Mahendra Hotel Jalgaon

... been cursed... ;)

Our second last night in Mumbai we were having dinner on the street when a guy approached and asked us if we were interested in being extras in a Bollywood commercial. I knew that they often liked to use white people to add that extra 'international' flair but I really didn't expect to be scouted. It's one of those things you hear happened to a mate of a mate. We were told ...

... their shops and bought little mementos of course!! Suckers always. Despite being told the bus doesn’t stop where we got off this morning (in an effort to get us to use the taxi nearby! we had a short wait for the bus to continue another hour to Jalgaon the town where we would catch the train to Varanasi at lunchtime Tuesday. The timing was tricky as the Ajanta caves are closed Mondays so we had to go today meaning we spend 2 nights in ...

... 400. Gaurav’s managerial skills didn’t work this time.

After some 35-40 Kms of driving, the moment we reached Jalgoan; someone there was waiting to welcome us. Guess who. Yet another traffic cop with a shove-it-in-my-ass looks in his eyes. This time I wasn’t thinking of stopping, but I had to, it was a traffic signal with the red lights on. He stared at the car’s license plate and that made sure that he’s going to rip us off. He asked for the ...

... were slightly overshadowed by the beauty of the location in which they were constructed. There were over 30 caves in total, all in a line facing a large horseshoe-shaped gorge. Of course, we had completely exhausted our funds by this time, so we had no money for the bus back and there was no ATM that side of Jalgaon (60km away). A taxi wud have been a bit dear, so we bargined with a rickshaw driver to take us back for 600 rupees ...

... but are know for their Tempera paintings. Unlike Fresco paintings which are done on a wet surface with water colors, the Ajanta paintings are done using animal glue and vegetable gum mixed with the paint pigments to bind them to the dry surface. The 30 caves were cut into the steep face of a horseshoe shaped gorge and date from around 200 BC to AD 650. Unfortunately flash photography is prohibited in the caves so you won't see any ...

... carved by Buddhist monks between about 200 BC and 600 AD, each with unique paintings/and or rock scultpures covering the walls. Though they are a UNESCO World Heritage site, they are in different states of preservation, and many of the paintings have been badly damaged. The site is absolutely incredible, and pictures don't begin to do it justice. To top ...

... The jeep attendant managed to cram over 16 people into one jeep and took us the most round about way ever. Not to mention the insanely treacherous driving/swerving around cows, trucks and people. The next day we had a bit of a late start due to our late finish the previous day. We headed to Ajanta caves by a local bus where our driver resembled the character Auto from the Simpsons. Interestingly enough our bus also had a payphone ...

... as others put finishing touches on Buddha's face. Traders passed by, praying for safe passage, giving donations. As these merchants stopped for a break from the hot sun, they watched as stories were painted onto the walls. In one story, Buddha taught dharma at Sarnath, the first turning of the wheel. In another story, Buddha incarnated as Chaddanta, the king of an elephant tribe, who used his trunk to saw his tusks from his body to give to a hunter who ...

... sleeping places. The place was abandoned when the Silk Route moved to the coast and the money dried up. It was overtaken by jungle till it was 're-discovered' by a British hunting party in 1819. The paintings that have survived the damp and the oil lamps used by early tourists are amazing, the colours all formed from minerals and really vivid still.

... grounds and were wowed by the structures (and yes, giggled a bit at the details in the sculptures), before heading back on the bus to Satna for another big mission of a journey. This one wasn't quite as long as the one from Darjeeling but more frustrating - our train was supposed to leave at 11pm, but didn't pull into the station until 4am. We'd arrived at the station early, so had spent a total of 8 hours sitting, waiting, signing ...