Khajuraho
The overnight train journey, in first class, from Mumbai to Jhansi, was made all the more pleasurable by sharing our compartment with the lovely Paawan and Sushma and their two gorgeous sons. As well as keeping us entertained during the long journey they continuously fed us with the delicious home-cooked food they had brought with them.
On arrival at Jhansi train station we hurriedly got an auto to the bus station where we fortunately managed to catch the last bus of the day to Khajuraho. The five-hour bus journey was our first real taste of the dreaded northern Indian hassle which we had heard so much about. We managed to ignore the persistent touts and, on arrival at Khajuraho, took an auto to the archaeological museum from where we walked to our pre-booked hotel. The battle continued on arrival at the hotel with more nonsense from a tout who appeared to be associated with, or working for, the hotel quoting us ridiculous prices. We stood our ground, however, and managed to secure a nice room at a very reasonable price.
Khajuraho is well set up for tourists with an abundance of traveller’s cafes and souvenir shops. Unfortunately, due to the recent attacks in Mumbai, tourist numbers to the area have plummeted. Although this time of year is meant to be peak season the place felt like a ghost town with local businesses struggling and desperate for our custom.
The renowned Hindu temples with their numerous erotic carvings were incredible. Although we were short on time we managed to fit in all the temples in the western and eastern groups.