Honest Dinner

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From the moment they stepped off the train, Lai and Aaron could feel the difference. Mumbai was choked with people, sweat, and dirty air while Aurungabad was idyllic, quiet, and sleepy. Even the train tracks smelled less of piss, not that it wasn't noticeable anymore - just not quite as prevalent. They could see the blue in the sky between the darkening monsoon clouds and the air was misty while a gentle breeze blew over them, which they haven't felt in a while with Mumbai's tall buildings blocking all the wind.

A taxi driver approaches them. They were ready for him, with much practice dealing with the aggressive tourist vultures of the Mumbai variety.
"You need taxi?"
"NO!!!" and they start running from the guy.

But then a peculiar thing happened. The taxi driver didn't chase after them. He just told them that he was with this hotel and the hotel provided free taxi rides for any patrons. Free with no strings attached. Ah...Aurungabad, they have arrived - or more specifically, they have left Mumbai.

In addition to being a lazy town, Aurungabad featured a number of historical sites: the Ellora caves, which were created by Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist monks carved into a mountain side, the Bibi-qa-maqbara, the poor man's Taj Mahal, and various street markets of fruits, goats, and meats. Also this town was primarily Muslim - so helloooo beef!!

Lai and Aaron settled into their hotel and met Shaikh Nasir, a hard working rickshaw driver / waiter outside their hotel. Already impressed with the honesty in the city's culture, they decided to give him their business without much haggling or bargain shopping.

First he took them to the Bibi-qa-maqbara, which true to it's reputation was a miniature replica of the Taj. It was definitely impressive but with all the pictures that they have seen in postcards and on the internet, it was just like watching a musical after you've seen the movie version of it - its nicer but you know exactly what to expect. The garden was nice except for a couple of dogs pissing on the grave (which is what the monument is - a huge gravestone). The building was weathered and had chipped paint. There were various scaffolding on one of the towers in attempts to preserve the site.

Next they went to the Ellora caves. 34 caves carved into the side of a mountain range - used by monks of five centuries old for their worship, their praying, their eating, and their living. The first one was a granary and they realized they could not tell the difference between a hole in the side of a mountain and a monk's granary. The next few caves had various rooms and hallways and even some intricately carved walls depicting Ramayana...yawwn. They reached cave 22 before they decided to skip to the end. In addition to being a world heritage site, these caves also acted as toilets for the Indian locals. They saw at least 2 kids piss right in front of them at the caves. And just like the carvings in the wall, the smell of piss inside the caves might fade over time but they never go away.

Finally, they were taken to a local bazaar where various spices, grocery products, textiles, and animals were being sold. The colors and smells were an assault on the senses. Rows and rows of merchants were sitting cross-legged, with old-school weights and scales to measure the products being sold. Water buffaloes and goats wandered through the market aimlessly and relieved themselves wherever they pleased. The vendors would encourage them to try a piece of pomegranate or a freshly fried jalebi which they gladly tried despite being in the vicinity of feces.

To finish their time in Aurungabad, Nasir invited Lai and Aaron to his home for a Ramadan supper on the eve before they departed this fair city of Aurungabad. Taking the rickshaw into the beaten side of town not meant to be seen by tourist was a trip in itself, with the roads bumpier than Great America's "The Grizzly". The 3 of them sat down for dinner cooked by Mr Nasir's wife, and they were joined by his 2 grandkids, his daughter, and one of his 4 sons. They laughed and talked about the differences between America and India, they ate mounds and mounds of home-cooked food better tasting than anything they had all week - boiled eggs, a special goatleg spicy soup, basmati rice, halal beef kebabs, a green spicy chutney, chapati, fresh vegetables, and more. Nasir's granddaughter delighted in the Starburst candy that Lai had brought from America and she giggled and conversed with the two American couple in the little English she knew.

Lai and Aaron's adventure in Aurungabad was an enjoyable one. Despite visiting epic monuments that were a testament to human architecture and history, the moment most enjoyed was a simple dinner with an honest man and person they could now call friend. And best of all, throughout the dinner, not one thing smelled like pee and poo and not one person or animal crapped or peed in front of them.

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