Central and Western District

170km, 4 hours is suggested by our itinerary for today. We’re going to Bharatpur (less populous, with about half a million people living in the district) which is well known for its bird sanctuary. “See how nature keeps changing with every small distance covered from rustic terrain to immense greenery. In no time we reach our destination – Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Bharatpur.”
Not far from our hotel we stop for lunch. The highlight here is the large load capsized right in front of the restaurant. Men with shovels and baskets are baling it into a new overloaded trailer. Tony thought it was sand, but actually chaff. Much lighter. Not surprising as nearly every tractor or truck looks to be vastly over-loaded.
The hotel, Laxmi Vilas Palace [https://www.laxmivilas.com/index.php], is a surprise. HUGE and sprawling. Wonderful and interesting architecture. Mustard crops growing beside the driveway. Herbie and Liz were here about 10 years ago. Now it is double the size. Long walk from reception to our room in the other wing. It’s the new one, but you wouldn’t know it. Our room is also huge. Lots of windows. ALL look onto the corridors. Ursula: “It’s either a goldfish bowl with the curtains open or a cave with them closed.” Donna: “In my room there is nowhere at all to get changed, unless I pull all the curtains.” Power points at waist height all around. No way to get the bathroom door to shut. No hotel wifi in the room, but for the first day we use Manoj’s hotspot, TSI Car 5, as his room is close enough. Throughout the tour he makes this available for us, so in the bus we can use Google maps to see where we are and how far to go, or finish Wordle, or look up our next destination hotel and sights, or update WhatsApp, or check the cricket score (Australia finally starting to compete), or read online books, or see how much rain has fallen in Launceston. We have a tour WhatsApp group so we can all post photos/videos and make smart comments.
Tony hasn’t yet mentioned the group we are travelling with. 16 of us. All are absolutely delightful. All love travelling. Liz: “This is the best group we have ever had”. Russell (former medical physicist) actually runs tours to the silk route countries in his spare time. “I do the job of Manoj. I only take Australians. We had some Americans a while ago. Never again”. Basically he goes to the ‘…stan’ countries,Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and there are lots more. Imelda used to row in her youth, and more recently played indoor cricket. Julie comes from Canberra and is a keen bird watcher. Phil and Rosemary live near Herbie and Liz. He’s a retired medical doctor. He has a sawmill on his property and since retirement has started on many timber projects in his garden and house. They have done several multi-day walks in Tasmania, including Cradle Mountain overland trail and the 3 Capes walk. Cathy and Peter live in Paddington now. They moved there from Newport. Cathy’s mum was besties at school with our aunt Monie and Cathy has visited Tullochgorum (the property of Rob our Tasmanian cousin). She is a retired linguistics academic and is well travelled. Peter is the most inquiring person you could imagine. When you go on a walk he ranges out to the sides and around, like a dog does when you let it off the leash. He wants to know how everything works. He spent 3 months in Cambodia as a volunteer, helping farmers to improve their processes. Donna’s late husband was Sri Lankan, and she continues to travel there to continue her volunteer work. She manages a charity that trains teachers for education in Sri Lanka. John, retired, is a jolly East Sydney sider who, when home, plays golf with a couple of nonagenerians twice per week. He says he is not very good but loves the social company. Gordon is a retired IT worker, who knows one of the ladies from our last trip in 2020. He is a lot of fun and loves to have a laugh.
This is one of the few hotels with a bar, which some of us try out before dinner. Longnecks of Kingfisher seem to be the popular choice.Read more