India Day V.

2-6-20 BHARATPUR—RANTHAMBHORE: Val, Lynn and I were up before dawn and back at Keoladeo National Park for more birds. First we had a boat ride on a wide dinghy with our guide and a boatman who poled us through the shallow waters. We caught the sunrise and lots more birds as well as some deer and a fleeting glimpse of a jackal.


After the mist clears.

From this waterway into the greater wetland.

Morning water birds.

Deer checking us out.

The jackal was in nearly the same spot on our way back.

Very quiet morning.

Bird mix.

Darter [Anhinga] in the morning sun.

Ducks on the wing.

Eagle silhouette.

After the boat ride, we were back in the rickshaws for further exploring. The park allows no motor vehicles except for the rangers’ vehicles. We were on one road, paved and straight that started at the dry tree and shrub habitat and went into the wetland.


Silhouetted something.

Wild tusker.

Bull island.

Acacia tree with birds.

Bird heaven. Migratory bird stop at this park spring and fall.

Then we went back to the hotel for breakfast and check out and the drive to Ranthambhore National Park for the tiger safaris. It was a long drive and we arrived at Vivanta Sawai Madhopur Lodge late in the day. This was a great place with the rooms set away from the main buildings. The landscaping was beautiful and the restaurant excellent.

Vivanta rooms arc around a garden.

India Day IV.

2-5-20 AGRA—BHARATPUR, INDIA: Early the next morning we were headed back to the river but on the other side away from the Taj to see it in the morning light through the mist and smog. The mornings are very misty, fog plus smog, but later in the day the fog is gone. Some of the mornings were in the thirties, warming up to seventy in the afternoon and then cooling off quickly after sundown. This site was a garden, Mehtab Bagh, created by Shah Jahan, which is now being restored. We were there to see the Taj in the mist.

Down to the river.

There's a river below the Taj and a lot of water birds and waders.

We did get a great look at this White-throated Kingfisher.

...and this Hoopoe.

Back on the road to Bharatpur and Keoladeo National Park, the trip was similar to yesterday’s drive. Our van driver handled the traffic chaos with total competence, gently easing us over a thousand speed bumps. There were frequent toll booths, I’m not sure why.

Things we saw on the road, at different times included, donkey carts, horse carts, camel wagons, a bus so full that people were sitting on top of it, sheep, goats, camels, elephants, cows on the highway. On the highway there is somewhat better road discipline, but when there is a highway jam, people will turn around and drive the wrong way—like going north on the south bound side of the NJ Turnpike—usually on the shoulder, but will use some of the road to pass while going in the wrong direction. People walk on the highway median and cross the highway on foot, cows are on the median and can cross the road at any time. People might park on the highway to shop at a roadside kiosk.

In the suburbs there are many new high-rise apartment building and office parks between the crush of the city centers and the open agricultural zones.

The first peafowl we saw were a good distance from the highway in a field under a tree. The pix were bad. Later on we saw dozens and dozens more.


Laxmi Niwas Palace was a come-down from the other hotels, poor WiFi, occasional hot water, mediocre restaurant, but OK for one night.

The hotel had nice dahlias and resident peafowl.

The Keoladeo National Park was originally, 250 years ago, a hunting preserve for princes. It is 11 sq. miles in area some dry shrub and forest, and mostly a huge, man made wetland. Primarily it’s a bird sanctuary, 370 species, but also inhabited by deer, jackals, small cats, antelopes, boars and lots of cows. We arrived in the mid-afternoon for our first visit after we checked in at Laxmi Niwas Palace, another oasis from the city street chaos. The tour is by bicycle rickshaw with frequent dismounts for bird and other pix. We met our new guide, whose name is lost to history, but who was very good with birds. We had left Harry in Agra.


Park entrance where we got the rickshaws.

Big rack.

Deer and birds.

Who knew the cow was a swamp animal.

Mr. and Ms. Antelope.

Coots galore.

Baby boa.

Sunset as we headed out of the park.

Preening peacock. He was on the ground under the shrubs walking with a buddy, but when we stopped to look, he hopped up on that branch, slowly turning from side-to-side while I took many pix.

I got pix of many birds that I had not seen before and missed a few pix of others. they will be in the bird post later.

At the hotel we had the dinner buffet. 

India Day III

2-4-20 DELHI—AGRA, INDIA: We left The Claridges early for trip to Agra and the Taj Mahal. There were a couple comfort stops and a few stops to see sarus cranes in the fields. We drove southeast, more or less following the Yamuna river. The topography is flat and mostly agricultural—wheat and canola oil plants—and with frequent kilns for firing bricks, marked by tall chimneys. There were haystacks, which haven’t seen for a long time. Gasoline is $4 per gallon, and 100 Rupees are $0.66.


Sarus Cranes, I think we were told that they are the tallest, flying birds.

Wheat field with deer.

We reached Agra, still with Harry the guide. The road to the hotel was lined with small shops and houses, many of them hovels, selling whatever in the muddy front yard, often dried cow poop patties, used as fuel for cooking fires, as the stock in trade. Bunches of half-clothed kids played in the yards with sleeping dogs and wandering cows and thieving monkeys on the roof.

A little taste of traffic and Main Street.

After a mile on that road, the van stopped and made a sharp right turn into the gated and guarded hotel entrance. What a contrast! The grounds are a beautiful park with manicured lawns, trimmed hedges, flowering shrubs, water fountains and pools with lily pads. There was a swimming pool and athletic fields. The marble lobby was spacious, a group of five girls went through, a rainbow of a gauzy, revealing gowns, part of a wedding party taking place at the hotel.

From the roof of the hotel, Val and I got a glimpse of the Taj and the wedding pavilion.


ITC Mughal Hotel lobby.

Wedding Pavilion. Wedding prep going on with loud music playing. The next morning lots of people were looking like they had been up all night.

Hotel grounds.

After lunch we set out on the tours, first to the Agra Fort,, a huge red brick structure, home to the Mughal Shahs until the capital was moved to Delhi. We toured the residence and harem building and gardens. The fort is directly across the river from The Taj Mahal.


Entrance to the Agra Fort.

Some inlay work in the residence.

Awed tourists.

Harem gardens.

Decorative stonework at the favorite queen's residence.

After the Fort we crossed the river and toured the iconic Taj Mahal. We stayed and caught a nice sunset. It is another Mosque so it’s shoes off again. It’s also the tomb of Shah Jahan’s favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, and the Shah himself. The detail craftsmanship and inlay work uses many colored minerals and stones.


We've all seen pictures, but it's very impressive in person.

We did the whole tour and stayed for the sunset.

After the Taj, it was back to the hotel for dinner.

India Day II.

2-10-20 DELHI, INDIA: We're back here after our circular excursion in northern India. We fly out tonight and have day rooms at the Radison Blu Airport Hotel. I'll start the story of the trip, day by day.

2-3-20 DELHI, INDIA: We were up early for breakfast, and left the hotel at 8:30 attempting to beat the rush hour traffic, which, we discovered, is huge. There’s lots of construction everywhere because they’re building a subway system—great idea. First we were in New Delhi with broad streets, sidewalks and walled enclosures for government buildings, all massive and in park-like settings. We were driven via many round-abouts to the downtown, old Delhi area. There is dense fog/smog with visibility of a hundred yards, it was improved by afternoon. Our guide, ‘Harry’, said it was only about 250 ppm today, but sometimes is 900 ppm.

We went by a large, red Jain temple, where we left the van, it’s too big for the old city. There were old apartment buildings with facades in disrepair and patched here and there in different ways leaving a hodge-podge exterior. In the old market streets traffic is a mix of bikes, motorcycles, tuk-tuks, hand carts, rickshaws and an occasional car. People are selling everything—food, textiles, flowers, glitzy stuff, shoes, spices. Stray dogs and monkeys roam around, the dogs on the ground, the monkeys on the roof tops and wires, cows have the right of way. On the ground there are garbage piles created by rush brooms that everybody seems to have. Every structure is in a state of decay or disrepair.


The doorman at Claridges giving a universal greeting, 'Namaste'.

The Jain temple.

Flower seller.

Shoe store.

Long lasting fast food.

Monkey on the wires.

The crowding is intense and chaotic, but people all seem used to it—there is no anger or hostility, the crowds flow around people making deals and then the other way around a delivery cart.

The wires are rats nests of electricity, maybe cable TV, maybe phone lines, internet lines all snarled together overhead, apparently everybody steals service from where-ever or whoever.

We stopped at a fast food place that the guide said was safe. It has been in business since 1795 at the same spot by the same family. We had samosas and a sort of funnel cake that we watched being made. We trekked through several blocks avoiding the vehicles. pushing through the crowds and getting pushed. The crowds are shoppers, sellers, delivery men, tourists. There are few women on the streets unaccompanied by another woman or a man.


Narrow streets, crowds, bikes.

The wiring makes me sort of nervous.

Delivery carts take up a lot of space.

We ended up at a huge mosque, Jama Masjid. We visited, shoeless in bedroom slippers that were too small, security was strict. Mosques in India face west toward Mecca.


The mosque was the largest ever at one time.

It's open to everyone with no shoes for a small fee.

Three amigas. The dresses are a requirement for women.

After we had our shoes back on, we rode in bicycle rickshaws to a different market selling spices and food. Back in the van we went for lunch at a restaurant in the newer city. A group of beggar children were besieging us after lunch. They might have been a family, the youngest two only wore shirts.

The traffic is the same chaotic swarm as the old market, lane marking on the road are purely decorative, everyone is passing and getting passed. Intersections are an adventure, drivers need to be aggressive but not hostile, if you see a gap, push into it, but do not get angry about being cut off. Horns are honking all the time, saying “I’m passing or I’m behind you”. Drivers are on the wrong side of the street and turn unexpectedly without signalling. BTW, the driving is on the left, British style. The city traffic is low speed with frequent jams, which probably prevents a lot of accidents.


Nuts and spices.

The pepper section of the spice market, it had us all coughing for some reason.

Working of waiting for work.

Did I mention that someone almost bought a rug on our visit to a rug factory and store?

The last stop of the day was at a tomb of Humayun in a big park. It was a model for the Taj Mahal. We heard a lot of history about cruel invaders and despots whose dynasties were overthrown by other cruel despots and invaders. Lots of them left structures to commemorate themselves.


One part of the tomb park.

Dogs are everywhere. Most of them look more or less like this one. At any given moment lost of them are sleeping. They are strays, but look well fed and all seem friendly.

I almost forgot the Black Kites, raptors, birds of prey, but mostly scavengers. They ride warm air currents over the city.

The main tomb of Humanayun.

There were a lot of new birds, for me, but I will do an India-Bird Post after the daily accounts. 

First Day in Delhi.

2-2-20 DELHI, INDIA: We arrived in the evening and went through Immigration and Customs fairly quickly, met our guide and our van and driver. The trip to The Claridges was about a half hour with moderate Sunday night traffic, it’s still Sunday morning in NJ. The guide told us that the trip would have taken over an hour any other day. Check in at the hotel was fine, and my room is like any deluxe hotel in the USA, if a bit ready for a re-do.

The air is gray with smog, and exotic aromas waft by in this city of 21,000,000. The airport is huge. Our first outing is at 8:30 AM.


Val and I on the plane, early into the 14 hour flight.

Judy wore out the dogs on some marathon walk back in NJ.