India: Aurangabad> Ajanta> Jalgaon

We took a local bus to Ajanta. we thought we would have to put our bags on the roof but no one asked us to. Instead we squeezed our way to the back of the bus where we occupied 11 seats. as the journey progressed, and more people got on, we had to squeeze into a smaller and smaller area. buses seem to drive a lot faster than taxis. I think that it's because the drivers don't have to pay for the fuel. The ride was surprisingly comfortable. The bus was moving fast so there was lots of air to keep us cool. Unfortunately it was also incredibly bumpy. Maharashtra is apparently notorious for its poor roads and we can confirm this. The back of the bus felt like a roller coaster at times. Every so often we were thrown into the air. When we arrived we avoided having to drag our bags the length of the bus by throwing them out of the window.

We then had to take a bus up to the caves but to get to the bus stop we had to fight our way through a throng of touts who worked in an are of tourist shops and cafes you have to pass through to get to the second bus. The touts were full of useful information but they weren't doing themselves any favours. If they hadn't been jumping all over us then we probably would have stopped for lunch and had a look in the shops. As it was we rushed through as quickly as possible.

The Ajanta caves are laid out in a horseshoe in the cliffs above a small rive. Unlike Ellora there is no one major cave. At Ajanta though the paintings are far better preserved. This is largely because the caves were only relatively recently rediscovered by some British army officers on a hunting trip. The caves are full of unofficial guides who try to force their services on you. I ignored a number of them who said it was ok to use a flash. You aren't supposed to use a flash to preserve the paintings but they were willing to turn a blind eye for a few rupees.

Lynne, Kathryn and Stuart K all preferred the Ajanta caves but I preferred Ellora. The main cave at Ellora is an incredible work of sculpture and stands out against every other cave I have seen.

After seeing the cave we had to get down the hill and then get to Jalgaon. Our bus down the hill was full of a field trip from a girl's high school. They gave up seats to let us all sit down and then started singing. When we got to the bottom we had to wait until every single one had their picture taken with us.

Down at the main road we got the first bus that arrived. The conductor said that it didn't go to Jalgaon but to get on anyway. We squeezed into the back again and got dropped off in a village square where we were surrounded by curious locals. Another bus soon showed up and we were told to get on board. It was very busy and I had to tie our bags together in the aisle to stop them falling on people.

Once in Jalgaon we checked into a hotel and went out to dinner where I made a very bad choice.