We begin our journey with a late-night or very early-morning train ride from Jaipur to Bharatpur. We are, as usual, moved around the train as I am a single bachelor, so we are assumed to be tolerant to any situation.
The train reached Bharatpur station at 5:00 AM, and it's chilly outside. The train station is not within walking distance from the Sanctuary, it's kind of at the opposite end of the city. We take an auto and reach the destination at 5:30 AM.
The gates are closed, and no one is there at the gate. I am like, is it closed today, or is it not open yet? There's nobody to ask. Then I read a signboard saying Opens at 06:00 hrs.
I try to find a place to sit, but there's nothing then I see the nearby park is open and some people are going in for a walk, I saw benches and sat down. Now here's the thing the park is slowly getting filled with joggers and walkers. You don't usually see a person with a big backpack moving strolling around a walking park at 5:30 in the morning, so I start to act as if I am there to walk as well, and I take a few rounds of the park(turns out to be a pretty big park inside)
At 6:00, I ran towards the sanctuary, and the electric rickshaws slowly started coming in with their "Ghhhhhhrrrmmmmmmmm" iconic sound. There are some people going in for a walk; there's a minimal charge for them, and there were 2 bengali photographers in the queue as well.
I went in and got the cycle in the confidence that I have already been to the park twice, and I know all the spots. (Spoiler: I had not thought this through)