Lost in Asia: Jan 31st - Feb 1st On safari at Ranthambore

There's a choice of transportation around Ranthambore safari park: a large open top bus that can carry around 20 people, or the jeep that carries around 6 people. I opted for the jeep, which was a lot more expensive but which I felt would give a more intimate experience of the jungle, and maybe provided less disturbance to the wildlife.

The major draw at Ranthambore, of course, is the opportunity to see a tiger in the wild. However, the chances of doing so are pretty slim, particularly at this time of year, whereas in the summer months when the jungle watering holes run pretty dry, its much more common for them to be coaxed out of the jungle forests and into the more open spaces, where there are large lakes and watering holes that are easily visible to tourists. But the best approach is to try not to focus on the tigers as there's loads more to see.

So the jeep arrived at 6am, and a bit of a miscommunication regarding breakfast meant hardly any time to eat anything. Barely daylight but pretty cold sitting in the open jeep with the guide and driver wearing hat and gloves, the vehicle speeding off to a hotel where it picked up some other tourists, and soon we were in the park. Really thrilling to be there, although you could see how the noise of the vehicles could be off-putting to wildlife, but we saw quite a few birds, monkeys, deer and the backdrop of the 1000 year old Ranthambore fort was fantastic. The guides are really knowledgeable, picking up on the sounds of the wild, and can identify things I would never have noticed if they hadn't pointed them out, really attentive. The whole experience was compelling.

In the afternoon I went on an interesting tour of the fort, but was really focused on getting back on safari the next morning. This time we were in zone 4 and the guide, Ved, was a study in concentration as he took up various vantage points to try and pick up a tiger's location, listening carefully to the cries of other animals. There was a real sense of tension in the air, then suddenly he asked the driver to veer of a path down a dirt track that led to an open space, and as we got to the verge of where the land fell away to a small stream, there was the tiger below us, maybe 10 metres away, and there was a collective gasp in the jeep. What a magnificent sight, and a fantastic few moments. As marvellous as it was to see the tiger in the wild, Ved's intuitive ability to track and locate it was just as impressive. As the jeep reversed at high speed, the woman behind me took a fair blow from a low-hanging branch, and when Ved asked if she was OK, she replied that she was a bit bruised "but it was worth it", which kind of said it all really. Just thrilling moments.

I then caught the 12.30 train from Sawai Madhopur to Delhi, bit of a rush in the end, but the journey was a delight, watching the red dirt of Rajasthan turn darker and give way to more verdant landscapes with gentle pictures of rural life unfolding. There was an excited group of young people on an extended trip to various places with their school teacher, a very engaging group curious about my thoughts on India and keen to find out more about my links to the country.

At various times, vendors would appear selling delicious sweet Indian chai, surely the economic bedrock for all Indian dentists, who I assume give daily thanks for the umpteen millions of gallons consumed. The best Indian chai is a fabulous coming together of ginger, cumin, cardomom and black pepper. As I lay on the sleeper sofa filming a video of the landscape, I casually remarked to one of the boys that it was a pity that the window was a little grimy as it compromised the quality of the film. To my acute embarrassment, the young lad repeated this to one of the vendors, who at the next station appeared on the platform in front of my window and proceeded to clean it with a cloth, as I squirmed with discomfort, watching the veneer of dust gradually being erased. Somehow I can't imagine Northern Rail staff being quite so obliging ..... I spent the night in a hotel near to the main train station in an area called Paharganj, which I think is the most crowded place i've ever been, and slept very soundly.