March 7, 2015, enroute

We left the hotel early in order to arrive at the train station before our train left for Jhansi.  We are on our way to Khajuraho where we will see the erotic carvings of the Chandelas, built in the 9th and 10th centuries by the Chandela Dynasty.  The bus ride to our hotel is advertised as over a very bumpy road, one way.

The train, 1st class chair car, was crowded, functional, and you could see out the window.  There was a western toilet.  It was recommended that you not use it when the train was stopped.  There was plenty of room in the overhead area to store bags.  We were making note of all this in anticipation of our train ride from Delhi to Vadodara soon.

We had an uneventful train ride and the windows were even clear enough to see the farm lands  along the way.  The OAT group the day before had a two hour train delay.

On the bus ride to the hotel we passed a woman guiding bullocks around a wheel which turned the cups in the well to bring water.  Dev stopped and we all got out and watched and even helped her.  He is very good at finding opportunities to see real Indian life.  The garden they were watering from this 60 ft deep well had tomatoes, beans, and other vegetables.  There was a hut for the animals and a hut for a family member who lived there to take care of the farm.  The rest of the family, who were there, actually lived in the village.

We arrived in Khajuraho an hour earlier than usual, so Dev suggested we see the sound and light show they have for the temples.  

We walked to the area and had a plastic seat in the dark.  It seemed like you were looking out onto a dark grassy field.  Then the show started and temples lit up as the story progressed.  It told of how the temples were built a thousand years ago, and used as places of worship only, but were abandoned after 100 years or so.  A British officer once saw them in eary 1800's, but no one did much until the 20th century.  They are very remote, as we can attest.  When David visited about 48 years ago, he said there was no town, and you could just walk out into the tall grass and see the temples.  Only a government guest house was there.  Now it is a city of 1,000,000.
OAT brochure:
We begin our journey early this morning, as we board a train for a 2 1/2 hour ride to Jhansi, a center of Bundle civilization.  Upon arriving at the railway station in Jhansi, we will transfer to our coach and continue overland for a half-hour drive to Orcha.  After lunch we continue overland via coach on the long and bumpy road to Khajuraho.  Although remote and very quiet today, in the tenth century Khajuraho was the center of the thriving civilization of the Chandelas.  The magnificent group of temples (UNESCO World Heritage Site) was built between the ninth and tenth centuries by the Chandela Dynasty, which dominated Central India at the time.

We were able to have time to see the Sound and Light show here as we got to the Radisson Jass Hotel early.