Snot-Fest

Well, todays tough choice was difficult - sunbathe on the beach or sunbathe on a sunlounger. It doesnt get more complicated than that...

Since arriving, my days have basically been the same - get up and go to Yoga which is 1 1/2 hours long, eat breakfast, go to the beach and stay there until sunset. Have a shower, have lush seafood, and then go to bed. The weather has been a constant 30+degrees, and there is nothing to disturb the peace other than the swishing of palm trees and the swooshing of the waves. Heavenly! I might go for a massage tomorrow...or a boat trip to see the dolphins just off the beach...oh its a hard life...wish I was still working in the office...

Anyway, im gradually getting to know the charachters of the beach - there are the boys who run "Om Shanti" restaurant next door to my hotel - we fondly call the restaurant "Snoop's Place" because LaLa the proprietor is the image of Snoop Doggie Dogg. They are a merry band, and we are gradually becoming Snoops beeeatches (well, we eat in there all the time!)

Also starring on the beach is TBT, or rather Teabag Tommy. This is an Italian charachter, who is the image of Tommy Lee Jones (Pamela Andersons ex-husband) covered in Tattoos and looking really rough all the time. He is called TBT because under his baggy jeans...in full view...is the smallest thong in the history of the world...looking like the kind of teabag you drawstring together to squeeze. TBT takes great joy in the morning in his morning constitutional followed by a swim....IN HIS TEABAG....after spending half an hour doing stretches in the middle of the beach...IN ONLY HIS TEABAG...... NOT the sort of sight in the morning to Zen you out after Yoga. After that he is often seen in Snoops place having a joint for breakfast....Such a lovely guy.

The rest of the beach has a rich tapestry of dreadlocked hippies, Sari'd (and sometimes even Bhurka'd) ladies and beach hawkers all making thier colourful impression on me.

Although I have been detoxing whilst doing Yoga, we did go out on Christmas eve to Palolem beach, which at first glance looks like San Antonio compared to Patnem. Its wall to wall neon and flashing lights. Also, all the time over Christmas, they have pretty constant fireworks and flares and beach fires (Yes Pol...they EVEN light FIRES on BEACHES...they MUST be cool!!) so its far from peaceful. We did a mini pub crawl along the beach and ended up in (can you believe it) Cafe Del Mar! On the way we came across a whole load of people jamming on drums - making a hell raising racket, but having the time of thier lives. Reminded me of the vibe of my Samba band in Cardiff.

Anyway, Cafe Del Mar was by far the most pumping place on the beach, with about 500 people dancing on the sand to a very very crap DJ spinning anything from very old house hits to reggae and R n B. It was cool, but nothing like the Goa Trance Parties we had been led to believe happen all the time. I think we will have to go North a bit to experience that. As I have a big cold at the moment, half of us chickened out and headed back to the hotel...at 0225 am...late enough for me considering I was to be up in time for Yoga at the crack of dawn next day.

Now, onto yoga. This is where another beach charachter appears. Our Yoga teacher IS Michael Jackson with a lisp. I think he has escaped to Goa to get out of the public eye. I keep expeciting him to chant the chorus to "Bad" or "Beat it" instead of his mantra's in the morning! Anyway, he is very interesting..and very very flexible. That man can do things with his legs that you can never imagine. On the wall of his hut he has photos of him in all these amazing positions. I think they are there to inspire us, but it looks a bit painful to me...and I DO want to have kids one day!

Anyway, MJ the Yoga noticed I had a bad cold, and decided to help me. I had to go early to his hut and be CLEANSED...... Nela came with me, along with one of the Norweigans who also had a cold. OK, so cleansing consisted of having a little brass teapot of warm saltwater poured into one nostril, which then washed out of the other. Quite a nice experience really. Except for the snot production.....I never knew I had it in me!!!!! MJ encouraged me to blow like a demon....just onto the sand outside his hut.....really really minging. Anyway, the other girls had to do it too, so we are now completely best snot-buddies. Ingeburg (the Norweigan) got it all on video.....nice....

THEN MJ showed us the next level of snot clearance...which consists of passing a big bit of cotton string up your nose and out through your mouth. He did the demo and it looked MINGING....I HAD to have a go!!!!! After only a bit of crying and retching I managed to do it through my right nostri! cooo-ellll I knew having unfeasably big nostrils would come in handy one day. I couldnt get it through the other nostril though. MJ said it was OK as always one is more tricky than another. Im to come back again tomorrow morning for another cleansing.... I must say though...I DO have MUCH less congestion and I feel great! horray for MJ and his weirdness.

PHOTO

Well, you might have noticed I have finally worked out how to add pictures to the blog...but they are a bit large.......

Anyway, the sentiment is there :)

Big kisses from India for everyone..

x x x x

In the Jungle, in the, in the Jungle (note the Proidgy quote)

Namaste!

After a little break away from electricity and phones in the Jungle, Im BACK (you will all be very glad to hear !)

I have had one of the most wonderful wildlife odysseys ever - the Jungles of MP have really come up trumps. As you all know, this section of my trip was a little bit of work as well as holiday, as I visited the parks that DI work in most for thier tiger study tours and tiger safari's - Bandavgargh and Panna in Madyha Predesh.

When I left Delhi after we last spoke, I took a chair car train to Jhansi in MP, where I was cordially met by a lovely driver who whizzed me off to my first destination Ochha. Ochha is a picturesque little town on a river which has a large fort and some interesting temples. The main reason for visiting there is to break the journey to the National parks (the roads in MP are really really bad - as you start experiencing really rural undeveloped areas - mostly they are dust tracks. ) I stayed at the BundKand riverside resort, which was a delightful newly built copy of a heritage hotel. It consisted of twenty or so rooms surrounding a large courtyard of formal gardens. Each room was decorated in traditional style, and the main showpiece of the hotel was the fabulous blue tiled restaurant. I was hosted by a rather strange young man (the Maitre'D) and an older gentleman who was the manager. They both were rather distracted because a large film crew were also staying -shooting a Bollywood style soap powder advert! It was the stuff of dreams - chaos reigning... tens of runners and camera men all revolving around the actors being really cheesy. Even the Hotel manager got a bit part....unfortunately, they didnt need a buxom English girl...although I tried to get into the shots by walking across behind them alot....didnt work...just got told off!! haahahaha

The hotel and the area were a nice relaxing overnight..its really nice to be a DI client I decided...the beds were heavenly!!

Next day my driver reappeared to chauffer me to the first national park I was visiting - Panna. The drive was long and bumpy, so by the time I arrived at Ken River Lodge, I was very pleased to have a lovely hot shower and a chill out. I met a tour leader from an oldies adventure company in Canada, and we went on a wildlife walk with one of the guides....we didnt see much though -we were yakking too much I think...oops.

The next couple of days were filled with exciting wildlife adventures. I met with "our people" on the ground - Shakar the jungle cat researcher, Sanjay the Nepalese guide from Chitwan NP in Nepal, Vinny the camp owner and conservation visionary, and all the rest of the crew. Very nice to put names to faces after talking about them all the time at DI and not knowing them.
Most days I got up at 05;30hrs to go into the NP at opening in the hope of seeing the elusive Tigger and other animals. We were really lucky with other wildlife most of the days, as the jungle there is really beautiful and prolific. I saw Jungle cat, many types of deer, many types of bird, and finally, after many days of searching, a large male tiger. He was beautiful, but he skedaddled so quickly I didnt get a picture of him. He was HUGE though, and I got a bit windy in case he approached us. Mind you, like all wildlife he was off at the first oppotunity. The Jungle itself is very interesting in this neck of the woods - its a really dry desciduous (sp?) forest, which is sparse and only just supporting a very fragile eco-system, and all the time is threatened by outside preassure of domestic animals grazing within the park lands (like goats and cows stripping all the edible grass and greenery)

At Ken river, I also went on a boat trip on the river to spot Crocs -of which there were many. Very cool. ALSO, we spent a night at a smaller more modest lodge in the jungle from where we did a night safari in the Jeep. We were awesomely lucky with that - seeing a Sloth bear - which is very very elusive - up cloase. Also we saw Jackals and two different species of Civets. I liked the Palm Civet - a bit like a Jungle version of Howard. CUTE! One of the highlights of the time in Panna was riding on the top of a beautiful elephant though the jungle. SO WONDERFUL! Also, another hightlight must have been hearing a leopard roaring and growling really close to us one night - didnt see him, but his noise was really enchanting.

Surprisingly for me, MP is getting REALLY COLD, so I was suffering a bit. I managed to get a cold and also to turn my stomach to water after the night safari by getting so cold. Me being me decided that my trouble was DEFINATELY dysentary from Agra, and that I was going to DIE. But, after taking to using more clothes, and eating less, I was cured...

On my last afternoon at Ken, I visited the nearby town of Kajaraho, at which are some of the most impressive restored temple complexes in India. They are known for thier naughty graphic sexual carvings on the outside of the temples (it was one of the places where the Karma Sutra came from) An interesting visit indeed. Never knew they did THAT sort of thing a few centuries ago!!!

After fond farewells to the crew at Ken River, I was transported in a very swish land cruiser to my next destination Bandavgagh NP 7 hours south of Panna. The drive was very pleasant as it was through beautiful rural India. It was lovely to see all the people tending thier paddy and dahl fields with traditional methods - like Ox ploughs and by hand. I did really feel the stark contrast of my own comfortable life (encapsulated in this land cruiser) compared to thiers. They couldnt even see me (the cruiser had black windows) but they were still curious - looking at the vehicle as we swooshed past. I couldnt decide if I liked that or not. Not most probably.

Anyway, got to Kings lodge on the edge of the Bandavgargh NP without too much trouble. The lodge is still under construction, and so I was a little bit of a guinea pig. After seeing the room, I was well pleased to be a pig of Guinea! I was in a beautiful brand spanking new cabana room with all very minimalist fittings etc...AND it had a BATH!!!! My first one in India...so it was only a matter of minutes before I was in it enjoying a sumptuous bubble bath. WICKED!

The lodge is run by a wonderful newly wed couple Hutsi the naturalist and is cool urbane new generation Indian wife Gori, who takes care of the hotel and its workings. Hutsi and Gori told me all about the park and its reputation for being one of the best tiger hangouts in the country - I couldnt wait to get into the park!

So, bright and early next morning we were off into the park... which is slightly greener and more lush than Panna, but only just. Bandavgagh is also suffering from encroachment from the outside world, and this is evident at the AMOUNT of wildlife you can see - its all crushed into a small area. This is very good for sightings, but not too good for the wildlife in the end - as it could lead to interbreeding, and then extinction if its left to go to its logical end.

Anyway during the 4 days I went into the park, I had 14, yes, 14 different tiger sightings!!! MOST AWESOME! We saw tigers from the jeep and also from Elephant back as well (ele's often get cloaser to Tigers than the jeeps, because the tigers are not scared of ele's - so they use ele rides to get really great viewings.)
On one day - we saw TWO sets of mum and two cubs in the morning - from jeep and from ele, and then in the afternoon, we saw a different set, with older cubs - drinking at a water hole. I have some EXCELLENT pics of all three tigers with each other...truly amazing. Then, on the way out of the park, we saw the cubs from the morning play fighting with each other - really snarling and growling, and on thier hind legs rearing up! just the stuff of dreams.
Next day we saw the mum and cubs again...and HEARD dad too - WHAT a noise...he was positively roaring into the park...and BOY did that noise go straight through you!! Terrifying, but totally electrifying too. We didnt see him, but we saw his poo and his footprints - both giant!! big boy!

My experience at Bandavgargh was really really special - and I wont forget it in a hurry.

On the last night at the lodge, the old Sadhu who is also the gate man, came to entertain us with his songs and dancing. They guy was about 70, has a long beard and a balding head, and is constantly stoned! he banged things and shook his special Sadhu instrument (which looks like a big sword) and sung his heart out by the camp fire. The staff then joined in and sang us lots of songs - really a wonderful evening. The climax was when the gatekeeper did this amazing pogo dance on one leg - apparently its like Shiva, the god of all gods in Hindu - he bounces on one leg and smokes pot when he gets REALLY pissy with humans and how rubbish we are!

Anyway, I was very sad to leave Bandavgargh - as I had become great friends with Gori and Hutsi - I hope I can see them again one day.

I was met by another driver who was going to take me to the nearest station (Katni) which was 2 hours drive away. He turned up looking like John Travolta - in all white - white flares and even cuban heels! Amazing! The journey was uneventful except for a freaky feeling I had when we went through a toll both on the highway - I thought I recognised the guy taking the tolls. I did, he was Evil Indian Bert from Bert and Ernie (Sesame Street). The likeness was so great I wanted to get a picture of him, but couldnt get away with it.....

When we got to Katni, it transpired that my train was 4 hours late (and so was now departing at 2300hrs - freezing!) John Travolta waited with me on the station! dear of him. While I was waiting he plumped me into the UPPER CLASS waiting room, which was bare and sparse, but a little bit warmer than the rest of the station. I kept myself amused watching the toilet cleaning crew, who were doing by far the most minging job in the station, but were dressed like Miami vice - in pale yellow bodywarmer style jumpers and WHITE shoes.

Anyway, finally got onto the train and embarked on my 20 hour journey to Mumbai. The trip was OK except for the ice blast airconditioning and also the annoying girl in the bunk below me (she was american) singing DIDO in an "im so great at singing" voice under her breath.....for 8 hours..... I ended up wrapping my blanket round my head to make make-shift ear coverings.

On arriving in Mumbai, I was adopted by a nice porter who helped me put my stuff into the cloakroom for a couple of hours before it was time to get on the next 20 hour train down to Goa. I managed to explore a little bit around the station, but it was rush hour, and I didnt want to get too lost - so I retreated to the ladied waiting room.....which was also full of screaming kids...and men....

Anyway, at the appointed time, the porter came back for me and helped me get my luggage back, and then found the right train for me. He carried my stuff ( and there is a LOT of it now!) and put me into the right berth and everything. Lovely! This train was better because I was sharing my booth with a lovely Indian English couple who were very quiet, and also a batty old French lady, who, once she was asleep, stayed that way for most of the journey. Noice.

By the time I arrived in Goa, I had met a trio of Norweigan girls, who wanted to join me in Patnem (the place I had booked a room for the coming weeks) - so we all hopped into a taxi and headed to the beach! YAY. By this time I was MINGING - I had been in the same clothes for the whole two days, and I felt like POO ON A STICK. Sooooooooo great to have a shower.

The posh-ish beach shack I had booked, turned out to be the best on the beach - and so we were very happy to be there...and they also had space for the girls - so that was really great.

Patnem has turned out to be the very best I could have hoped for -its ABSOLUTE HEAVEN! Palm lined creamy beach with a few small peaceful bars and shops along it. Within easy walking distance is Palolem, which is a bit more razzy. On the first night The Norweigans and I headed over to the big smoke of Palolem to see "Graham from UB40" play - a really big gig in these parts! The night was awesome - some of the best virtuoso reggae I have ever heard. Then, to cap it off, who should ring me, but my buddy Nela! She had arrived at the beach and wanted to come and share my hut! wicked!

Since then, Nela, the Norweigans and I have been hanging out and generally been getting to know the place, as well as beaching and vegging as much as possible. We have all signed up for a yoga course on Monday for 5 days - which also includes meditation, so that should be very cool.

So, there I am at the moment. Enjoying the sunshine and laid back attitude. Im trying to get in the groove of having nothing to do! Im like a cat on a hot tin roof at the moment...constantly keeping occupied! Im going to make a concerted effort to SLllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooowwwwww down now though!

Spontaneous

So after we last spoke, I got really bored of Agra and decided to cut my stay short there ( 2 nights is well enough). I pretty much decided to get up early and go to the train station and let fate decide where I was off to next (I only had one spare day, before I had to return to Delhi, so my options were limited!)

I did exactly that, except at check out, I met a dippy crazy cool Belgian girl who was heading to Jaipur and wanted me to go with her! I thought that fate had drawn an early card, and so I trollied off with her to the bus station and hopped on. Go with the flow Abster! Why go back you are all asking...well it wasnt far, and I wanted to catch up with my chums at Shakuntalam again. Also, wanted to check to see if they had managed to post my Christmas parcel home to Ma n Pa (so there WAS a good reason for going back...honest!)

Nela (the Belgian chick) and I hit it off on the journey, and I think we are going to be cool mates. She is travelling on her own and is also having worse men problems than me (she is blonde and blue eyed and looks a lot like Cameron Diaz) She is just starting on Rajisthan, but is also heading to Goa over Christmas, and it transpires she chose exactly the same place to stay as I did! cool! We are going to share a beach hut.

Anyway, we merrily arrived in Jaipur and had an excellent evening at the Bollywood cinema in Jaipur - which is said to be the biggest cinema in Asia. Im not sure if this is substantiated, but it certainly is one of the most kitsch. Outside its like a giant pink wedding cake, and inside its a mirrored and tiled fantasy land. We splashed out and bought Diamond box tickets for the show, and had acess to the top most level of the auditorium, along with its own private lounge bars and snack shop (stocking popcorn along with the Indian favourite snacks like Samosa's and Pakora..and CAKE!) The lounge bar was like a GIANT Uk Indian restaurant - even down to the brown flock wallpaper, mirror tiles and the piped indian music. Quality. The film itself was about a wedding..and it detailed everything the couple got up to between thier dads deciding that they were to get married and the day they walked up the aisle. In typical Indian style though, there was a lot of singing and dancing, and a lot of sultry looks and misted shots...but NO KISSING or even holding hands...not even at the wedding. Also the crowd were really rowdy - shouting and clapping and laughing and talking on thier mobile phones at top volume. It was a really great experience!

Yesterday I left Jaipur again, heading for Delhi. I managed to catch the bus on time this time, and arrived in the back end of Delhi in the afternoon. I then zipped through the rush hour traffic to Vishals house in a moto rickshaw (which kept getting lost). Made it in the end. At the house, Lo and Behold, I found Jules, who is whizzing in and out of India to do some work with his campaign "Tour operators for Tigers" It was great to catch up and to know that Im still missed at DI :)

After attending a TOFT meeting with Jules this morning (just like old times!) I was driven to the central station in Delhi to plan my onward route. I have been increasingly worried about getting down to Goa in time to make it to my hotel on 22nd, as all the trains were showing as booked on the India rail website. After fighting my way through the chaos which is the station, I found myself in a mini oasis - the "foreigners" booking room. After filling in the three obigatory forms, I managed to get all my tickets without any hassle. Apparently the rail company keep secret quota's for foreigners, and even for ladies....so there IS something good about being both!! Anyway, im well sorted now right up until Christmas and beyond.

Tomorrow holds a new adventure. Im headed South again to the National Parks in Madhya Pradesh - should be good as all my transfers and accommodation are organised through DI contacts...so I might be in relative luxury compared to what ive been used to the last month. Hurrah.

Dysentry

Well,If I havnt got it now, I never will.

I have just managed to throw the entire contents of my purse across the street and into the MINGING gully at the side of it....I had to fish my credit cards and camera memory stick out of the foot deep running effluent in the ditch with my bare hands. EUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH.

Watch this space....

Cant take my eyes off it

Yeaowzer the Taj is beauuuutiful. I managed to keep away for about an hour after yesterdays post, and then gave in to the temptation. The mist and pollution cleared a little by 2pm odd yesterday, and so off I trollied into the Taj complex. To be honest, from things I had heard and things I had read, I was expecting a fiesta of begging, bad souveniers and hawkers before getting to the monument itself - so I was greatly and happily surprised when I was shuffled through security, given some free bottled water and some shoe covers, and then whisked into the beautiful and peaceful ornamental gardens without so much as a second look. I suppose the novelty of tourists wears off if you work in the countries most visited site.

The the approach to the main mausoleum consists of a large ornamental gate and then long water gardens with lots of benches and shady places to stop and take in the scene. The tourists here come from all over India as well as the World, and so there are plenty of people watching opportunities too. When you come through the first gate, you are smacked in the face by the "classic" Taj view (the one which was imortalised with the "single"lady Diana picture) and at that point, you can employ one of the government regulated photographers to take the classic shot of you. I did it the cheapskate way and got some other Brit tourists to take a photo of me in return for taking one of them!

You are then free to wander the gardens and the approach to the main mausoleum. Everything they say about the Taj is true - each angle of it shows more beauty - its colour changes with the light - and I have never seen such a building that draws the eye. I spent 5 hours in the compound, and I couldnt take my eyes off it! If you go inside, you are obliged to put on your shoe protectors to keep the marble underfoot whiter than white (though wierdly, they dont give these to domestic tourists - they are forced to go barefoot!) Inside, there is a very grand circular tomb which is surrounded by delicate filigree carved marble.

I spent about an hour just looking at the front - the whole building is covered in Sanskrit writing in black inlay onto the white marble, and also inlaid flowers. Beautiful.

The rest of the afternoon I spent wandering the gardens biding my time till sunset. I spent a very enjoyable hour or so watching the main photo area - seeing how funny people are when they are posing for photos. Indian families in big groups all standing stiffly and formally, school groups of ponytailed children wildly screaming and funniest of all, groups of young men holding hands and also doing Hasslehoff style double finger points. Very funny. The other funny thing was that Indian families really like having thier photo taken with "foreigners" so I became a bit of a celebrity for 20 mins having photoshoots with all sorts of people.

I was also surprised at how much wildlife there was in the compound - I saw more birds here than in Bharatpur! There were waders, tiger birds and strange prehistoric looking birds with large protrusions out of the back of thier heads. Also of course lots and lots of Indian squirrels (I nearly had a cardiac arrest when I had fallen asleep on the grass and one of them ran over my foot.....) Also saw a ferret thing as well.

The sun set early at about 5pm and we were treated with red and black skies. Very pretty. After dark, the Taj is not illuminated, but I had high hopes of the moonlight, as its full moon. BUT unfortunately I was thwarted last night because it was really cloudy - the moon was full, but it wasnt reflecting on the Taj at all. Infact, I couldnt see the Taj at all! Oh well.

This morning I have risen early for Yoga and Taj dawn viewing from the roof of the hotel. Wonderbar. Now Im off to seek the most tacky souvenier I can find. I hope to find some Taj Mahal snow domes. Starting to feel Christmassy! YAY

Taj Mahal by full moon

Here I am in Agra - this morning I caught a local bus from Bharatpur to Agra which was an interesting experience. The trip was only an hour and I slept most of it. I was wedged between several large heavy packing cases and my own rucksack as well as about 50 people clad in all sorts of winter clothes and cloaks (its winter in these parts now). I did wake up halfway though though, when we passsed through the centre of a magnificent cattle market - one half selling and bargaining buffalo, and the other half goats. Never seen so many buffalo in one place - also lots and lots and lots of very cute fluffy baby buffalo! Ahhhhhh!

Without any trouble at all I found the hotel which had been recommended to me - which is about 2 minutes walk from the Taj itself - and also has spectacular taj views from the rooftop restaurant. Bargain at GBP3 per night ensuite.

The Taj Mahal itself has been shrouded in mist this morning, so im just biding time until the fog clears and I can go and visit. I plan to stay there until sundown and have a look at the full moon over the Taj tonight. Great (accidental) timing! Still managed to have a look at it from the hotel roof though, and it really does take your breath away - even from a distance.

The rest of Agra seems pretty ordinary Indian city, though I havnt yet seen much of it. Tomorrow is main sightseeing day.

Jaipur n Bharatpur

Well, since I spoke to you last, I have been vegging out in Jaipur indulging in a little christmas shopping and research into voluntary positions for the new year. My long stay at Shakuntalam has meant making a lot of good friends there, so I hope I CAN come back and stay for longer. I have been spending time at a place called Ladli which is a refuge for abused street kids -which is where im hoping to come back to for longer. The project is really wonderful - its NGO based and runs a shelter, an outreach school (a school on wheels in a bus!) and a 24hr helpline for children in crisis. Visiting is heartbreaking and wonderful all at once - you hear the terrible stories of the girls and boys there - many of them are orphans as well as disabled or mentally scarred from the horrendous abuse they have recieved on the streets, phisically, mentally or sexually. But you meet them now and it really gives you hope for these childrens future. They are laughing and joking, full of energy and smiles and obviously feeling happy and secure. Wonderful place. Anyway, Im hoping to come back in April and stay as long as possible. http://i-indiaonline.com/prog_ladli.htm

Other things that have been happening -well, not much really! I have taken up Yoga which is good as well as quite hard!! Mind you, I am already feeling different -more aware of my poor posture!! Im hoping to do more when im on the beach over Christmas.

Talking of Christmas - I have booked my beach hut on the beach at Patnem, which is one of the most Southern beaches in Goa. Sounds lovely and I cant wait!! If you would like to see my hut, have a look at www.parvatihuts.in I arrive there on 22nd Dec and Im planning on staying until March really! lovely/lazy!

Anyway, after leaving Jaipur yesteray, I bussed East to Bharatpur, which is famous for a large wetland area national park, where it is usually possible to see hundreds of thousands of migratory birds. Well, I jumped into a rickshaw this morning really early to go into the park, and was immediately told that due to low water levels (the monsoon was crap this year) there were no birds! hahahahaa! just my luck. I DID see a few - the best being some kingfishers and also a couple of owls, but mostly I had to make do with watching a couple of Indian Squirrels. It was well worth coming here for the park....nooooooooooooooooot! Oh well, as Chris used to be so fond of saying.."seeing wildlife is a privilage NOT a right!"

Tomorrow I whizz off to Agra to go and see the Taj Mahal by full moon! Hurrah for me!

OOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm