Day 2

Sorry about the lack of updates. We have been without internet access since the first day.

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Our days start early here! Today began with an alarm call at 5am, then up, breakfast and down to the station for the 7am train to Bharatpur. The station was a taste of what I think we had expected more of, but have so far not often had; busy, noisy, confusing and with all life going on. In the midst of this, a bemused white English family just become the latest spectacle and the obvious target for all the beguiling begging children and not so beguiling hawkers!. Not for the first time we were hugely grateful for our lovely local guide Narindrar who is with us for the first 2 weeks. Once on the train our second class berth was a positive haven - and the air conditioning so efficient we had to ask for it to be turned down. Yes, we will bring back train pictures for Billy!!!

At Bharatpur, a dusty, busy provincial town with little of note, we headed off for a long bicycle rickshaw ride through an amazingly peaceful bird sanctuary (one of 5 Unesco special heritage parks in India). Originally a park mandmade by the Maharajah for duck shooting parties (which he had apparently loved on a visit to Scotland) it is now a wildlife sanctuary built around a lake. It is home to a great variety of birds and other wildlife (my favourite was the mud turtle) and some interesting reminders of the Raj, like the wall on which are carved the names of the shooting guests (eg the Prince of Wales) together with the number of ducks shot and by how many guns (the record was over 4000 ducks shot in one day). Then, right in the centre of the park, a small Hindu temple complete with statues of Ganesh and Shiva, a beautiful marigold garden and a holy man dishing out sugar and orange bindis for us all. Here, Ellie started her career as wildlife photographer and for Flora and Mia, the highlight of the trip was being shown 'natural bombs', plant seeds which explode when wet (they've brought some home to take to school!)

After an Indian buffet lunch (which the girls ate heartily) in a very smart hotel on a road to nowhere, off we went to a completely stunning, vast Mughal palace called Fatehpur Sikri. Built by Akbar (the great) to house his 3 wives (one muslim, one christian and the favourite one hindu) and create a new way of living for India, where all religions live in harmony (that didn't last long) it was a huge and intricate building with a really interesting story behind it. We arrived at teatime, as the sun grew weaker and the local sandstone took on the most incredible red colour. Ellie then turned from wildlife photographer to heritage monument photographer (lots of arty shots!), Flora enjoyed the story of Akbar and Mia got tired and thirsty...

Then back in the car to Agra; a distance of only 25 km but which took more than an hour because of the volume of cars, motorbikes, tuktuks, lorries, bicycles, tractors, cows, dogs, buffalo, pigs, goats and PEOPLE all also trying to get wherever they were going. OMG I have never seen such busy roads in my entire life!!

And finally through a large gate to a very smart hotel, our home for the night. I feel terrible saying it, but I can't tell you how great it is to have the chance to experience all this from the safety of a car driven by someone else and with the opportunity to escape to a lovely hotel at the end. The authentic India backpacking experience can remain somebody else's!

And now to bed again - a lie in tomorrow - we're only getting up at 6am - but I think sunrise at the Taj Mahal is probably worth getting up for??