Udai Vilas Palace Bharatpur

... any calls to Guna were met with disapproval and some type of distraction (standing, spinning, crawling in front of the other bears, waving his arms), all meant to pull our looks back in his direction! He was a good laugh and trailed us all the way as we left his habitat area. Sid also fed us lunch before we left and asked us to spread the word about the place when possible. Travel Advice: Stop by and support the center!

... of the park is not particularly exciting, but the bird life is astounding. We saw so many birds and so many species of birds. We saw hordes of Painted Storks, lots of Egrets and other water birds. We saw several different types of kingfisher, including my favourite of the day the Pied KingFisher this bird actually hovers over the water (like a humming bird) waiting to ...

... pictures of us and we are really embarrassed (see pictures). Maman je me suis bien assise sur le banc de Lady Di comme promis. After Taj, we visited Agra fort on the heights of the city. Akbar's son was jailed here (quite classy cell actually with great view) and they even had rooms dedicated to sexual activities. Locals start to ask us to take pictures with them. It is funny and great to start a little chat ...

... we are immediately the centre of attraction, as they see few westerners out here. Bhupendra has laid on another surprise - there are saris waiting for all the girls, following their traditional wedding guest make-up of henna ink decorations on their hands. The transformation complete, we go down into the courtyard to welcome the groom's procession, complete with fireworks and bangers, all taken in its stride by the horse. During the commotion ...

... interesting, particularly its massive 54m high main gate, the Buland Darwaza. Here our ability to cope with the constant Indian harassment was seriously put to the test. This was by far the worst place we have visited until now as the beggars, guides, touts and sellers are extremely aggressive, particularly at the mosque. It is impossible to describe. For the first time we got seriously ****** off and were very close to ...

Author - Master Parker Monday 31/3/08 Caught a 'proper' local bus (with people other than our group on it) which dropped us a couple of hours later at a hotel somewhat outside Bharatpur, with very little else about. Still feeling wobbly, so retired to the room and ...

... been spinning in my head for many years. Think about taking care of others the same way you love yourself, not to kill, not to steal, taking care of the parents, giving and helping the poor, etc... But in Mexico it is said that discussing soccer or religion is a "no-no" so that is something I don't usually talk about. But here are my observations. One of India's most famous Mughal emperors, Akbar, founded a philosophy called "Din-I-Ilahi" or "Divine Faith ...

... is breathtaking. It's hard not to be in awe and I hardly close my mouth the entire time we are there. Adjusted for inflation, the estimate is that it would cost $300 billion to build today... Next, we went to the Red Fort of Agra. Not only did this fort have an awesome view of the Taj, but the buildings were much more impressive than the similarly titled fort in Delhi. This is where Shah Jahan ...

... bekommen. Nachdem gerade eine grosze Nyingmapa-Versammlung ist, ist der Ort voller Moenche und auch sonst kommen Menschen aus aller Welt um zu meditieren, in Retreats zu gehen oder einfach nur um zu schauen. Ich helfe seit einer Woche die Retreatraeume im thailaendischen Kloster vorzubereiten, habe viele interessante Menschen getroffen und bin ab morgen 20 Tage im Retreat. Deshalb ist jetzt einmal Funkstille. http://picasaweb.google.com/laurin.jane s/BodhGaya