Train to Jhansi

Having to leave Sanchi so soon presented the problem of, well, leaving. There was only 1 train a day passing through the station, and no buses onward (and I hate retracing my steps), so I boarded the 4pm (well, it arrived at 4.30pm) local train to Jhansi, without a ticket reservation, and therefore no seat.

I was rather expecting to have to stand in the hallway for the 6 hour ride, but I actually had a great trip! I was quickly beckoned to sit down in the normal SL class carriage I was in, and spent the whole ride being spoilt and talked to by the people there. Tea, hot peanuts, a bean salad...all were bought for me, and presented my first exposure to 'street food', which was thankfully painless! We talked about me, and my trip, and my family, and England etc, and I even learnt a bit of Hindi, and really, the whole trip was great!

Which is more than can be said for Jhansi, which is like Bhopal, but without the big mosques (as far as I could tell). I arrived at 10pm exhausted, and faced with the prospect of sleeping in the station, or trying to find somewhere to sleep, I set out on a 2 hour search that finally presented a 250rs room, in a grotty hotel. But it was a bed!

Reports from Orchha and Khajaraho to come (my hour is up at the internet cafe)