Bharathpur National Park

We decided to move out of Agra and stay somewhere closer to Fatehpur Sikry for the night, which was our next destination. The driver told us there would be good hotels in Bharathpur, a few kilometers away from Fatehpur Sikri. We didn’t remember until we reached Bharatpur that, we are very close to the famous Bharatpur National Park and Bird sanctuary! I was thinking why there are hotels in the middle of nowhere. We stayed in a hotel just a couple of miles away from the park. There was nobody in that restaurant and it took a long time for us to get our food. All the curries tasted the same, it tasted like ketchup. But the service was really good so we didn’t mind. We all had a good night’s sleep.

Even though we didn’t plan on seeing the park, we decided to have a quick visit to the park since we were so close to it. We had two hours to spend. After breakfast we went there.
Seeing all the bikes at the entrance which we could borrow for a small fee,my son wanted to try one. He hadn’t used a bike since he was 6-years- old. I looked at my husband and he was like, 'let him try'. He tried and as expected didn’t get any balance. After some time his father decided to take over and he cycled his way away. My son and I walked slowly, enjoying the cool, fresh air of early morning. What a change from the dusty roads outside. We saw a couple of birds, deer’s and monkeys. Then I saw my husband coming back. Then he gave me a ride. The last cycle ride I had with him was before my son was born, in Ooty, around the lake. After sometime my son wanted to try again. This time he was determined to make it happen. He told his father he couldn’t get the balance because the last time he used a bike was 8 years ago,and his father told him the last time he used one was 14 years back:). Anyway I saw both of them struggling with the bike and finally the kid started moving away slowly. That was good, I felt so happy. After some time he came back with a smile. Then I had an idea, I wanted to try that bike too. The last time I used a bike was when I was in 8th standard, and I never learned how to stop it. The only way I knew how to stop was to hit the bike on a road side curb and stop! Sometimes if I don’t see a curb, the only way to stop was hitting the bike on a wall and falling down along with the bike. I hated bike rides. Seeing how my son did it, I gained new confidence, besides I had two guys whom I could trust and would help me. With them holding on each side, I tried pedaling and went with the cycle on to a 3rd direction. Before I hit the floor, they stopped me and I got off the bike. But I was happy I tried.