6.20.2008

India: All the Animals

Besides the elephant, we saw many other animals in India. I didn't get to see a tiger, but here's a few of the others we saw:

On the way to Gwalior's Fort, we passed through some cliff carvings and above one of them, we saw bee hives. Being a good beekeeper's daughter, I tried to take a picture of it.
In Leh, one of the frequent scenes we saw was cows and donkeys grazing in the trash heaps.
All animals in Leh were smaller than the ones we saw anywhere else. Here's a donkey (thanks, Brenda) with Cheryl (for scale). They were little beasts and had teeny little hooves.
While in Leh, we went on an overnight trek (story to be told later). We had a few ponies to carry our stuff and they were all belled around their necks. This made for a pleasant sound (much like windchimes) at night when they were tied up next to the tents.
Our tents were erected in a field that, next morning, was occupied by wandering yaks and cows. Here's a small yak, interested in our decampment.
When we were driving from Leh to Manali, our taxi's progress was often obstructed by herds of goats and sheep, being moved between grazing areas. This was the most entertaining one because there were also men moving ponies and Indian tourists in cars moving in the opposite direction. AND this was on a mountainside, with a precipice (on the left of the photo) filled with mist. Very exciting!
In Manali, our hotel was in a district that was occupied by herdsmen. These cows are watching their owner retrieve grass for them. I love their floppy ears all alert. These ones are actually pretty well kept -- there were many thinner cows in my photos.
And at Chandigarh's Rock Garden (a major Indian tourist attraction) there was a fellow giving camel rides. The most amazing thing about the camel was the enormous, flat feet. (No, we did not ride the camel. We were a spectacle enough just by being white people in India.)

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Is that a donkey with Cheryl? Also, notice the face piece on the camel to stop it spitting at the tourists that want to ride on it! :D
I love the one of the crowded road, too!

Anne C. said...

Yes, it is a donkey. And the crowded road was hilarious to be in. Our taxi/SUV was on the precipice side of the road, but we had a very good and patient driver (unusual in India) who just let it all flow around us. The cars on the other side of the road were honking like crazy, like that was going to help at all. I loved seeing all the sheep and goats milling about, looking over the precipice, and standing around waiting for someone to prod them from behind.

belsum said...

Bee keeper's daughter? I swear I had no idea when I was trying to convince you to look for the hives on the Taj!

Anne C. said...

Heh. He doesn't have any bees now, but when I and my siblings were in elementary school, he used to come in and give presentations to the classes about bees. :)

el padre said...

It sounds like this beekeeping dad of yours had guts, taking bees to an elementary school. The photo of the wild bee hive is unusual to say the least.