On Saturday, our "roll out of bed early" plans fell a bit flat, but we rallied and were on the road by around eleven. Manoj, our driver from the night before, was our guide for the four-hour road trip to Khajuraho to see the temple carvings. Khajuraho is most famous for it's 11th century Jain and Hindu temples with erotic carvings. Of the original 85 temples, only 23 remain, but they're glorious. The overall effect is not so much erotic as intricate, though many of the carvings drew as much warmth from their subject matter as they did from the setting sun. We were fortunate to see the temples in the last three hours of daylight, which made the golden stones glow. There were a few tour groups of Europeans, and several Indian families, but on the whole, the temples were pleasantly underpopulated. Jody, Oscar and I sat on the plinth of one of the temples and watched the sunset over the Western temple group - absolutely amazing. After the sun went down, Jody and I did some touristy shopping while Oscar tried not to get his pockets picked by the nine-year-olds hanging around the plaza. For dinner, we headed to Mediterraneo and had pizza, red wine and apple pie a la mode in their rooftop restaurant, which was so good - even the cricket that took a nose dive down my shirt didn't put a damper on things. After dinner, while Oscar and Jody went in search of an apertif, I had a very interesting tri-lingual conversation with some of the local guys who were studying to be government guides; trying to make my brain switch over into Spanish without mixing in any Hindi or English was pretty tricky, but it made for an interesting discussion. Armed with mango juice and a bit of vodka, we started on the four-hour trip back to Orchha. Open container laws, what open container laws? After one drink, I realized that I was outclassed in the beverage department and stuck to dj-ing with my iPod and portable speakers. Our ride home was pretty fun, but not uneventful. We got no less than two flat tires and finally had to stop to get both tires repaired at one of those Punjabi truck stops that are scattered along the highways in India. We rolled into Orchha at about 1am and hit the hay, some of us harder than others.
Sunday morning came bright and early, but we didn't see it until about 9am. After breakfast and lots of beverages - tea for some of us, water for others - we packed up our bags and set off to see Orchha. Home of the Bundela kings, Orchha like Khajuraho, dates from the 11th century or so. The town is quite small and mostly devoted to small shops that cater to tourists, but it is settled at the feet to two large palaces, a group of cenotaphs, and several stately temples. Given that we had a half day, we probably didn't do Orchha justice, but we still saw a lot. We started by climbing the cenotaphs for a view out over the river. After wending our way up and down teeny, winding staircases for a while, we headed back into town to see the Raj Mahal and Jengahir Palace. All were amazing. The palaces were like a child's fantasy fort come to life and without a safety harness. You can climb in, around, over, under, across and through a warren of royal apartments, hammams, and audience halls. In typical India fashion, it's user beware. We traipsed across scaffolding and eventually found ourselves edging along the battlements to sit in a cupola on the exterior walls. Throughout the palaces, there are fragments of azure, lapis and deep tourquoise tile work, and delicately carved balconies with screens that go just past your head so that the ladies of the palace could look out on the town, unobserved. Everything is simultaneously in a state of decline and undergoing repairs, but the beauty of the buildings is striking.
After literally climbing all over the palace for an hour or more, we stopped into the restaurant at the Sheesh Mahal hotel, which is located in a wing of Jengahir palace. This is where Austin, Mollie, et. al. stayed in Orchha, and where I'd tried to get us a room to no avail. Jody went and inspected the rooms and declared them to be the equal of our room at Betwa Retreat, but no more, so I guess it all came out all right in the end. By the time we finished lunch, and Jody had fed the mamma dog with a litter of puppies outside, it was time to head for Jhansi to catch our train. Manoj got us there safely and we even had a spare half hour to check out Jhansi fort, before we caught the Shatabdi back to Delhi.
I loved Khajuraho and Orchha. I highly recommend going, if ever you have the chance. I found myself sitting on the ramparts of this 11th century palace, looking out over the river and scattered temples with the wind eddying around me, and thinking, "I love India." I cannot imagine having missed this opportunity. Had I not come here for work, I probably never would have figured out how to get to India, and just think what I would have missed. Amazing.
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