Orchha

Boy - "Hello sir, coin?"

Me - "No"

Boy - "You are not my best friend"

It was a LONG walk to the bus station in Jhansi, why do they insist on putting them so far out of town! Managed to find a spot in an auto, along with 7 other people (they are designed for 2/3), bags, and a huge block of ice.

Orchha is very much a tourist town (compared to where I had just been) but found a quite room for 200rs, and went off to see the palace complex for which it is famous. What they are now, is huge shells, with not much on the inside, but amazing walls and side compartments, with little stairs linking everything. It would have been an amazing place to explore as a child, so many possibilities for ambushes! There is still some paintwork left, and its amazing what has survived, as it really is very pretty.

The views from the top are amazing, and show the spires of temples dotted throughout the countryside, and indeed, countryside! I set off to explore some of them, and it was great walking away from the crowds, down by rivers NOT clogged with plastic and crap. The temples it turned out, have become homes for people, which make rather splendid abodes for some of the poorest people.

The Indian tour guides amaze me with their language abilities - I have heard Indians guiding groups in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French and German, and from what I can tell, with none of the accent that is found with many people's English. Where they learnt to speak fluently I dont know, maybe its lucrative for NRI's to return as guides.

I tried a number of the local cakes, as I keep seeing them in the markets and thought it was time to try. They seem more like soft short-bread... lots of sugar and flour in a kind of biscuit, and SO SWEET! But very tasty none the less. Came wrapped in newspaper, like all street food it seems.

I spent late afternoon exploring the cenotaphs at the edge of town, a place far more popular with the locals than tourists, as its also where the village ghats are - washing area. Saw a very nice sunset from the top of one of the buildings, and just enjoyed reading and relaxing the afternoon away. Lots of parrots around, adding a vibrant splash of colour to the sandstone buildings.

Something that I did see today which was a first, was a few eunuchs, dressed up in saris. I had been reading about them in William Dalrymple's City of Djinns - about the history of Delhi.

While at the palace, I met two lovely French ladies, who, it turned out, had hired a taxi for the following day to get to Khajaraho, and didn't mind if I stowed along. This not only saved me the hassle of trying to find a bus for the 6 hour trip, but also made the journey much nicer, both in conversation, leg room, and suspension - the road is terrible! When I met them for breakfast, at a very nice hotel, (4000rs a night, instead of my 200rs), they also suggested I use their shower, which was the first hot water I had come across in two weeks. It was lovely, and the buffet breakfast I gatecrashed was also amazing! One of the ladies lives in Delhi, and has offered me a place to stay when I eventually get there. The joys of traveling!