A quick update and more to come soon!
One week into traveling and we've seen so much. We started our travels by visiting Aurangabad and ended up staying there a little longer than we originally anticipated. No matter! We saw Ellora caves, which are a set of caves where whole buildings and temples from the 6th-7th century were carved from the ceiling down. Then we saw Daulatabad -- a medieval fort located at the top of a hill that we climbed to by ascending through pitch-black bat infested winding staircases. Very fun! Along our climb we met a woman who was guarding one of the temples in the complex who gave us each red marks on our foreheads. Among some of the other things we saw was the "poor man's Taj," which is essentially a smaller, cheaper version of the Taj Mahal. It was still quite impressive and we're looking forward to seeing the real thing in another week or so.
After Aurangabad we took a 27 hour train ride (!!) where we experienced some of the sharing culture that is so prevalent in India. We made some friends with our compartment-mates despite the language barrier. They shared their fruits (apples and pomegranates) and we shared our snacks and it was nice.
We eventually ended up in Khajuraho, a very touristy town famous for housing a series of temples with erotic carvings. There we met a man named Ricky Martin, ate in a tree house, practiced yoga, and bought Jordan much needed Aladdin pants.
Now we are in Orchha, a super small town and one of our favorites so far. It's a (medieval?) place that is, again, famous for interesting architecture and carvings. We arrived here in the middle of a celebration of Shiva. The train ride to here was crowded with men and boys (no women) wearing orange and carrying sticks. In fact, we shared an auto-rickshaw ride with about twenty of them. (About half of us had to hang onto the outside of the cab and we were worried that some of us wouldn't make it!).
There is more to come later! We are leaving Orchha tonight and going to Gwalior, and after that, Agra and Delhi. So far things have been going well and we hope that they continue that way...
One week into traveling and we've seen so much. We started our travels by visiting Aurangabad and ended up staying there a little longer than we originally anticipated. No matter! We saw Ellora caves, which are a set of caves where whole buildings and temples from the 6th-7th century were carved from the ceiling down. Then we saw Daulatabad -- a medieval fort located at the top of a hill that we climbed to by ascending through pitch-black bat infested winding staircases. Very fun! Along our climb we met a woman who was guarding one of the temples in the complex who gave us each red marks on our foreheads. Among some of the other things we saw was the "poor man's Taj," which is essentially a smaller, cheaper version of the Taj Mahal. It was still quite impressive and we're looking forward to seeing the real thing in another week or so.
After Aurangabad we took a 27 hour train ride (!!) where we experienced some of the sharing culture that is so prevalent in India. We made some friends with our compartment-mates despite the language barrier. They shared their fruits (apples and pomegranates) and we shared our snacks and it was nice.
We eventually ended up in Khajuraho, a very touristy town famous for housing a series of temples with erotic carvings. There we met a man named Ricky Martin, ate in a tree house, practiced yoga, and bought Jordan much needed Aladdin pants.
Now we are in Orchha, a super small town and one of our favorites so far. It's a (medieval?) place that is, again, famous for interesting architecture and carvings. We arrived here in the middle of a celebration of Shiva. The train ride to here was crowded with men and boys (no women) wearing orange and carrying sticks. In fact, we shared an auto-rickshaw ride with about twenty of them. (About half of us had to hang onto the outside of the cab and we were worried that some of us wouldn't make it!).
There is more to come later! We are leaving Orchha tonight and going to Gwalior, and after that, Agra and Delhi. So far things have been going well and we hope that they continue that way...
So happy to read your updates and follow your journey. Everything that you describe sounds very interesting. Can't wait to hear about your adventures in person. Are you still 'the whitest kids we know'? or did you get a tan by now :-) - safe travels and I look forward to hear more. Peace. Lesley
ReplyDeleteTUM DONO! i tried calling you, to no avail! I hope you are staying safe, and happy =) you seem to be having lots of fun on your own, i wouldn't have wanted it any other way either. stay safe in delhi, and take lots of pictures everywhere you are! let me know how u find my two favourite places, kerala and goa, when you get there (if u get there, cause clearly, you're having way too much fun in the unexplored unconventional cities as of now). you may be the whitest kids in india at this point, but you didn't behave the tiniest bit like it :) Lots of love from Pune!! <3
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