The best so far

Well today was a travelling day from Jaipur, the pink city towards Agra, or the Taj Mahal. At the suggestion of my most excellent host in Shimla, it was suggested that I stay a night (or visit) the UNESCO recognized Bird Santuary in Bharatpur. I have to admit that I was a little, "whatever", but upon reaching the hotel, AMAZING. It is kind of like a little resort in the middle of chaos. There are 25 spread over 4 villas, there is a pool and spa, as well as a yoga class, hmmm, do I try yoga in India, after having taken 6 weeks off, a little part of my brain is saying yes, while the rest of my body is saying take the book, decisions, decisions.

I am not sure how many other guests are staying at this hotel, (The Bagh), but there can not be many. I saw a few earlier today, before heading off to the sanctuary, but since I have come back, there has been no one except the staff, (ok, Kingfisher in a crystal glass, potato chips in a blue fired pottery bowl and cloth napkins, is it too early to retire and collect my pension and have it sent here, hmmmm). I will probably eat later tonight, as tomorrow will be a completely slacker day, not getting started until 11am, and then a short 2 hour drive to Agra, (65 kms), then a tour of the Taj Mahal, I have not picked up any Taj related souvenirs up to this point, but I guess I should. I have done really well until now, but that is probably because I have been limited for space, and I will probably spend the evening repacking ( there is no TV in my room) to see exactly how much space I do have.

Well, I decided that since I was here, I might as well visit the sanctuary. Once again foreigners paid more for the pleasure of visiting this tourist attration, 200 versus 25 rupees. I know I can afford it, but from a utility perspective, the locals would get more from the tour, since they don't have quiet green spaces. At a certain point there was no traffic noise, just the sound of the guy beathing as he was peddling the rickshaw. Yes, I added another form of transportation, I will probably not add the train, and riding on top of a bus, or hanging off the back of a jeep, but there is one more. I don't think I need to add these last two forms, but never say never. Just kidding mom.

I was pretty blasé about the whole, look, there is a yellow billed blackbird, (I am making this up, but you get the idea). However, I did manage to take a few pictures of parakeets, (For Wanda and Yannick), and an Indian Inspector, (I think it somehow protects the other birds with its tail, that is V-shaped, once again, Economist not Orthonologist). Then we got off the rickshaw and walked down this path, where we saw Herons, (Not a big as I pictured), other little birds, BUT then a stork was visible in the distance. This is the only time I wished I had brought the big camera. I zoomed as close as I can, and I will have to rely on Photoshop to make the bird recognizable, but I have a picture of a stork, that I took with my camera. Then after deciding to go back, the guide noticed that the stork had come closer, I rushed back to take a better picture, but I only managed to get a few of them as he took off, Once again photoshop, will clean these up, and make a recognizable bird picture. That is all for today, nothing really interesting happened, which is a good thing,

Next: The Taj Mahal