The driver speeds like a maniac as the car bumps along with the many holes in the road. We are happy to reach our destination after the 1½ hour ride (50 km from Agra). We have arrived in Bharatpur, a town of about 200,000 inhabitants, located in the state of Rajasthan. Bharatpur was named after Bharata, a brother of Lord Rama. Bharatpur was once an impregnable, well-fortified city, and the capital of a kingdom ruled by Jat maharajas.
We have booked 2 nights in the Laxmi Vila Palace Heritage Hotel. The arrival at nightfall in front of the palace is very magical. It is lit up with alot of taste to give the main building its nicest night view without overdoing it. We drive up to the main gate and along a long water fountain that leads to the entrance. We go through a first inner courtyard and painted doorway to the reception. It already feels nice to be here. It is quiet and calm, just what we need!
The Laxmi Vilas Palace was built in 1887 for Raja Raghunath Singh, the younger brother of the then ruler of Bharatpur, Maharaja Ram Singh. In 1994 the family home was converted into a hotel.
http://www.laxmivilas.com/
We first enter in a colorful hallway and an open courtyard. There are chairs spread around little fire pits where guests are relaxing after a day of visiting. The atmosphere is very nice and we already begin to feel at home here. We are ushered to our room on the ground floor. We enter by opening a big old style padlock and push open 2 big and heavy wooden doors. We have a view of the pool to the back. To one side of the room there is a sitting area with sofas and a dressing table and mirror and in the other corner two beds and a writing desk.
After settling in we go and join the other guests in the courtyard. A group is chatting excitedly about their 3 day trip to a national park and which wild animals they have seen. The air is cold and we are thankful for the fire pits to keep us warm while having a drink. The outside temperature is only around 5 Degrees, so I won’t be able to try out the wonderfully inviting pool… We meet Deepraj (son of the maharajah) and his wife Suchitra. We are impressed and touched that they take the time to speak to each of their guests and making us feel like a part of the family. There is a little stage set up and a Rajastani family give us a small dance and puppet show. I forgot how colorful and vibrant Rajasthan was!
Soon the restaurant is ready to receive us, it is time for dinner. There is a big buffet set up and we can choose from a variety of north Indian dishes as well as continental. The waiters are very kind and helpful coming to joke with us and interested in where we are from and what we have seen in India so far.
Tomorrow we have planned to take it easy and take our time getting up. We have arranged to visit the nearby famous bird sanctuary called Keoladeo National Park with Suchitra. It’s been a very long day, time for a good nights rest.
