bad…I could hardly believe just how much grime coated everything.Overall I really enjoyed my stay there! It was so very completely different from anywhere I’ve ever been. Unfortunately the people are generally pretty rude. They were argumentative and abrasive and we didn’t often feel very safe. We were super careful but I have to say the people weren’t the kindest to us. An incredible place to visit. It certainly had its difficulties, but was an interesting and exotic place to be.
After looking at all the leopard safari companies, we went with World of Wilders and had a great experience. Mr Rohit was great to work with—responded quickly and answered all my many questions. It’s right outside Jaipur and the easy to get to. They also offered hotel pickup for a fee, but we just took a taxi.
We did the morning and evening safari. No leopard sightings in the morning but saw one in the evening. It ran right in front of the Jeep!
They stop the Jeep a lot and wait for the leopards to come out. It takes some patience, but in our experience this was the best method to be able to see them. Trust your guides—they know what they are doing.
Plenty of wildlife to see on both safaris—owls, deer, peacock, beautiful birds, mongoose. The Jeep was comfortable and had a great view.
We had also been to Rathambore and found this to be a MUCH better experience. Jhalana leopard reserve is organized and comfortable.
Walkabout 