Our train which was meant to arrive at 6.30 finally pulled into the station at 8.30 which we later learned was quite common for this particular train. Thankfully a rather giddy pick up was there waiting and brought us to the hotel which was only a couple of minutes away.
Our surroundings were very different here, we were in the country which made a change, green fields everywhere. Our hotel was 3.5 kilometeters from town which was a good thing and a bad thing which we'd find out later. They even had a pool however construction had not yet started!
Unfortunately the beers the night before didn't quite have the desired effect so after having breakfast a shower and some sleep were needed.
We relaxed for the afternoon in our quite surroundings then headed to town for some dinner but we were not alone. A tuk tuk was arranged through the hotel and on the way we picked up Harry who we now referred to as one of our babysitters through our stay. We weren't really given a choice of where we were going for food and were brought to the town square to a restaurant which Harry recommended. The food was good and it was cheap so our only complaint was the constant company of either Harry or his colleague Sanji (codename chow-mein). We were only left alone to eat our meal! Harry was quite knowledgeable and gave us some tips and told us about about the area which was great but Sanji was just a nuisance to be honest.
At 9.30 we were pretty much hunted back to our hotel where we later learned that the town really shut down at around 10.00
We'd two full days here and Khajuraho isn't very big it's just a small town really but it's famous for the kamasutra temples and there's a waterfall and national park near by and a market in town so we decided to do the temples and wander the market on the first day and do the waterfall and national park the next but that didn't happen.
A tuk tuk was aranged by Sanji seemed to be ever present at the hotel and off we went to look at the eastern temples with Harry who appeared again on route. The eastern temples were spread out through the countryside so we got to see some of the farming life as well as the temples. The temples were very well kept in nice grounds considering their locations with very detailed intricate carvings both inside and out. We didn't see too much of the kamasutra in these but they are more common in the western temples.
Following the temples we took a walk with Harry through old town where the people still live in the cast system. Harry was a great guide and explained their way of life. There were cows wandering everywhere which would make you think that you'd need to be careful of your step like in other places we've seen but that wasn't the case. Harry explained that the women collect the dung in the morning and spread it outside their homes between these painted white lies for luck! Smells lovely honest!
We also visited a local school on our walk which is run by volunteers. They teach 300 primary school children and provide bicycles to those who live far from the school. They provide uniforms to each pupil so all children are treated equal regardless of they're cast and until recently some of their classes were thought outside. Despite the small playground the kids were quite happily playing hopscotch and were keen for their photos to be taken.
After lunch in the same restaurant as the night before our itinerary changed. We'd intended on seeing the western temples and having a browse through the local market but Harry thought it better to go see the waterfalls and the national park. It turns out he was probably right, the drive kept us out of the worst of the heat for a while.
The ride there was fairly bumpy in a Rick Shaw but it got even worse through the national park where we saw antelope, deer, monkeys, vultures, crocodile and wild boar before the waterfalls. The waterfalls were impressive and the surroundings were like a mini Grand Canyon but it was hard to enjoy the view with our compulsory park ranger rudely trying to pry a tip from us then trying to sell us some stones from the area which he'd cleverly hidden where he had us cornered at the top of the valley. Lucky man not to disappear down the waterfall.
That evening we were brought to the same restaurant again which we didn't actually mind we knew the food was good and it was cheap so we couldn't complain. They only sell beer but Harry at our request got us some Indian wine. They call it wine but as we found out its more like their version of poteen, very strong, we didn't manage to drink much but headed back to the hotel to have a few after our 9.30 curfew minus our babysitters.
The next morning we were the talk of the hotel, apparently we'd had a party in the lobby. What had actually happened was we'd met a couple from Argentina who'd just arrived and invited them to have a drink with us in the lobby. We'd stayed in the lobby till midnight or a little after chatting and this was thought to have been a party! Like I said Khajuraho isn't very big and everything seems to shut about 10 so our little chat in the lobby was apparently more than a little unusual as even Harry & Sanji asked us about it seeming almost offended they were not invited.
We'd a long day ahead of us, our train wasn't until 23.40 so we thought we'd take it easy at the hotel after check out and organise our flights etc. Out of India. This would have been fine had it not been for Sanji hanging around bothering us so we decided to go to town and sit in a cafe with Wi-Fi instead. We made it to town without picking up Harry and were delighted thinking we might actually get the day to ourselves but that was not the case, he appeared as soon as we stepped out of the tuk tuk.
The trim: (cue tension building music)
After some time in the cafe looking at flights and accommodation, I said I'd ask Harry if there was a barber in Khajuraho that would have an electric razor as both my beard and hair (yes, yes what's left of it!) were getting a little out of hand and given the heat the insulation was really not required. The response was "of course, follow me" so as with everything else here I followed on, Harry then shouted to someone across the square at which point the magic man Sanji appeared again and pointed us to a barber! I think that Sanji must have had at least one identical copy as it seemed impossible for him to be every place we went before we got there. As I have cut my own hair for more than 8 years I was more than a little cautious about this and not helped by Harry's conversation with the barber in their language however having heard the word "machine" in there somewhere I calmed a little. I was ushered to a chair ahead of the waiting queue which I'm sure only furthered enamoured me to the bewildered locals and tried to explain to the chap that I wanted to see the 'machine' so I could check the blade length. The blade was there and correct albeit with a few teeth missing and he nervously started on the beard. Having rejected the styling advice of both Harry and the barber I had to take off my glasses for him to continue. Now I don't know if the non visually impaired men or indeed women out there understand that this is not pleasant given the progression of clipping and cutting when you can't really see how it's going! The barber and Harry continued to converse and then asked if I wanted my beard and hair shaped? With a cut-throat razor? Are you f#$*ing kidding me?? Several firm 'No' responses I thought had cleared that up. The barber carried on and finally finished again with requests to let him loose with that razor. Putting my glasses back on and quickly scanning the mirror I quickly stood up to the barber's bemusement as he had not yet given me a head and shoulder massage, confirming that these were also not required, I paid and left with Harry confirming that it was more expensive because I wanted the machine and I should consider it cheap anyway as it would have cost at least double had he not been babysitting me! Traumatic but done without any weird designs or blood drawn and another little experience in the bag.
Returning to the cafe, we doused ourselves with sunscreen and headed into the western temple complex a cross the road. These temples were the only ones here that we had to pay to get into and as they were set in a pretty park like garden in which some of the lawns were being mown when we entered. In honesty these temples although magnificent were very similar to the previous ones we have seen here but certainly worth visiting.
After seeing all the temples we sat on the lawn to re-hydrate and have some time to converse without ears constantly gathering information. When we came out of the park we headed toward the market and stopped into a pashmina craft shop that Harry had mentioned previously owned and run by 'Super Mario'. It wasn't difficult to understand the name when we met him as you were almost looking over his shoulder for Luigi and the game theme tune playing in your head. Some scarves and pashmina's were purchased and having picked up Harry and Sanji again we walked a short distance to watch the sunset from the ruins of a nearby temple.
After yet another mask at the train station we headed to the train station for our next over night train.
Our surroundings were very different here, we were in the country which made a change, green fields everywhere. Our hotel was 3.5 kilometeters from town which was a good thing and a bad thing which we'd find out later. They even had a pool however construction had not yet started!
Unfortunately the beers the night before didn't quite have the desired effect so after having breakfast a shower and some sleep were needed.
We relaxed for the afternoon in our quite surroundings then headed to town for some dinner but we were not alone. A tuk tuk was arranged through the hotel and on the way we picked up Harry who we now referred to as one of our babysitters through our stay. We weren't really given a choice of where we were going for food and were brought to the town square to a restaurant which Harry recommended. The food was good and it was cheap so our only complaint was the constant company of either Harry or his colleague Sanji (codename chow-mein). We were only left alone to eat our meal! Harry was quite knowledgeable and gave us some tips and told us about about the area which was great but Sanji was just a nuisance to be honest.
At 9.30 we were pretty much hunted back to our hotel where we later learned that the town really shut down at around 10.00
We'd two full days here and Khajuraho isn't very big it's just a small town really but it's famous for the kamasutra temples and there's a waterfall and national park near by and a market in town so we decided to do the temples and wander the market on the first day and do the waterfall and national park the next but that didn't happen.
A tuk tuk was aranged by Sanji seemed to be ever present at the hotel and off we went to look at the eastern temples with Harry who appeared again on route. The eastern temples were spread out through the countryside so we got to see some of the farming life as well as the temples. The temples were very well kept in nice grounds considering their locations with very detailed intricate carvings both inside and out. We didn't see too much of the kamasutra in these but they are more common in the western temples.
Following the temples we took a walk with Harry through old town where the people still live in the cast system. Harry was a great guide and explained their way of life. There were cows wandering everywhere which would make you think that you'd need to be careful of your step like in other places we've seen but that wasn't the case. Harry explained that the women collect the dung in the morning and spread it outside their homes between these painted white lies for luck! Smells lovely honest!
We also visited a local school on our walk which is run by volunteers. They teach 300 primary school children and provide bicycles to those who live far from the school. They provide uniforms to each pupil so all children are treated equal regardless of they're cast and until recently some of their classes were thought outside. Despite the small playground the kids were quite happily playing hopscotch and were keen for their photos to be taken.
After lunch in the same restaurant as the night before our itinerary changed. We'd intended on seeing the western temples and having a browse through the local market but Harry thought it better to go see the waterfalls and the national park. It turns out he was probably right, the drive kept us out of the worst of the heat for a while.
The ride there was fairly bumpy in a Rick Shaw but it got even worse through the national park where we saw antelope, deer, monkeys, vultures, crocodile and wild boar before the waterfalls. The waterfalls were impressive and the surroundings were like a mini Grand Canyon but it was hard to enjoy the view with our compulsory park ranger rudely trying to pry a tip from us then trying to sell us some stones from the area which he'd cleverly hidden where he had us cornered at the top of the valley. Lucky man not to disappear down the waterfall.
That evening we were brought to the same restaurant again which we didn't actually mind we knew the food was good and it was cheap so we couldn't complain. They only sell beer but Harry at our request got us some Indian wine. They call it wine but as we found out its more like their version of poteen, very strong, we didn't manage to drink much but headed back to the hotel to have a few after our 9.30 curfew minus our babysitters.
The next morning we were the talk of the hotel, apparently we'd had a party in the lobby. What had actually happened was we'd met a couple from Argentina who'd just arrived and invited them to have a drink with us in the lobby. We'd stayed in the lobby till midnight or a little after chatting and this was thought to have been a party! Like I said Khajuraho isn't very big and everything seems to shut about 10 so our little chat in the lobby was apparently more than a little unusual as even Harry & Sanji asked us about it seeming almost offended they were not invited.
We'd a long day ahead of us, our train wasn't until 23.40 so we thought we'd take it easy at the hotel after check out and organise our flights etc. Out of India. This would have been fine had it not been for Sanji hanging around bothering us so we decided to go to town and sit in a cafe with Wi-Fi instead. We made it to town without picking up Harry and were delighted thinking we might actually get the day to ourselves but that was not the case, he appeared as soon as we stepped out of the tuk tuk.
The trim: (cue tension building music)
After some time in the cafe looking at flights and accommodation, I said I'd ask Harry if there was a barber in Khajuraho that would have an electric razor as both my beard and hair (yes, yes what's left of it!) were getting a little out of hand and given the heat the insulation was really not required. The response was "of course, follow me" so as with everything else here I followed on, Harry then shouted to someone across the square at which point the magic man Sanji appeared again and pointed us to a barber! I think that Sanji must have had at least one identical copy as it seemed impossible for him to be every place we went before we got there. As I have cut my own hair for more than 8 years I was more than a little cautious about this and not helped by Harry's conversation with the barber in their language however having heard the word "machine" in there somewhere I calmed a little. I was ushered to a chair ahead of the waiting queue which I'm sure only furthered enamoured me to the bewildered locals and tried to explain to the chap that I wanted to see the 'machine' so I could check the blade length. The blade was there and correct albeit with a few teeth missing and he nervously started on the beard. Having rejected the styling advice of both Harry and the barber I had to take off my glasses for him to continue. Now I don't know if the non visually impaired men or indeed women out there understand that this is not pleasant given the progression of clipping and cutting when you can't really see how it's going! The barber and Harry continued to converse and then asked if I wanted my beard and hair shaped? With a cut-throat razor? Are you f#$*ing kidding me?? Several firm 'No' responses I thought had cleared that up. The barber carried on and finally finished again with requests to let him loose with that razor. Putting my glasses back on and quickly scanning the mirror I quickly stood up to the barber's bemusement as he had not yet given me a head and shoulder massage, confirming that these were also not required, I paid and left with Harry confirming that it was more expensive because I wanted the machine and I should consider it cheap anyway as it would have cost at least double had he not been babysitting me! Traumatic but done without any weird designs or blood drawn and another little experience in the bag.
Returning to the cafe, we doused ourselves with sunscreen and headed into the western temple complex a cross the road. These temples were the only ones here that we had to pay to get into and as they were set in a pretty park like garden in which some of the lawns were being mown when we entered. In honesty these temples although magnificent were very similar to the previous ones we have seen here but certainly worth visiting.
After yet another mask at the train station we headed to the train station for our next over night train.
Did they do a good job on you hair and beard.
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