November 5, 2009
The last few days haven't been terribly exciting. I'm still struggling with digestive distress but yesterday some of my appetite returned so I thought I would finally make it to Keoladeo Ghana bird sanctuary today.
Before that, though, I took an afternoon walk into the center of town to check out Lohagarh Fort. It really is a castle, complete with high walls and a moat. It gave the British a lot of trouble in their conquest of India in the 19th century.
The bird park isn't what it used to be. With a weak monsoon and river water diverted by agricultural interests, this fabulous wetland is rather dry this year. I have few photos worth keeping. The ones attached here are a heavily cropped image of baby owl and a closeup of one of the turtles that live inside the temple grounds near the center of the preserve.
Tomorrow, I take a four hour bus to Jaipur. Another big city that should have better food choices. None of the attractions scream must see to me but it's a popular place to hang and it should be a good place to recover and plan the next hop, with is a must see.
That one is the 3000 year old archaeological site of Kalibangan in far west Rajasthan It's off the tourist trail, out of the guide books, and nearly beyond online tourist reference. If any of you India experts can help me swing this, I would be immensely grateful. I know that the train comes as close as Hanumangarh and the nearest known accommodations are the railway retiring rooms in Hanumangarh.