Advertisement
Published: June 17th 2009
Edit Blog Post
The train from Agra to Jhansi was really calm and comfortable, probably more so than the trains we have in England! Our hotel in Orchha was really beautiful as well. There was a four poster bed and even a swimming pool! We did not expect to be staying in places like this, but it was certainly nothing to moan about! We had the most amazing day in Orchha, the town was a welcome relax from the hustle and bustle of both Delhi and Agra, and all of the people were really welcoming. Our guide for the day, Rajish, who approached us in the deserted palace walls, invited us to his house for some chai and to meet his family. Following this they invited us back to the house for dinner that evening, which really put Robbie to the test as he is left handed! We took up their kind invitation and they smuggled some beers in for us, and even killed a chicken for us all to eat. His family were really kind, and I ending up swapping my bag with his wife for a hair clip. The only bad thing about us going there was that it made me feel
a bit weird them killing a chicken just for us to eat, and I hated eating it after hearing the noise of it being chopped up and might be a vegetarian from here on out!
The road from Orchha to Khajuraho didn't look too far on a map, but when the roads were made of rubble, it wasn't that easy going! The journey took about four hours and we were definitely a little battered and bruised by the time we made it there. It was so hot there! Khajuraho is where the Karmasutra temples are, and to make the most of them we arranged to both see them in the day, as well as going to some kind of light show in the evening. The hotel that we were staying in was really odd. We seemed to be the only people staying in there, but there were a lot of staff milling around. When we decided to eat there on one occasion, we thought maybe that we were dicing with diarrhea, but having been ok from Delhi we were feeling quite cocky! (And we were ok on that particular occasion!)
The light show was a strange affair! The
English voice that narrated the story of the temples sounded like the Queen in the 1940's! Having said that, the temples lit up in the evening looked like something from another planet. We had some food at a restaurant overlooking the temples and this was really special. It was also really satisfying to get a beer!
In order to see all of the temples before the temperature got too hot to handle, we started our tour of them at 7am. Up close the temples were really something else! The carving on the outside of them is amazing. All of the women depicted had beautiful big bosoms and there were a few naughty carvings that even made me blush a bit! While we were inside of one of the temples I got a bit of a fright when a bat landed on and clung to my knee! I even let out a little shriek. As well as bats and birds there were loads of monkeys at the temples which made our day!
After the tour the driver took us to his house to meet his family and have a cup of chai with them. During our time in India
I feel that we have met some people who want to try and extract our money (not that we have much), and some who genuinely are as interested in us and our lives in England as we are about theirs. Our driver fitted into the latter category, and it was an honor to be invited into his home.
Later that evening we met up with a couple that we'd met who were from Switzerland, called Dominic and Cecile. They both looked like professional travellers and they had been away from home for ten months, (Dominic even had a bobble in his beard to prove it) and they gave us some tips about money and getting the best price for things. We realised then that we had been perhaps paying slightly too much here and there - not by our European standards, but by Indian standards, and we decided to be a bit more careful from then on. The next day when we were practicing our bartering skills for the first time we got the most hideous straw hat down from 600 Rs to 100 Rs. This was pretty good we thought for a first try. The only problem is
that we were now addicted to the game and will not pay the asking price for anything without a fight!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.118s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 10; qc: 54; dbt: 0.0562s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
A V
Anuj Vyas
Good to see the Ol Khajuraho :)
Hey...great to see you guys had some wonderful experience in Orcha and Khajuraho...Especially the CHICKEN CHOP INCIDENT...that kinda reminds me of my childhood days...wen i saw chicken being killed...and decided not to eat it ever..though the taste doesnt seem to go....What about the Panna Tiger Reserve pretty close to Khajuraho...i went to Panna and Khajuraho twice in last two years from Bombay...but missed out on Orcha... Enjoy the stay...:)