We knew that the trip would be long and tedious, the Bandhavgarh National Park is not easy to reach. But we were absolutely determined to go there because we had met several people who had seen tigers there. We could not let this opportunity pass! Leaving Khajuraho at 7:30 a.m. (actually 8 o’clock), we hoped to make it there in one day, though it is only 237 km from Khajuraho. The first part of the trip took us to Satna and was very picturesque because we crossed the Panna National Park set in beautiful wooded landscape on a nice winding road. We could have reached Satna perfectly on time, if we had not hit upon a road blocking caused by a political demonstration. It was ridiculously small and the road merely blocked by a lorry tyre ... read more

Since Delhi we have continuously headed east, the logical destination after Orchha would have been Khajuraho. But Sanchi was a place we absolutely did not want to miss, we had already passed it by moving north, so we made a detour from Orchha. From the distance (ca. 200 km) we knew that it would not work out in one day, so we left our luggage in a nice hotel in Jhansi close to the train station - from there we would go on to Khajuraho when back - and took a train. Trains in India, at least theoretically, are provided with different classes. You have two AC classes, two-tier with two beds in a compartment and three-tier with three beds, then there is sleeper class and regular class with wooden seats without berths. India has many ... read more

Our guidebook describes the small town of Orchha in such positive terms that we absolutely had to go there. The train brought us to the city of Jhansi, an important city where many trains pass through, from there we had to hire a taxi because we did not find any shared rickshaws. We arrived in the afternoon and after some searching for a convenient hotel, we decided for one with a splendid view of the fort. We had hoped for a place similar to Hampi, where we could chill out in a peaceful surrounding and Orchha was exactly hat! Already the hotel was nice, the rooms arranged around an inner courtyard, where it was nice to sit and read, write or watch the fort. We quickly took a walk around and immediately liked what we saw. ... read more

Fatehpur Sikri is only 37 km away from Agra, so we thought the bus ride would be no problem. Far from that! We had to take a minibus, there was no other means of public transport available. Our luggage was safely stored in a separate compartment and when we got in and took our seats, we knew why: there was absolutely no space inside. Mind you, the seats were so small that even Klaudia’s knees touched the back of the front seat, and she really isn’t very tall. Stephan called it a shrunk bus and was wondering whether we were not riding on a recycled school bus. This trip was the most uncomfortable one so far, the streets inside Agra were so full of potholes that you could no longer see any tar and are a ... read more

We badly needed a break from big cities and hoped to catch a bus to a place where we would again be surrounded by nature, and we were lucky. It was already after 10 p.m., we did not see anything of Barathpur except the bus stand and took a rickshaw to a place close to the entrance of the National Park. Thank God, the family-run Falcon Guesthouse was still open and we were even served a meal. Next morning, we were up early (around 6 a.m.), hired two bicycles in the guesthouse and cycled to the Keoladeo National Park. We had already experienced Rajasthan’s water problems in other places (mainly Udaipur) and here it was no different. Half of the park should be wetland area and attract a huge variety and number of water birds, but ... read more