Orchha
On arriving in Orchha (by musical auto) we immediately bumped into our friends from the Mumbai to Hospet train, Paawan and Sushma. They invited us to join them rafting down the Betwa river that evening. The sight of the riverside tombs as the sunset was truly memorable. The next day we took in Orchha’s sights including the impressive palaces of the Bundela rajas and the temples dotted around the village. The hilltop Lakshmi Narayan Mandir temple included some lovely friezes including one depicting a battle scene which included lines of musket-bearing Britishers.
Eating in Orchha proved a chore. The choice was between expensive hotel restaurants, depressing traveller cafes offering ‘Israeli breakfast’ and ‘infection food’ (as an auto driver in Mysore had called it) from dirty looking stands aimed at those making the pilgrimage to the Ram Raja Mandir.