Day 4 - Agra to Ranthambore vis Fatehpursikri (8-Nov-2017)

We thought we had seen it all on the streets of Agra, ie until today (as we made our way out of the city to go to Ranthambore) when the gates were down for the road traffic at a railway crossing for a goods train slowly making its way to where it was going. Well, all hell broke loose when the gates were finally lifted as every moving mode of transport simultaneously took off resulting in bedlam. Slowly but surely, as is the case here, everything got moving without a prang or road rage. Glad, we weren’t on our pushys.

Our first stop was at the historical town of Fatehpursikri in the state of Uttar Pradesh built by Emperor Akbar in 1569 to visit the fort/mosque and the town was made the capital of the Mughal empire from 1571 to 1585; the fort/mosque is a beautiful blend of Hindu and Muslim architecture (refer to Wikipedia for more info on this). The stop was well worth it (in spite of constant well meaning hawkers). This was more stunning than the Red Fort in Agra.

After spending a couple of hours there, we continued our journey to Ranthambore, in the state of Rajasthan. It was a fascinating journey going through lots of little villages and watching the way of life. Groups of old men gathered in chaiwalla places sharing their stories, pigs, dogs and cattle mulling around. Not many women about (Ursula thinks they were stuck in the kitchens). Enjoyable drive, even though the road conditions were not the best in parts. Each village has its own version of speed humps without any warning to slow the traffic down. Also came across small trucks that had no bonnets or front panels; which meant that you could see all the moving parts of the engine. Our driver informed us that these trucks are self built. This place never ceases to amaze us.

We finally arrived at our destination, Ranthambore, after a remarkable 5 hour drive to go on a jungle safari tomorrow to the National Park.