Blogs from Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India, Asia

Next stop on the temple trail was Sanchi, home to the oldest and most impressive stupa in the world, as well as India's cheapest Thali. 30p for a full meal is just what we needed after the 4 pound pizzas of Mumbai and what with chai costing 4p our money was well spent. The village itself while nothing to write home about is situated directly beneath the ancient stupa built by the Indian despot Ashoka after he killed loads of people then felt a bit guilty and converted to Buddism. In case anyone doesn't know Stupa (noun) - big semi-spherical mound made from bricks or stone and sacred to Buddists (despite the Buddha request that people not worship or build monuments to him). Imagine a small hillock or hobbit-hole. This stupa, however, is also famous for ... read more

Since Delhi we have continuously headed east, the logical destination after Orchha would have been Khajuraho. But Sanchi was a place we absolutely did not want to miss, we had already passed it by moving north, so we made a detour from Orchha. From the distance (ca. 200 km) we knew that it would not work out in one day, so we left our luggage in a nice hotel in Jhansi close to the train station - from there we would go on to Khajuraho when back - and took a train. Trains in India, at least theoretically, are provided with different classes. You have two AC classes, two-tier with two beds in a compartment and three-tier with three beds, then there is sleeper class and regular class with wooden seats without berths. India has many ... read more