Ajanta Caves

A new day, and new caves! These were a 2 hour bus ride away, in a far more remote part of the countryside. They occupy the outside cliffs of a sharp bend, and offer a much nicer location, even if the caves themselves are not as lavish. The location has also meant they were 'lost' for rather a long time, infact it was the British who stumbled across them, meaning that the caves were save from the Islamic destruction of Ellora.

A lot of the paint work has also survived here, so while the carvings are smaller in scale, there is more colour to see. It really is a lovely place! The time to visit, apparently, is just after the monsoon, when the river is full, creating a stunning waterfalls and adding some great sounds to the mix.

One thing that you cannot escape in India is the poverty of certain groups, and this manifests itself in people trying to make a living in a startling number of ways. The hills around Ajanta are full of amethyst and other crystals, and it is therefore for sale everywhere one turns. Not needing to carry rocks around India with me, I took up another offer, for a tour of the area above the caves, and it was a nice peaceful way to get a great look at everything from above. I tipped the guy 200 rupees, which in rural India can be as much as a days salary. This generosity from me wont last, as I become more hardened/numbed to it, but everything at the beginning of this trip is a learning experience, and that includes spending too much of my money. My budget of 300pounds a month is very low (I CAN afford more, but will try to aim for this), but seemingly do-able and will leave spending money for things like camel treks or bungee jumping.