Weddings, Temples, Daredevils - Oh My!

From Varanasi we travelled to Allahabad, a city which sounded interesting in our guide book. In reality it turned out to be busy, dirty, and not tourist-friendly - not our cup of tea at all. We did get to see the beginning of a wedding parade that started at our hotel. At 10pm one night there was a marching band (complete with men in sequined suits), people carrying (on their heads0 giant light-up lanterns powered by generator carts, and a man singing Hindi into a microphone. All this accompanied the groom and his family who left to pick up the bride at her house. It made Western weddings look a bit dull in comparison!

After two days in Allahabad we wanted out, and Craig did the Indian Extreme Sport of taking a long-distance bus ride (no toilet) with traveller's diarrhea. It took us two days, three buses, and 12 hours of actual bus time to travel the 350 km to Khajuraho, our next destination.

What you need to know about Indian (government) long-distance bus rides: the buses are old (really old), they're busy (we got seats but saw people sitting in the aisle and on the roof), they make a billion stops, and often travel unsealed roads which seem even bumpier without suspension. The good news is: they're cheap, and we survived.

We spent five days in the city of Khajuraho, a small town of around 22,000 people. We found it very relaxing compared to the big cities. Most people were very friendly and loved to wave and say "hello" as we passed them on the street. Our hotel was wonderful - clean, quiet, with a 24-hour restaurant that served food directly to our room or balcony. Andrea did yoga with the resident "yogi" one morning, however it mostly involved air punches (to banish negative thoughts), vigorous hip thrusts (to help improve her "fire chakras"), and lectures on yogis up on mountains and the importance of moving ones bowels.

Khajuraho is well known for its high concentration of 1000-year-old temples with intricate carvings, many of which are erotic. We saw more than a dozen temples scattered around town and were impressed with their size, detail, and beauty.

The town was also hosting a big festival for the anniversary of Shiva's wedding. It had lots of market stalls and a small midway. We went into the freak show/museum, which had jars of preserved specimens, such as a small shark, an iguana, and HUMAN babies. It was so creepy. Next we went to the stunt show, which involved standing at the edge of a 30 foot bowl made of rickety old wooden planks. Three motorcycles and a small car then drove around ON the walls, so the vehicles and drivers were parallel with the ground. It was awesome.

Now we are in Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. We plan to be at the gates at sunrise tomorrow to avoid the giant groups of people who descend on the Taj mid-day. Other than the Taj, Agra isn't all that great, so we are going to Jaipur tomorrow evening.

Just to illustrate how affordable travelling in India is, we figured out that in the last three weeks we have spent an average of $39 CAD/day in total - that is our accommodation, food, train tickets, tourist activities - for both of us. We stay in budget hotels and eat cheaply when we can - but it's great when you take out money from an ATM and it gives you your bank balance back home in rupees, and you feel like a half-millionaire!