Khajuraho

Overnight train from Varanasi to Satna, was an hour or so late leaving and 2 hours late arriving, James had a lower berth and I had an upper, we were in sleeper class which is pretty rough, 3 x 3 with a 2 bed bunk in the gangway/aisle. No blankets or air con. But very cheap and get to see the masses. had a decent sleep and got woken at 6am by the chai men (tea)..."chai, chai, chai"...."chai, chai, chai"... moto rickshaw from the train to the bus station to the train station then a 5hr bus ride to Khajuraho, really bumpy and rattly gad we had used the train and broken the trip up.


Khajuraho is located in the Madhya Pradesh province and is famous for groups of Hindu and Jain temples. These temples are a UNESCO World Heritage Site for their beautiful and erotic rock carvings. Its population is pretty small for India below 50,000 but there are many many touts and this makes the town itself pretty shit and seem very hectic and busy. The Temples make up for it though and I don't regret going.

In the arvo checked out the outer lying temples which were ok and free which was a bonus. the Temple carvings are pretty cool and surprisingly well maintained, the last few Unesco sites I have visited have been a sham but this was well cared for and the money seemed to be going back into the upkeep of the site instead of someones pocket. The Jain temple complex was pretty impresive but the western group was even better. Had a few beers that night as it was James Birthday... 27... but they just put me to sleep due to the overnight train and long travel day making me tired.

The following day checked out the main Temple group (western) but hads to pay 250 ruppes to get in ($6 US) which was a bit steap especially in India where you can get a meal for a buck and a room for 3 bucks. Again very well maintained groundsa and since there was an entrance fee there were fences which meant no touts... Jackpot, so it was quite peacefull going around the temples.

Had a Thali for dinner which would come back to haunt us and hung out with a grup of travellers most of them headed to the Taj then headed down South to Goa for Christmas, we are headed westwards to Rajistan.

Woke up the next morning feeling bad, James already had diaorea in the night, I had stomach cramps and then much throwing up.... our first dose of Indian food poisoning and im sure not our last. Mine Passed pretty quickly but James hung around for awhile, still made the 8am bus but felt pretty average on the trip to Occha.