Sunday 24th October - Fatehpur Sikri

We left Agra en route for Jaipur this morning. On our way out of the city, we saw a train stopped on a bridge over the road - and couldn't understand why the road traffic appeared to be waiting for the train to move on before negotiating their way under the bridge. Our guide explained that the bridge was an open structure, and the people underneath were mindful of the fact that those on the train may well need to relieve themselves .........

Later on, we saw passengers sitting on the top, and between the carriages of a train travelling at considerable speed - well, there aren't any ticket inspectors up there!

Fatehpur Sikri is a city which was built in 1561, and abandoned some 15 years later - possibly due to lack of water. There seem to be one or two people drifting back there now.

This is in the Court of Public Justice. Those found guilty placed their head on the stone, and the elephants were trained to apply increasing pressure with a foot until ..........

This was our first encounter with snake charmers - there were plenty of hawkers as well.

We had lunch at a very modern hotel in Bharatpur - which was quite a contrast to the town itself. We found out that there is a large nature reserve close by - famous for the number of species of rare birds found there. The hotel is popular with "twitchers".

We then drove on to Jaipur, stopping at a roadhouse on the way. Road rules seem to be open to different interpretations, with overtaking and undertaking quite acceptable. All lorries have a sign (by law) on the back - saying "Sound your horn", so it was impossible to sleep through the chaos. All manner of vehicles were on the road, with an occasional tractor livening up the proceedings by heading towards us on OUR side of the dual carriageway. Buses, cycles, motorcycles, jeeps, lorries - many of them overloaded with goods (or people) - made for a colourful scene.