November 24, 2024. Part 2

On the way to the train station, we stopped in Orchha to see another fort.

The train station was fascinating.  People everywhere.  A train loaded up and people were squeezed unbelievably inside.  Many were hanging out windows and doors.  Cows wandered through the station and on the tracks.  

Our guide helped us find our platform, although we could have managed ourselves, by following a group of Korean tourists.  We had reserved seats, so we didn't have to shove George out the door!  :-)

The train ride was about 2 hours.  Another friendly tour guide and driver met us as we disembarked.  The guide welcomed us with a lei.....just like Hawaii!  

We arrived at the very nice hotel about 10:00....the end of another great day!

November 24, 2014. On the road again to northern India!

Our driver picked us up in Khajuraho and we headed toward Agra, home of the Taj Mahal.  We stopped for lunch at an old palace that has been converted to a restaurant and hotel.  It is a beautiful building.

We had a light lunch with 2  vegetable dishes.  A very "posh" lunch for less than $5.  We strolled around the palace, located on a small lake.  This woman was washing lentils in a basket....

These ladies were washing their clothes in the lake while their children splashed in the water.

We drove about 4 hours, stopping in a historic town called Orchha.  The temples were built in the 1600s.

From there, we drove to Jhansi, where we picked up the train for Agra.

See more pictures in part 2. 

November 23, 2014. Part 2

We had a lovely lunch at a terrace restaurant overlooking the temples.  We walked around the main square for a bit.

In the smaller towns like this one, there are bicycle rickshaws

George told our driver that he wanted a hair cut, so he stopped at this place along the road...

For about $1.50, he got a nice cut as well as a  scalp, shoulder, and arm massage.  In the evening, we told our driver and guide that we didn't need a ride back to town for dinner.  We wanted to explore the area near our hotel.  We  walked to a nearby restaurant.  What a great experience!  It was a little cool, so the owner had built a small bonfire.  The restaurant was all outdoor seating, so he pulled a table and some chairs around the fire.  The restaurant has only been open for 10 dusts.  There was no printed menu, so we just told him that we wanted a veg dish.  We ordered a beer and a wine.  The owner's brother took off on his scooter to go buy the bottles for us.  A Belgian friend of the owner stopped by.  We invited him to join us by the fire.  Fun talking with him.  Great evening!

November 23, 2014. Temples of Khajuraho

We are staying at another nice hotel.  This is in the lobby.

Our driver picked us up and took us to the site of the famous temples.  They were built about 1100 years ago.  There were originally 85, but only 22 exist today.  

We continue to attract a lot of attention.  There are a lot of Indian tourists here as well as foreigners from Germany, England, Spain, Korea, and Japan.  We haven't seen any other Americans.  This family asked to pose with them for a picture.

We walked around all the temples.  You have to remove your shoes to enter them.

At this one, I talked with the cleaning lady.

For more pics, see next post.

November 22, 2014.....part 2

We stopped at a dhaba, a kind of truck stop.....

We asked for the most common drink, chai tea.  The guy heated the water over an open fire...

Then, he added tea leaves, then milk.  He put it through a sieve, and poured it into water glasses for us.  Very nice.

While we were having tea, one of the ubiquitous cows moseyed over to check out Meredith and our van...

 

There was a lot of traffic nearby, as people were coming and going from the Saturday market...

We saw lots of interesting sites along the way.  This is such a great way to travel.  We saw 2 trucks that had turned over.  Then, we saw a strange site....there was a rickshaw going slowly on the highway sheltering a guy lying on the road.  Our driver told us that he is a holy man, ROLLING  about 100 kms to his holy destination.  

We arrived in Khajuraho at 3:00 PM.  We are staying at another nice hotel.  There are quite a few Westeners here, as Khajuraho is a tourist destination, famous for its ancient temples.  

Tomorrow, we will explore the temples here.  Tonight we went to the Sound and Light show as an introduction

November 22, 2014. Animals everywhere!

Our driver picked us up at the Jabalpur hotel at 9:00, and we headed toward Khajuraho, 275 kms away.  We spent most of the day on the road.  We drove through lots of little towns, and through farmland, mostly wheat and rice fields.

We saw lots of animals on the road.  Lots of goats.....

and pigs, some horses, and LOTS of cows....water buffalo, brahmas, and buffalo.  They are in the towns and with farmers in the country.

Our van driver us an expert on weaving among them.

As we neared Khajuraho, we drove through a wildlife refuge.  There are a few tigers there, but not regularly spotted.  The monkeys, however, seem plentiful and are not shy to beg for food.

See next post for more pics

November 21, 2014. Part 2. Jabalpur

On the way back to town from the dam, we were driving along, dodging cars, bikes, scooters, cows and  trucks, when suddenly this elephant appeared!

There were 3 holy men riding on it traveling from town to town.  We stopped to see what was going on.  Meredith and George put their hands out with coins, and the elephant took them in his trunk and curled them up to his master.

I think this is their version of Airstream......all their belongings packed in their traveling unit!

As we neared town, this cow herd was blocking the road.  Cows are all over, including strolling down busy city streets.

Our next stop was Marble Rocks.  We took a boat ride to see the marble from the canyon.  

Back at the room, we are just going to snack on last  night's leftovers and some Indian chips.