Many years ago, before we were parents, I came across a website that had a small question and answer form on it’s page. The question was simple, something like: “What is your dream?” There was a space to write your answer and submit it.
I have no recollection of the website I was on, nor any reason why I would answer the question and give this website my email address. However. I did exactly that!
Would you like to know what my answer was?
I wrote: “my dream is to see tigers in the wild”.
I forgot all about it until a few days later when an email arrived in my inbox with a full 12-day travel itinerary for a trip to India. It included visits to Ranthambhore, Bandhavgarh and Kahna National Parks, and a few other places we might enjoy like the majestic Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, and temples in East and West Kharjuraho.
Till that moment, I had never considered a holiday in India.
I was 100% sold on the itinerary though! It looked amazing! Tigers.. Kahna National Park.. thoughts of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book came to mind.
I had no idea if this was a legitimate company so my husband (well, we weren’t married then!) and I did our research and ultimately said YES to the email and booked our trip!
We went in November 2005. It was our first holiday together, and the beginning of many safari adventures to come.
Here’s a few photos from those amazing couple of weeks. I kept a travel journal too, and if you fancy a read, you’ll find it here.
This single fleeting moment when a tiger cub looked straight down my camera lens was all kinds of magical. It was the meeting of souls – the tiger, the camera, and me. And I felt it in my whole body. It was absolutely incredible.
Thank you, India. This was truly a holiday I will never forget.
With love,
Natalie xx