India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) - Keith Bain [446]
Bargaining Is Part of the Deal
If you’d like to take home a couple of pairs of inexpensive leather sandals or sequined slippers, head for the string of shops beneath the Hawa Mahal on Tripolia Bazaar; you’ll find mountains of shoes, as well as the opportunity to try your hand at bargaining. The trick is to go at it with gusto, enthusiasm, and, most important, good humor and a smile. To the shopkeeper, there is almost nothing worse than failing to make a sale. He expects you to challenge his offer (usually about five times any acceptable amount), so sets off by suggesting an outrageous amount (based on what you look like you can afford) at which you must shake your head despondently. Then (and you may well remember the famous bazaar bargaining scene from Monty Python’s The Life of Brian) make an equally impossible counter-offer and you’ll find yourself locked in a battle of psychological warfare that’s more exciting than chess. After all, even when you’ve shaved several hundred rupees off the price, you’ll have no idea what your prize is really worth. But you’ll have something to wear to remind you of your very Indian interaction.
3 The National Parks
The two most famous parks in Rajasthan, both within easy striking distance of Jaipur, are Bharatpur-Keoladeo Ghana National Park, a 2,600-hectare (6,400-acre) tract of land that attracts the largest concentration and variety of birdlife in Asia; and Ranthambhore National Park, which enjoys an enviable reputation as the one area where you are virtually guaranteed to see a tiger. Also relatively close to Jaipur (110km/68 miles; 2 hr.) is Sariska National Park (see “Wanted: Tigers,” below). The Sariska Palace Hotel, an aspiring luxury hotel built by the Machiavellian Maharaja Jay Singh of Alwar (see “Once Were Warriors: The History of the Rajput,” earlier in this chapter), is a rather lovely French-Indo concoction (if you like your buildings to resemble over-the-top confections) furnished with many original pieces (rotting trophies included). Reports of service have been less than satisfactory, and it’s really only worthwhile to pop in for tea if you’re in the area. By contrast, Ranthambhore is far more beautiful and has at least three excellent accommodations as well as a fascinating conservation history.
BHARATPUR & THE KEOLADEO GHANA NATIONAL PARK
Referred to as the Eastern Gateway to Rajasthan, Bharatpur lies almost exactly halfway between Delhi (152km/94 miles) and Jaipur (176km/109 miles), and is a mere 55km (34 miles) from the Taj Mahal. The town itself holds no fascination, but a few kilometers south on National Highway 11 is Keoladeo “Ghana” National Park. Recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the park is definitely worth visiting if you’re a keen birder, but it’s not a must-see for people who don’t know the difference between a lark and a peacock.
A natural depression of land that was initially flooded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1726, the park abounds in large tracts of wetlands (covering more than a third of the terrain) as well as wood, scrub, and grasslands, a combination that attracts a large number of migratory birds that fly thousands of miles to find sanctuary here. It was not always so—for centuries, the area was the Maharaja of Bharatpur’s private hunting reserve, and in 1902 it was inaugurated by Lord Curzon as an official duck-shoot reserve (some 20 species of duck are found here). In the most shameful incident in the park’s history, Lord Linlithgow, then Viceroy of India, shot 4,273 birds in 1 day—the inscription of his record can still be read on a pillar near Keoladeo Temple. Thankfully, the park became a sanctuary in 1956 and was ultimately upgraded to national park status in 1982.
Today the park supports more than 375 bird species, including a large variety of herons, kingfishers, pelicans, storks, and ducks. It is the only known