Blogs from Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, Asia

On Saturday 3 March, we made an early start as we hoped to complete the hundred kilometre drive to the World Heritage listed Ajanta Caves before the tour buses and the crowds arrived and thankfully the car park was almost empty. Although the crowds were thin on the ground we still had to force our way through the swarming touts, which went a little bit like this- "Sir sir where are you from" Silence "Sir come this way" through a maze of strategically laid out shops One grabs my arm and I state calmly "Will you back off I don’t want your stuff" "Sir why are you so hostile and rude" a tout yells My response is "What do you mean rude? It is rude to harass people before they have even exited their vehicle" "Sir ... read more

Mumbai to Aurangabad Our next stop is Aarungabad, a city North-West of Mumbai in the central area of Maharashtra. Its close to the Ellora and Adjanta caves, a world heritage site. I realize during the afternoon the day we're leaving that I actually booked the bus tickets to Ahmenebad instead of Aurungabad. My bad! There goes $20 hard-earned dollars right down the drain! Its easy to re-book the tickets however, and we're off again on another night-time express! This time on the bus we're on a 2+1 sleeper arrangement. Trung is on the bottom level and I'm on the top, and we each have our own bed. Its actually quite roomy, but 1" too short for me. My feet touch the wall ahead and the top of my head presses against the wall behind. No matter, ... read more

It is not just another fort in ruins - this fort was the centre of power in medieval times and no ordinary one. Some ruins themselves are so magnificent today that one can’t help wondering what the fort was like in its glory days. The story of this fort is long one riddled with treachery, greed, religious prejudice and plunder. Obviously, few succeeded in keeping it for long: it changed hands often. Huge tank for elephants, replica of Qutb minar(tower), temples, mosques, fortresses, moats, palaces, caves, canons, dudgeons you have them all in here. With backdrop of clear sky the fort shines despite being in ruins and its mossy walls. Gaudily painted tower (Chand Minar) is no comparison to Qutb minar in carved and engraved red sandstone, but had its utility and historic significance. Complicated design ... read more

Hey guys, I’m getting better at my frequency of blogging, two in two weeks, not bad.... So this week we went to Aurangabad to see the Ajanta and Ellora Caves, according to our Lonely Planet those are part of the highlights in Maharashtra, definitely not to miss, so we went to Aurangabad to see as archaeological treasures. In Aurangabad we stayed at the MTDC hotel (5 minutes walking from the train station), you will find those hotel all across India since they are government owned. This one is particularly basic, don’t even count on a soap bar.... However the price is very interesting and since most of tourist are there only for a day or two, the time to see the caves, so who cares about the hotel? One huge advantage of this place is that ... read more

Hi everyone. More of a newsflash than a proper update. On a night bus from Aurangabad to Ahmedabad. 8:00pm we stop for a toilet break. VV is nicely relaxed on the bus and i suggest to her that now is the time to go to toilet if she needs to coz we probably won’t stop until the morning. She says she is fine and doesn’t need to go. 8:10pm After 10 minute break, the bus continues on its path north 8:27pm About 20 minutes later Vanessa produces a horrific smell that could kill a small child. I dismiss it as a one off! 8:37pm starts complaining of stomach cramps and needs the toilet. NEEDING THE TOILET???????? After explaining that we are in the middle of nowhere doing 70km on an Indian motorway in the pitch-black it ... read more