28/12/2011 Orchha to Bhopal

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28/11/2011 Orchha to Bhopal.

At last maybe a short entry!

My train to Bhopal is not due to leave until a little before 11am so I stayed up a little later last night chatting around mein host's courtyard fire to the other guests.

Gaya is the Australian girl that was on the bus up from Khajuraho. She looks around 19 but is actually 17. I comment on her bravery but she counters that both her parents were travellers and have encouraged her. Still she is a brave girl. She admits that she is finding the food a challenge and is living on cornflakes and toast.

All of the other guests are Korean, 3 women and 1 man all staying in the same room. They have run out of money and have 2 weeks to go before flying home. They boil prepack sticky rice packs they have brought with them over the fire along with tins of tuna and something green and flat. This keeps them quiet for a few minutes as boy do they talk! I had to get out of bed at 11 to shut the buggers up.

Back to today. I turn up at Jhansi railway station in good time to discover that the train is delayed by the best part of 2 hours. By the time I reach Bhopal some three and a half hours later I decide to change plan and hole up in Bhopal rather than travel by bus another couple of hours to Sanchi which I will do now as a day trip tomorrow.

I need a hotel close to the railway station as it looks like my onward train to Allahlabad on the 30th will be at 03.10 in the morning. A bit of trudging around and argy bargy at reception finds a relatively quiet room (no such thing as a cheap quiet room in India) although the prices have now rocketed to 450 Rupees for a night (£5.50)

As I am queuing up for yet another railway exit strategy ticket I begin to see the advantages of having everything organised for you albeit at many, many times the price.

Thankfully just opposite my hotel is a bar. I can't be asked to wander round the streets of Bhopal at night even though it is the warmest I have been after the sun has set all trip so far so I sit and have a couple of beers, an OK veg jalfrezi and off to bed.

Early start tomorrow to see another of the Indian world heritage sites: the Bhuddist Stupas at Sanchi.

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Photos

Level crossing, what level crossing?
Madness at a train level crossing.