Bird Watching in Bharatpur
Trip Start
Sep 08, 2009
1
13
91
Trip End
Jul 28, 2010
Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
We haggled a price for a rickshaw to the Kiran Guest House (Noel had stayed there a couple of years ago), but when we got to the gates there didn't seem to be anybody around. Thankfully someone appeared and although it was late, they rustled us up a quick bite to eat before we retired for the night.
The plan was to get up pretty early the next morning and head for a bit of bird watching and wildlife spotting in Keoladeo National Park. Alas, we slept a little later than planned, so over breakfast we decided that we'd go to Fatephur Sikri instead and leave the park until the following morning.
As we headed out, there was a cycle rickshaw driver waiting to take us on a tour of the park - I think the guest house owners had arranged for him to be there (we'd told them we'd probably go to the park), but we'd certainly not asked them to do it. The rickshaw driver had apparently been waiting since 6am, so we felt really bad, even though it wasn't our fault he'd been sitting there all that time. We apologised profusely and took his rickshaw to the bus stop instead, arranging to meet him the next morning at 7:30am for the park.
The bus to Fatephur Sikri junction didn't take too long, and from there it was a short rickshaw ride to the place itself. Fatephur Sikri is an abandoned city which was built (and abandoned) in the 16th Century, and for a short time served as the seat of the Mughal Emperor Akbar.
First stop was the Jama Masjid mosque, which was free in. It was most impressive, and featured some outstanding marble work. Alas, it didn't take long before we were approached by someone who claimed to work there, and offered his guiding services, which he stressed were free. We told him we'd rather wander around on our own, so headed off, but he just kept following us, despite our best efforts to shake him off.
Needless to say, we were suspicious about his intentions, and these suspicions were soon confirmed when he directed us to his brother's souvenir stall at the end of his tour and started to give us the hard sell on some marble elephants. We politely declined the 'retail opportunity', so he then asked for money for his services. I reminded him that he'd told us he worked there (he clarified matters by saying that he did work there - at his brother's stall!), and that his services were free, so off we went. The truth is, I don't mind giving someone a small tip for this sort of thing when I think they've been honest and the tip is deserved, but in this instance neither applied.
Heading out of the mosque we headed for Fatephur Sikri proper, paying our entrance fee and declining the services of an offical guide. We spent a good couple of hours or so wandering around the various palace buildings, courtyards and gardens of the abandoned city, and we were suitably impressed - the buildings were both well preserved, and well looked after, and it made for an interesting couple of hours.
We headed back to the bus stop, and before getting on the bus Jane decided to buy a bar of Dairy Milk Crisp she'd spotted at a roadside shop. However, despite the fact that it was in a little chiller cabinet, it soon became clear that it had spent a little too long in the sun. The chocolate had melted and fused to the foil, and the chocolate itself had developed a white mouldy look. Clearly the chocolate wasn't really suitable for eating. Getting a refund for a chocolate bar in India probably takes some doing, but to her credit, Jane managed it, much to the annoyance of the shopkeeper - he threw it on the floor in disgust!
We got the bus back to central Bharatpur for a quick look around the town, and found there was a fair on. We decided that a quick mooch around was in order, although there wasn't much happening. Most of the fair was lined with stalls selling large puri type things which were coated in some sort of icing. I kid you not, there were dozens and dozens of them, all selling the same thing. Alas, they were also covered in flies, so we decided to give them a miss. But we did try some very tasty chick pea and potato cake from a stall, just to keep us going until dinner.
We haggled hard (perhaps a little too hard) over the price of a rickshaw back to the hotel, but eventually a lad of about sixteen agreed to take us for 30 Rs. It soon became clear that the hotel was quite a bit further than we'd thought, so when he eventually got there we gave him 50Rs for his trouble, especially as he'd let me sit on the saddle for a quick photo!
We had dinner and a few beers in the hotel and got a reasonably early night for our early start in the morning.
As arranged this time, the rickshaw driver was waiting for us when we went out, so off we set. We'd originally thought about hiring bicycles for the day, but the park had temporarily stopped offering this facilty, so it was either a case of taking a rickshaw or walking. The rate for the rickshaw drivers is set by the park at 70Rs an hour, and all rickshaw drivers are trained to spot the many birds and wildlife in the park. Our rickshaw driver proved to be superb at this, and spotted so many things we'd never have seen.
I'll not list the forty or so birds we saw (but if you want to know, I'll be happy to oblige!), but we saw all sorts, from eagles, owls and cranes to monitor lizards and mongooses (or is it mongeese?). We had a great time (well I did - I think Jane started to fade after about four hours or so, especially as she was full of a cold).
After about seven hours or so the rickshaw driver took us back to our hotel and we tipped him well for his good service (although the cheeky sod still asked for more!). Jane was worn out from all the sitting on the rickshaw, so she nodded off and I walked into Bharatpur to find a bank. As always, it was fun walking through the streets with people saying hello and kids waving, although the smells were pretty potent.
We had a quiet evening, and next morning after breakfast we wandered up to the main road towards Agra to catch the local bus to the home of the Taj Mahal.
