Palaces and temples
Trip Start
Nov 04, 2006
1
27
125
Trip End
Mar 2007
Orchha,
India
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Cenotaphs 1
.The ticket was just Rs30 plus Rs20 for a camera to visit the palaces and all the other sights in the village. Not bad for 60p for the whole day. I entered into the complex where women were carrying stuff in bowls on their heads whilst wearing sari's. The first palace is called the Raja Mahal where a guy unlocked a door that contained some beautiful ceiling paintings. The other palace, Jehangir - the main one, has ornate balcony windows, 8 rooftop towers and decorative elephants and other animals carved like brackets in the courtyard. In the courtyard is the entrance to the small museum but it was shut. I walked round the palace and up steps to get to the higher levels where the views over the village and surrounding area were pretty good. Things looked unsafe such as some of the balcony windows having bamboo scaffolding around them and one of the towers had similar bamboo with men working on it. Other women were carrying some kind of dirt and tipping it on the floor where 2 more women were beating it hard with sticks in order to make a new floor. I spoke to a guy from the Isle of Wight and his Canadian girlfriend who said that Calcutta was good and we got talking about the way things were being done in the palace and how unsafe things looked to which the stone pillar he was leaning against suddenly gave way but luckily it didn't fall to the ground. We both laughed. I walked out of the rear entrance through a very grand door surrounded by more elephants and over to another building that was meant to be used to house camels. You could climb up on the roof, which I did, and again there was a shear drop to the ground from all around if you got close to the edge. I sat on a wall and admired the view before walking round some of the other ruins and buildings.
I then walked the short distance back over the bridge and into the large Hindu temple - the Chaturbhuj that dates from the 16th century and features ornate stone carvings all along the outside
Cenotaphs 2
. My battery in my camera died after just 3 hours of taking photos so I went back to the hotel to recharge it and used my small camera around some more smaller palaces and gardens before heading into the main Hindu temple - the Ram Raja which was originally a palace. The temple must have very close connections with women as they were singing and playing music whilst sitting on the floor. It was now lunchtime so I went to another restaurant in "restaurant row" and had an omelet and chips before heading back to the hotel to get my camera battery. I then headed out of the village to the Lakshmi Narayan Temple which is about 1km away on top of a small hill where there's some good views over the village. Inside are more great ceiling paintings of Hindu gods and burgundy wall frescoes. I walked back into the village and passed the couple I spoke to at the Jehangir Palace in the morning. They asked if it was worth the walk going to the temple, to which I replied that it was.Carried on walking down to the cenotaphs by the river and passed by two very posh looking resorts - 1 with a fort like wall around it and large posh gates and the other with loads of large satellite dishes on roofs. These places are only a few minutes walk away from where the locals live in tiny houses with kids being washed naked on the street from hand pumped wells. The cenotaphs are dedicated to Hindu rulers and date from the 17th century
Cenotaphs 3
. They're all of a similar design, square with a few levels and a dome and are built on top of the rulers ashes, so they don't have tombs like in Muslim sites. Each one has a detailed sign beside it telling you who it's dedicated to and what they did. I followed a guy up to the very top of one where I sat down and had a great view of the river and said that I just wanted to be left alone and enjoy the sun going down. He left after pointing out a falcon nesting on the top of the cenotaph next door. Green parakeets also nest in them. Surprisingly for Hindu stuff, they're extremely plain with no decoration inside or out. Walked back to the hotel and wrote up the day's diary whilst watching the sunset over the palaces. Then had a snooze before going to Milan's for dinner. The IOW couple from earlier in the day were sitting at a table and invited me over to join them. I ordered a mushroom biriyani and we got talking. He was called Steve and she Coiley, which is unusual and both now live in France near the Swiss border. They have just got back from Khajuraho and told me not to stay there too long as it's full of touts chasing you down the street. Sounds far worse than in Agra and I swore and lost it there! Sounds like the complete contrast to Orchha which is quiet, peaceful and hassle free. They said to get in and out as quickly as you can and that all the prices are expensive due to the posh hotels such as Holiday Inn and the Radisson. Can't wait!They left at 9.10pm and I left shortly afterwards and wandered past eating bovine and stray dogs in the market. Went back to the hotel where 2 guys were in reception but not in sleeping bags like last night as they now had a front door! Today has been the cheapest day at just 8.18 pounds for everything.
