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Published: March 28th 2007
There is nothing like traveling on a motorbike: the wind in your hair; the sun piercing and aging your skin; the smog in your face; the smiles you get 80% of the time; the waves you get 50% of the time; the confused "is that really a traveler on a motorbike and not a tourbus" stare you get 20% of the time; the sexy farmer tan you get from your sneaker, capri pants and tank top; the freedom to stop over wherever and whenever you want; having a bug or small pebble hit your face; having bug juice splatter on you after it first hit Elad's face; having dust in your eyes that creates a never-ending flow of tears; and when the ride is all done and you've reached your destination, getting off the bike with a sigh of relief that you're in one piece, putting on a warrior look to fend off all the touts approaching, and looking around the new environment at your new temporary home. And finally, after you've checked out 2 or 3 guesthouses and haggled somewhat of a good price, you throw your heavyass travelbag to the ground and go into the bathroom to wash/scrape
A massacre or just sleeping on the job?
They are definitely not up for "Employee of the Month"off the soot, grim and crap off of your face, and suddenly, you feel like a new person all over again.
The ride itself was really nice, and the road conditions weren't so bad. The first place we pulled over was a single, wooden shack in the middle of nowhere. It had a few locals hanging out, but as soon as Elad and I got off the bike, people appeared out of nowhere and soon, we were just surrounded by people. This sort of happened at places because I don't think they see much foreigners on these long stretches of roads, minus the occasional tourist busses whizzing past the road. Many people gave us warm smiles and friendly waves.
We traveled about 150 km from Khajuraho to Orchha, which is a quiet little town next to Jhansi, and it's famous for it's well-preserved forts, palaces and temples. I was going to bypass this place b/c there I've accepted the fact that there is just not enough time to do everything I want to do in India, but the Korean guy we had soju with highly recommended and raved about the laid-backness of Orchha. After Khajuraho and the Amy
(nice guy turned schizo) fiasco, Orchha sounded like the proper does of medicine.
When we got here, we were pretty exhausted from the heat, so it was a relief to see that this town doesn't have touts bothering you to buy this or buy that, chanting, "Looking is free." Orchha has been the most hassle-free place I've been thus far in India. Everybody here does their own thing, so there is a healthy level of privacy here. It's incredible how every city or town in India is like stepping into a whole new world.
We ended up staying here for 4 lazy days, just lazing around this lazy town underneath the lazy sun. We visited a few temples and drove off in Elad's bike, searching for secrets that the town had to offer. We found a semi-secluded river a few km away from town, and Elad skinny-dipped while my unadventurous self stayed on dry land. Besides the peep show, equally as entertaining was seeing the local women's reaction to Elad swimming nude... they were just giggling and watching from afar. Since Orchha is not such a popular tourist area, I don't think that these ladies have seen
Laxmi Temple
built in 1622 A.D., it's adorned with various paintings/frescos of the Ramayana and Srimad Bhagavata many tourists, considering we were at quite a distance from the main town zone.
We checked out some temples and I am really amazed at how well-preserved they really are! We paid a man some "baksheesh" (bribery money) and he let us stay in the temple for the sunset, which, as usual with all the sunsets I've seen here, was a hypnotic blend of bold red and calming orange.
Ok, that's it for this one. Lazy days, lazy blog.
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joanne
non-member comment
nice,
nice pics. they make me wanna lay in the sun and sleeeeeeep with the sun on my face.. so when are u coming to LA?