As highly populated as India is with dense urban areas, it is primarily a rural country. While driving between cities, several types of birds were noticed. These egrets found a safe haven near a farm area. 
We spotted our first monkeys when we drove into Delhi.
Arvind laughed at our excited reaction and assured us we would have a chance to see more monkeys later. 
On our drive back to Delhi he had the driver stop at an area where monkeys were being relocated from the city.
He told us that the vendor offering bananas and other foods for the animals gave a whole new meaning to the term “monkey business.” 
Lisa purchased some feed to entice some of the monkeys closer, but they remained pretty elusive.
There we also saw a nilgai, a native antelope of India.
I heard peacocks in several areas but it was Nancy Leung, with her superior camera, who caught sight of this one near the Birla Temple in Jaipur.
Her camera also captured these parrots at the Taj Mahal.
The bus also reacted with enthusiasm when we noticed our first camel. 
The area west of Jaipur is desert so there were more in that region that further east, but we noticed them working everywhere.
And the elephants!!! 
We got to ride some up the hill at the Amber Fort (more on that later) in Jaipur, but that is a nice touch at a tourist area. 
Government regulations limit the elephants to four trips up the hill per day.
The handlers then ride them into town to find other locations where tourists might want a short ride or photo opportunity. 
We saw most elephants just as a part of everyday working life along the roadways.
goingplaceslivinglife 
May 13, 2014 at 4:13 am
NICE post 🙂
If you ever feel like, do visit – http://akritimattu.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/the-wild-surprises-us/
You’ll love what you see in there 🙂
May 13, 2014 at 5:08 am
Every place has native animals that are normal and everyday to the residents and a wonder to the visitors. Years ago a friend from Australia visited me and we sat for an hour in Washington, DC so she could watch the chipmunks.
May 13, 2014 at 5:55 am
🙂
May 11, 2014 at 2:34 pm
I find it really hard to imagine living in such a very different environment and culture. Having been there, do you think you could easily fit in or would it be a bit of a struggle?
May 11, 2014 at 2:37 pm
India definitely is the most different place I have ever visited. I think an effort to live there would require a lot of effort to learn the food, the language, the customs. Sure would be interesting tho!
May 11, 2014 at 2:40 pm
Totally interesting and something that might have tempted me in earlier days. I think my growing aversion to crowds would preclude it at this stage of my life.
May 11, 2014 at 2:43 pm
I expected to be in crowds a lot more than we were, more like walking in New York City, but it was rarely that dense. The ONLY place were there was no “personal space” was at the Hindu temple when that curtain opened and people pushed forward in excitement. You probably would not have liked that.
May 11, 2014 at 2:48 pm
I avoid big cities of any kind like the plague, esp NYC… so that wasn’t the least bit comforting. I think I’ll stick to Coquille, thank you very much! 😀
May 11, 2014 at 2:52 pm
Well, I went with open expectations and certainly could have spent more time asking questions and learning
May 11, 2014 at 2:58 pm
Why does that not surprise me in the least??? 🙄
May 11, 2014 at 8:23 am
Good article on the animals. I had not realized that camels were so prevalent in India. Cow dung is used for fuel. What do they do with all the other animal dung? Seems to me there would be lots of unpleasant smells!
May 11, 2014 at 2:39 pm
Yes….odors of feces in some areas, but truthfully, as there were open sewers in the poorer sections of Agra as well, not easy to determine the true source. Many people on the bus did not know that cow dung is used for fuel and did not know buffalo chips made the westward ho pioneer fires feasible on the treeless prairie.