Eroticism, A Crazy Monkey, and a Vortex

The city of Khajuraho is quite small, but relies heavily on tourists for business. It was here that Jas and I were the most frustrated with the people. Right away, everyone was trying to be our friend. They wanted to know everything about us and called Jas "brother". We were offered free items despite the fact that we know nothing in India is free. Consequently, we ended up spending a whole day in our hotel because we were so fed up.

The following morning after a few deep breaths, we ventured out to explore the amazing temples. We bumped into Gabe and Allia on the way and had a quick drink. They explained to us that after a full day of trying to get their money and failing, a couple of touts ended up sitting with them and divulging all their secrets and scams for tricking tourists into giving up their rupees. Very informative!

For the rest of the day, we enjoyed the awesome architecture of the Khajuraho temples. They were built in an isolated spot which helped preserve them through many of the conflicts that have left other temples damaged. It was incredible to explore on foot the detailed carvings and intricate stone art. The kama sutra in stone was more than we had expected...one image depicted a man having sex with a horse while a woman stood to the side with her hands covering her eyes! We rented bicycles and toured the temples that were further away. This involved riding through the narrow alleyways of a small village. It was special to see the daily life of these people and the colourful housing and ruins that they lived in.

That night, we visited the home of a nice man named Kailash. He worked at our hotel and had invited us to see some of his pictures of Nepal. We were surprised to see a big screen TV and other unusual amenities for a working Indian family. We learned that Kailash was friends with an Italian man who sponsors him each month and takes Kailash with him on all his trips through India. This Italian man sends 10,000 rupees a month (about $280). This is a large sum considering that the average middle-class family brings in 6,000 rupees per month. We had found the reason for everyone wanting to be our "friend"...many people are hoping to get foreigners to sponsor them. This includes Indian men who seduce and marry foreign women while at the same time supporting their Indian wives.

Due to the fact that it was low season, we were given all the attention from the hotel staff. They had gone to the market and picked up for our dinner a huge, fresh fish. We had a delicious feast!! Jas enjoyed some beer for the first time in India, and we ate fried fish, fish curry, and so many other goodies it was difficult to finish. Jas didn't want to be rude, so he packed it all away like a champ; unfortunately, he literally "ate himself sick". He threw up later that night!

The next morning, we took a bus to the town of Orchha. It was a lovely, small place where few tourists care to venture. It has beautiful old forts, temples, and palaces. We spent some time relaxing and climbed through many of the old buildings. At one fort, we came across a group of large Langur monkeys lounging around. When they saw us, they showed us their teeth and we quickly realized that we were in their territory. We attempted a retreat up a flight of stairs. One mischievous monkey followed us and grabbed my leg...I let out a blood-curdling scream. Perhaps not the most shining moment of my life; however, it worked. The monkey took off with lightening speed and I avoided a nasty bite! We also visited a small temple where a nice old man lives. He showed me inside, coached me through the Hindu ritual, and invited us in for some tea. He was very sweet!

While we were there, we ended up meeting Gabe and Allia again. They were staying in the room next to ours and we heard them through our washroom wall! We all headed to the city of Jhansi. Here, we spent one night before moving on. Like most places in India, it was a hassle right from the beginning and we were more than happy to board the train the next day.

We arrived at our next destination, Bhopal, without incident. We employed our usual method of finding a hotel: Allia and I stayed with the bags at a restaurant while Jas and Gabe canvassed the area. In this way, more places can be viewed in a faster amount of time, there is more bargaining power, and there are no touts claiming that they brought you (thereby increasing the price of the room in order to give the touts their commission). While in Bhopal, we visited the nearby town of Sanchi where many old Buddhist stupas still stand.

We spent almost a week here! It was a vortex where we couldn't get transport out of the city. We were plagued by a lack of helpful people and information. With promises of tickets for the next day, it took us waiting 3 days to discover that the trains need to be booked 10 days in advance! We finally escaped by taking a deluxe bus to the city of Indore...and by 'deluxe' I mean the busiest, most packed bus we'd ever seen. From there, we booked an overnight sleeper bus to the bustling metropolis of Mumbai.