We were off on another road trip this morning to an ancient Mughal capital called Fatehpur Sikri to tour its deserted city. Another amazing complex of ornate sandstone constructions, pools ad gardens.

Then lunch in the town of Bharatpur at a private palace that has been converted to a hotel and restaurant. We learned from our guide that after independence India's traditional "royals" retained some of their previous family properties and many of them have been turned them into hotels in order to make them pay for themselves. This one seemed in good condition with what looked like some new construction and refreshed decoration.

After lunch we continued the drive to Jaipur and a visit to another private estate where we were treated to an elephant ride. It was interesting to compare these local elephants to the ones we saw in Africa. Not only do the ears appear smaller but the animals generally seem to be smaller. We rode for about 30 minutes before a very fancy "high-tea" in an old colonial pavilion. As an aside, Nina and I noticed after our ride that our elephant was pregnant.

Then it was on to our hotel, the Fairmont Jaipur.