Exploring Asia: the Philippines, Malaysian Borneo, and Tigers in India

Mabuhai, or "long live", from the Philippines! From Japan, we headed 2,011 miles to the Philippines, an archipelago consisting of more than 7,000 islands and islets lying 500 miles off the coast of Vietnam. We ate sushi and wagyu beef enroute... And it was delicious! 

The Philippines is divided into three major island groups: Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao and the country takes its name from Philip II who was king of Spain during the Spanish colonization of the islands in the 16th century. Because the Philippines was under Spanish rule for 333 years and under U.S. tutelage for an additional 48 years, the country has many cultural affinities with the West. Following India, it's the second most populous Asian country with English as an official language. 

Landing in Cebu, Philippines.

When we landed on Mactan Island, immigration authorities met us at the plane and we were greeted with lavender hand towels, necklaces, and a police escort. The motorcycle police went ahead to stop traffic, which is terrible in Cebu (if you think LA is bad, think again)! 

Police escorting us to our hotel.

Mactan Island was made famous by Ferdinand Magellan's maritime expedition that resulted in the circumnavigation of the Earth and the discovery of the strait that bears his name. The trip, which took almost three years, was not completed by Magellan, however, as he died on the island of Mactan in a scuffle with the locals after receiving a poisoned arrow in his right leg. As we made our way to the hotel, we passed a historical site commemorating him. Shortly after, we arrived at the Shangri-La, where some famous Cebu dried mango was waiting for us on arrival (the Philippines is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest mango in the world). Apparently, you can get this at Costco in the US, but I have yet to see this for myself!

Philippines 7D mango. Yum!

 Below is a quick room/hotel tour.

Entering the property from the street.

Entering the Ocean Wing, which is separate from the Main Wing.

The room.

The bathroom.

The bathroom part two.

View from the top of the Ocean Wing.

One of the many pools on the property. The Ocean Wing has its own dedicated pool (not pictured).

View from the room.

An hour after arriving to the hotel, we went to one of the resort's many restaurants. I had read good reviews of their Chinese restaurant, Tea of Spring, so I had made a reservation. We ate fried rice, shrimp over watermelon, and fried tofu. 

Tea of Spring, Shangri-La Mactan.

Table set up at Tea of Spring.

Fried rice.

Their signature fried shrimp.

The following day, we set off on a long 12-hour adventure. We left our hotel at 6:30 AM and drove over an hour to Cebu's ferry terminal to visit Bohol. When we finally arrived at the ferry terminal, we had to pass through security, pay a terminal fee, and go to the check-in desk to get our seats assigned. 

The ferry terminal of Cebu.

Waiting for the ferry.

Our ferry ticket.

The actual ferry terminal was mid-size, with about 8 gates total. Despite not having AC, it was pretty cool inside and there were locals offering head massages (for a price, of course). We boarded our 8:20 AM ferry for Tagbilaran, the capital of Bohol and the gateway to the famous Chocolate Hills. In a 2-5-2 ferry configuration, we were lucky that no one was next to us in the middle row and we were even luckier that we had the very first row because we could stretch out on the 2-hour ferry ride. Once we set sail, the Ocean Jet put on the live action adaptation of the Lion King—who knew I'd be watching that in the Philippines! Even without audio, it helped to pass the time. As the ferry approached Bohol, we were surrounded by mist in every direction. When we docked and disembarked, we were greeted with heavy rain... different than the sunshine we had just left in Cebu! Because it was raining so hard, we first coordinated with our local guide to change our return ferry to an earlier time, which involved going to the ferry office and paying a change fee in local currency. Once we successfully changed our tickets, we set off for Loboc. 

Loboc's identity is closely tied with its river, and its primary attraction is the river itself. Loboc is a 4th class municipality in the province of Bohol with a population of 17,418 people and is known for its lunch cruises. The cruise itself was pretty, but way too touristy for us. We boarded a wooden boat that held 50+ people at various tables scattered around a covered deck. 

A rainy day on the Loboc River.

View from the boat.

Sailing down the Loboc River.

Another boat approaches.

A buffet of traditional Filipino food was laid out in the middle, and the food itself was not terrible, but the entertainment on board was completely Americanized. I really didn't want to listen to versions of "Mamma Mia" and other American tunes while sailing on a river in the Philippines! After an hour out-and-back cruise, we disembarked and headed to our next stop, the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary. On the way there, we drove through the Bilar man made forest, a beautiful forest filled with mahogany trees. Because it is illegal to cut down trees in this area, the trees have created a natural tunnel over the roadway. 

The Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary is an eco-tourism destination in Corella where you can see the smallest primates. Founded by the Philippine Tarsier Foundation to protect the endangered species, the refuge is also supported by the Philippines' Department of Tourism and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Native to southeastern Philippines, the Philippine tarsier is native to the Mindanao region. They live in rainforests up to an elevation of 2,460 feet and tend to favor small trees, grasses, bushes, and bamboo shoots. An intermediate form between lemurs and monkeys, our guide described the tarsiers as having the nose and ear of a bat, the eyes of an owl, the tail of a rat, and the hands of a lemur.

Being nocturnal animals, front and center of their proportionally large head are their extraordinarily large eyes made dramatic by their small pupils. Tarsiers have the largest eyes in proportion to their body of any mammal, each one heavier than their brain. With their unique spines, they can turn their heads 180-degrees around like an owl (which is a necessity since they can't move their eyes in their sockets to look around!) Their long fingers and toes have adhesive pads that help them grip onto branches and their feet contain two elongated tarsal bones that give them leaping abilities (their name "tarsier" is a reference to these same bones). The lack of hair on their tail and feet distinguishes them from other species of tarsiers, as most other tarsier species have at least some hair on these body parts.

Because it was still raining heavily, I did not bring my camera with me. Instead, I hiked on the path with just my phone and an umbrella. Because it is a sanctuary and not in the wild, the location of the tarsiers are easy to predict (if the hoards of people surrounding them didn't give the location away). 

Hoards of people at the sanctuary.

They're very cute, but as they're naturally nocturnal, I felt bad viewing them during the day. Most were sleeping under leaves, but some opened their eyes when tourists were loud. 

A tarsier as taken with my iPhone.

Flowers at the sanctuary.

After a quick 10-minute visit, we drove an hour to the Chocolate Hills, passing through local villages and rice fields along the way. The landscape reminded me so much of Sri Lanka, and was so refreshingly different than the hustle and bustle of Cebu. In addition to numerous kinds of rice, the Philippines is one of the world's largest producers of coconuts and coconut products, and you see coconut trees everywhere you look! 

Driving around Bohol.

Finally, we reached the viewpoint for the Chocolate Hills. The Chocolate Hills are a group of unusually shaped hills numbering around 1,776 hills within a 30 square mile area. Geologists categorize the landforms as "conical karst topography" meaning the hills are leftover limestone deposits from a time when streams and rivers were far above sea level. Over time, rainfall and other natural water sources slowly created the dips and valleys the island has become so famous for. Of course, there's also folklore surrounding the formation of the hills. One local legend says the hills are the aftermath of a fight between two giants who spent days hurling stones at each other before giving up. Another local legend says that a young giant, Arogo, fell in love with a moral woman and when she died, the giant wept and his teardrops formed the Chocolate Hills. Our guide liked to point out the two different "flavors" of the hills, mint or chocolate, dependent on the season. At the end of the dry season (typically December-May), the famous hills earn their name when the grass turns from green to brown. 

Overlooking the Chocolate Hills.

Say cheese! Or chocolate?

While the hills cannot be climbed individually, there is a viewing deck (with 214 stairs to the top). Because we were pressed for time with the return drive time to the ferry, we just observed the hills from the parking lot (which had a great view too!)

Panorama of the Chocolate Hills.

After taking photographs, we back-tracked the way we had driven and boarded our 2-hour ferry back to Cebu. By the time we returned to the hotel, we were completely exhausted! The following day, we set off on a half-day morning tour of Cebu city to explore off-the-beaten path locations not frequented by tourists. We started our visit at the Taoist Temple, located only 3 miles from the city center. With the traffic, it took us over an hour to get to the "Beverly Hills" gated neighborhood where the temple was located, though! Built by Cebu's Chinese community in 1972, the temple is one of the most visited non-Catholic shrines in Cebu. Perched almost 1,000 feet above the city, the temple has sweeping views of the city. After climbing 81 steps (symbolic of the 81 chapters of Taoism scripture), you reach the main temple. The main temple is the primary structure where the shrine is located. Above the main temple, there's another smaller temple above it with a different Taoist saint. We spent an hour exploring the grounds walking on "the Great Wall of China" and exploring the various levels. Some photos below. 

Entering the temple.

"The Great Wall of China" replica.

Mom and I at one of the higher tiers.

Decorations inside one of the halls.

iPhone panorama. 

From the highest level, you look out towards the city.

Cebu views from the top of the temple.

The view from the top was my favorite!

One side of the columns had a bell while the other had a drum.

Going down.

Fu dog with the temple.

Pagoda at the mid-level of the temple.

The main hall of the temple.

Looking towards the temple from the main staircase.

On our way back down into the heart of Cebu city, we drove by "The White House" (are you noticing that everything has an American counterpart?) before stopping at the Heritage of Cebu Monument. A tableau showcasing the important events in Cebu city's history, the sculptures are made of brass, bronze, concrete, and steel. The events depicted are the baptism of Rajah Humabon and his people, a Roman Catholic Mass, the Santo Nino procession, and the Battle of Mactan between Lapu-Lapu and Ferdinand Magellan. The monument also depicts The Saint John the Baptist Church, Basilica del Sto. Nino, Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, Magellan's Cross, and Spanish Galleon. Below are a few photos. 

From there, we walked to see the Yap-San Diego Ancestral House, one of the oldest houses in the Philippines and said to be the first ever Chinese house built outside of China. Constructed during the Spanish colonial era, the building is a 17th-century structure with the combination of Spanish and Chinese influences. The house originally belonged to a wealthy Chinese merchant, his wife, and their children. Their eldest daughter married the Parian Cabeza de barangay, Don Mariano Sandiego, and the house took its name from their marriage.

We continued on to the Casa Gorordo Museum, which is another old house from the 1850s. 

We proceeded to visit Fort San Pedro, the oldest and smallest fort in the Philippines. The fort is triangular, with two sides fronting the sea and the other edge facing the land where the entrance is located. While the museum was closed for a private event, we were able to walk around the outside of the fort. Below are a few photos. 

From there, we started heading back to our hotel in the traffic. We did make one quick detour for some more dried mango, though! When we returned to the hotel, we had a leisurely lunch of dim sum in the Chinese restaurant before spending the rest of the afternoon at leisure, catching up from our Philippines adventures. The next morning, we ate breakfast as the sun rose over the ocean. 

We were escorted by the police to the airport once more, and we set off on our nearly two-hour flight to Malaysian Borneo. Borneo is a giant, rugged island in Southeast Asia’s Malay Archipelago shared by the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, Indonesian Kalimantan, and Brunei. Indonesia constitutes the largest political component of the island while Sarawak and Sabah are two constituent states of Malaysia often collectively called East Malaysia (with the Islamic sultanate of Brunei in between). Borneo is the world’s third largest island after Greenland and New Guinea and has a length of only 830 miles from northeast to southwest and a maximum breadth of 600 miles. 

 

Small kingdoms were present during the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries when people from India first came to the region. Exiles from Sumatra founded Malacca in 1400 (which grew into a trading and Islamic religious center until the Portuguese took it over in 1511, followed by the Dutch in 1641). In 1819, the British established a settlement on Singapore Island and created the Straits Settlements (which included Malacca, Singapore, and Penang). In the late 1800s, Chinese people began moving to peninsular Malaysia (then known as Malaya). After Japan invaded Malaya and captured Singapore in 1942, they were defeated in 1945 which resulted in the peninsula being federated with Penang with the opposition to the British rule that followed. Malaya gained independence from Britain in 1957 and Malaya, Singapore, and the former British colonies of Sarawak and Sabah joined to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 (though Singapore withdrew from the federation shortly after). 

 

When we landed in Borneo, we headed straight to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center (abbreviated as BSBCC). This was something I had been looking forward to, as I have closely followed BSBCC and the work of Dr. Wong for several years and was scheduled to visit Borneo before the Covid pandemic saw our trip cancelled. Sun bears are the smallest bears in the world and are threatened by deforestation, illegal hunting for bear parts (some people use their body parts like the bile from the gall bladder for medicine) and poaching to obtain young cubs for the pet trade. Sun bears are totally protected under the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment of 1997 and those found in possession of a sun bear or its products face a fine of up to RM 50,000, a jail term of 5 years, or both. Sun bears are found only in Southeast Asia in eastern India, southern China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, peninsular Malaysia, Sumatera, and Borneo. There are two sub species of sun bears: Malayan sun bears and Bornean sun bears. BSBCC has 43 rescued ex-captive Bornean sun bears and houses large forest enclosures to provide a natural environment to facilitate their rehabilitation back into the wild. Founded in 2008 and opened to the public in 2014, it is the only sun bear conservation center in the world. 

 

The construction of BSBCC was divided into four phases. During the first phase, the bears are integrated into “bear groups” and given access to outdoor enclosures during the day within bear house 1 and forest enclosure 1. In phase two, the bears are located near the observation platform 1 accessible via a boardwalk. Completed in 2012, BSBCC wasn’t yet opened to the public though educational activities started to take place with visits from local and international school groups. In phase three, the quarantine area for bears was built. At the same time, completion of bear house 2 added 16 individual dens for more bears (at this time, 8 bears arrived from Lok Kawi Wildlife Park in Kota Kinabalu) and BSBCC launched its soft opening ceremony with the Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah Wildlife Department, and Land Empowerment Animals People. The final phase four saw the fencing of forest area with the bears being released into the new forest enclosure. With the 5 pillars of BSBCC being animal welfare, rehabilitation, research, education, and ecotourism, Dr. Wong (one of the few Malaysian wildlife biologists trained in Taiwan and the USA), has continued to be a pioneer in the conservation of the species where field work is exceedingly difficult. 

 

Dr. Wong came to meet us and give us a tour around the facility. I had brought his book “Saving Sun Bears” from home, and he signed it for me! Because we were there in the afternoon and the group didn’t spend a long time there, we didn’t see photographic sun bears… But stay tuned for later in this blog post because we went back the following day on our own and had the most incredible time! 

As seen from the parking lot!

Dr. Wong at the BSBCC entrance giving a talk.

Dr. Wong signed my book!

 

After Dr. Wong talked with us, we went to lunch at the Rainforest Discovery Center before proceeding to visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. The sanctuary is one of four in the world, but Sepilok was the first center in the world to dedicate itself to the rehabilitation of orangutans when it was established in 1964. One of the world’s most endangered primates, the center’s primary mission is to rehabilitate and provide a safe haven for orphaned and injured orangutans. Today, around 60-80 orangutans live independently in the rainforest reserve and approximately 25 orphaned orangutans are housed and cared for in the nurseries. While the orangutans are given supplementary food daily, they can come and go from the sanctuary as they please—there are no fences. While some of the orangutans raised as pets can never be returned to the wild, others can be rehabilitated though the process is long (taking up to seven years). Once rescued and taken into Sepilok, the primates are quarantined to avoid the spread of illnesses to the other inhabitants of the center. Depending on their age and ability, the orangutans are then moved to the indoor or outdoor nursery. 

 

We walked through the forest on wooden platforms, searching for orangutans. While we didn’t see any, we saw the nursery where the youngsters and sick orangutans were playing. In a lucky encounter, we saw a wild orangutan on the roof of the center as we were boarding the buses to go to the hotel, so we of course got out to photograph it. Photos below! 

A wild orangutan on the roof of a building.

Hanging out in the parking lot!

 

We decided to skip the proboscis monkey sanctuary since the heat and humidity were other-worldly, and not pleasant by any means, so we went straight to our hotel. See below for a room tour! 

Our room in Borneo.

The bathroom was simple but fine, as we weren't there too long!

View from the room.

The main lobby.

 

The next morning, we woke up to a dripping sound at 5 AM. We looked outside and it wasn’t raining, but water was definitely coming into our room—and a lot of it. I threw a trash can down and called reception who sent maintenance to investigate. After taking apart the ceiling, he discovered the AC unit was leaking! After an hour, it was fixed, but just another day in the life that we can laugh about! 

We had to put a waste bucket down!

 

We met our private guide and driver at 8 AM after breakfast and drove back to BSBCC. Yesterday, Dr. Wong had told us to come first thing in the morning when the bears are the most active and we were there so early that we were actually the first visitors there! We slowly made our way along the platforms up to the main visitor building, stopping for a photo at the logo. BSBCC’s logo is of “Si Kechil”, The Little One, when she was eight months old. Her story is sad but typical: her mother was killed by poachers, and she was kept as a pet. She was one of the very first sun bears ever to be reintroduced into the wild. While she’s no longer with BSBCC, her inspiration remains and serves as a reminder that there can be hope after sorrow. 

Back at BSBCC!

As seen outside the entrance.

Mom and I at the entrance.

Map of the BSBCC.

Walking up the path towards the visitor center.

The visitor's center... With no one there.

 

At exactly 9 AM, the center opened. 

The entrance!

We took a photo with the bears of the world.

...And Dr. Wong was there too!

We made our way to the first viewing platform where we saw Nano and Noah. Dr. Wong was with us and, being the humble human he is, insisted we call him “just Wong”. 

Walking towards the platforms.

When Nano and Noah went deeper into the forest, out of view, we went to the other platform where BBC was filming Romolina. With her large, sickle-shaped claws Romolina climbed one of the trees to lick honey. Her name is reminiscent of the Romol village where she was rescued from and she has an un-symmetrical chest mark which looks like a necklace (every sun bear has its own unique chest mark). Romolina’s owner claimed they found her alone in the forest and so they took her and kept her confined in a tiny cage. After negotiations with the villager, Romolina was rescued from the interior division of Sabah and was handed over to the Sabah Wildlife Department in July 2018. She was malnourished and she showed signs of stunted growth as a result of her improper diet of rice, cereals, sausages, and fruit. In 2019, she was introduced to other sub-adult bears but she only liked playing with the male bears (she apparently chased away the female bears and growled at them). She is now with Logan and Joe and is one of the best tree climbers at BSBCC. 

 

We had previously adopted Joe the sun bear during Covid, and we did renew our adoption of Joe at BSBCC, but after seeing Romolina we decided to adopt her too. If you want to adopt a sun bear and learn more about them, you can do so HERE.

Mom and I with our adoption certificates.

 

After nearly two hours of being the only visitors with just Dr. Wong and the BBC film crew as company (most people visit the adjacent Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center first), we drove to lunch at the Sepilok Rainforest Resort. We had an incredible buffet of local food including dory, a type of river catfish. 

Our lunch spot: Sepilok Rainforest Resort.

View from lunch.

Flowers at lunch.

Flowers at lunch.

View of the property from the main building.

 

Following lunch, I went on a hike in the forest behind the Rainforest Discovery Center. Forty years ago, nearly 74% of the country was covered by rainforest but today only 50% remains covered (half of the world’s timber comes from Borneo, so deforestation is a huge problem here). The rainforest in Borneo is one of the oldest in the world, estimated to be about 130 million years old, and it is home to a wide variety of species—222 mammals (44 of which are endemic to Borneo), 15,000 different varieties of plants including the largest flower in the world (the Rafflesia Arnoldii which smells rotten), and 420 bird species. It is said that Borneo is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet and, during the last 10 years, approximately 360 new species have been discovered in Borneo. We climbed high above into the canopy, where we walked on steel bridges. At the end of the path, we descended back into the forest walking on a dirt trail before walking over a suspension bridge. See below for photos from our walk! 

iPhone panorama of the rainforest.

Bridges over the canopy.

I always love looking up in the forest!

I loved this little trail of leafs.

Giant Squirrel!

This tree resembled an elephant.

A suspension bridge over the lake.

 

At the end of our hour walk, we ducked inside the Rainforest Discovery Center—a huge museum dedicated to Borneo’s flora, fauna, and wildlife. Again, we were the only people there! 

Inside the Rainforest Discovery Center.

You could pull out all these drawers!

After returning to the hotel, we had a delicious Chinese dinner at Sabah Hotel, repacked our BSBCC shopping damage, and called it an early night… The next two days were about to be very long travel days! 

Shopping damage of BSBCC.

On February 24, we woke up in Borneo and went to sleep in India. We departed Borneo early in the morning, flew 7 hours to Jaipur, and checked in to the Oberoi Rajvilas. 

Landing in Jaipur, India.

We had stayed here on our first trip to India back in 2010, but did not remember how spread out the hotel is! The hotel has golf carts driven by staff to help you get around, but the carts can't go very fast because of the cobblestones. See below for a hotel tour...

The main building.

The pool area.

Walking towards the rooms.

The entrance to a cluster of rooms.

Each of the water fountains has a different sculpture.

The main lobby features fresh flowers and beautiful architecture.

... And a room tour.

A cluster of rooms.

The hallway to our room.

At the end of the hallway, there are two rooms.

Main area of the room.

The main area of the room includes a nice sitting desk.

The main area of the room also includes a separate sitting area.

The bathroom features a sunken tub.

The tub overlooks a nice, private window for some natural light.

For dinner, we donned our saris (with the assistance of the hotel staff) and set out for a traditional village themed dinner arranged at the Oberoi. Private for our group, there were stations where you could get henna, shop for wooden crafts, buy bangles, and more. 

Mom and I in our saris.

Village themed dinner.

Bonfire set up.

Getting henna!

One hand is complete!

Walking to dinner.

The dinner set up.

When we returned to the room, the flowers were changed to say good night!

The next day, we enjoyed a traditional breakfast of masala dosa: a roasted dosa (similar to a crepe) stuffed with potato curry served with chutney and sambar. It was so good that I ordered two!!! 

Masala dosa for brekkie.

We opted to skip the city touring in anticipation of our upcoming long drive from Jaipur to Ranthambore (and because we had been to Jaipur before), so instead we walked around the property looking at all the peacocks and birds and I worked quite a bit. 

My henna!

One of the many birds around the hotel.

This peacock was in the tree for a very long time.

We reconvened with the group for lunch, where we instantly became best friends with the chef because we asked for some traditional Indian food (the food on the buffet was not authentic-- it was very Americanized). The next thing we knew, we had fresh naan, butter chicken, dal, and samosas. 

Lunch at the Oberoi.

Immediately after lunch, we departed for what was supposed to be a three hour drive from Jaipur to Ranthambore. With the traffic and with the large buses, the drive ended up taking four and a half hours instead... When we finally did arrive at the Six Senses Fort Barwara (the first Six Senses property in India), I was blown away by how large the property is. Constructed during the 14th century on a 5.5 acre site (and surrounded by 20-foot high rock walls), the East Wing of the resort looks over the countryside and the West Wing looks over Barwara village. Though the hotel only has 48 rooms, every room is a suite ranging in size from nearly 800 square feet to 3,000 square feet. Originally owned by a Rajasthani royal family, the 14th century fort was sensitively converted and the conservation effort incorporates two palaces and two temples within the walled fort.  The rooms are truly something to behold... See below. 

Door handle details.

Our room at the Six Senses Fort Barwara.

We had a separate sitting area!

We had a long hallway with a closet.

The bathroom was huge too!

Bathroom part two.

The bathroom even had an outdoor shower.

As well as an indoor one!

...With more cool handle details.

Another angle.

...And here are a quick few photos from around the property. 

After a fairly late dinner, we went to bed as early as possible since we would be waking up before dawn to go on our first tiger safari... or so we thought. 

The Six Senses at night.

At 2 AM, I woke up sicker than I've ever been. I had to keep running to our bathroom (which was not easy due to the room size!) and even though I tried to go back to sleep, I couldn't. I knew right then that I would not be seeing tigers and my fears were reconfirmed when our wake up call came and I did not feel any better. So, I stayed in bed all day. I tried to eat porridge. I tried to eat rice. I tried to eat tea cookies. I tried to drink electrolytes. Yet nothing worked. Eventually, I decided to just sleep. And sleep. And sleep. I think I slept the entire day away!

They say that good things come to those who wait, and the next day was my lucky day. While I wasn't feeling 100%, I felt good enough to go out. Lucky for us, I had booked us a private car for our second day in Ranthambore before we left the US. We drove one hour to the park where we met our park guide and park driver. We transferred from the hotel's van to an open-air safari vehicle and drove an additional twenty minutes to the entrance for Zone 3. 

Driving to Ranthambore.

Selfie from the back row of the jeep.

With 10 zones encompassing Ranthambore, zone 3 has the three most famous lakes: Padam Talao, Rajbagh Talao, and Malik Talao. The famous world heritage site, Ranthambore Fort, is located near this zone and can be viewed from here as well. The zone was incredibly scenic, and we did come across two cubs under one year of age. Once a former hunting ground of the Maharajas of Jaipur, today the Ranthambore National Park is a major wildlife tourist attraction. 

Entrance to Zone 3.

Entering the second set of gates.

To enter the park, you go through an old banyan tree.

And away we went!

For awhile, we drove around looking at the scenery and listening for alarm calls. 

An event venue in Ranthambore.

Ranthambore Fort.

Panorama with Ranthambore Fort in the background.

When the spotted deer called, we knew we had to be on the lookout. With thick foliage surrounding us and the way the tigers camouflage, it was possible a tiger could be anywhere and we wouldn't have seen it. Another vehicle spotted a cub by one of the three lakes, and we followed him as he made his way through the jungle. Photographing at 1000 mm, it was not a close sighting but I can say we saw a tiger in the wild which is pretty incredible as they are known to be elusive. What's more, as we were following the male, another male cub appeared out of nowhere! We watched the cubs as they wrestled and prowled the forest before we had to leave the park, as the park closes for a few hours in between the morning and afternoon game drives. Pics from our sighting below.

Peekaboo!

Playing hide and seek... He did not come out of the bushes after this, unfortunately!

We drove back through the old banyan tree...

A bird came to say hello at the gate.

...And through town to our meeting point of Village Women Craft. Of course, we went in to do some shopping... And I decided it was a great idea to bring a patchwork quilt home! 

The quilt I bought.

We drove an hour back to our hotel, where we had too many cups of masala chai from a local lady who shows up daily. Although my mom speaks no Hindi and the lady spoke no English, they quickly became best friends as our cups were continually refilled! 

Because I was still not feeling 100%, we chose to skip the afternoon game drive. We heard from other guests that not much happened, so I think it was a good call. I wanted to make sure I was capable of driving over four hours back to Jaipur the next day, and I didn't want to push myself.... More to come!

Thanks for following along with our adventures. As always, follow my Instagram @elissatitle for photos and stay tuned for more!