Mobbed by Santa's in Mumbai

Beautiful paintings inside (Craig's pic)
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23 Jan Mumbai to Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Wanting to escape the silly season, I asked my 22 year-old son Craig if I could meet up with him in India. When he agreed, little did he know that we were in for a marathon of caves, temples, sore bums and spice.

A marathon of caves, temples, sore bums and spice

After three flights, making me three and a half hours ahead of SA time, we caught a bus and two trains through steamy, chaotic Mumbai. I couldn’t believe it when we were swarmed by dozens of Santa’s in front of the Victoria train station. That was it and I asked Craig: “do you mind if we move on tonight?”

Craig playing the fool
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Shame! And he’d already paid for a night at the YMCA in the touristy Colaba area, not far from the Gateway to India.

This was my second time in Mumbai, the previous trip was in March 2006, as a guest of !ncredible India. Then I was treated like a princess, staying in 3-star hotels with a driver and guides in each town. The downside was that I had no contact with locals and………. hardly any time to go shopping. This time we travelled on a budget, Craig is planning to be on the road for approximately a year.

I came to India to get away from Christmas only to be mobbed by Santa's
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So, we booked a 10-hour bus trip to Aurangabad, a journey of uncomfortable seats and many stops in a rattletrap, pollution-contributor on four wheels. What little countryside we did see was dotted with fluffy white cotton, maize plants, thorny trees, rolling hills and villages dotted with iridescent saris.

We booked into the male/female dormitories of the YHA in Aurangabad, run by a very friendly, helpful, elderly man. At only Rs72 (R12) a night, with breakfast, we were happy backpackers.

The magnificent Victoria train station in Mumbai
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Aurangabad is the base from which to see the Ajanta Caves, 106km away and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.

Ajanta Caves were discovered accidentally in 1819 by a company of British soldiers who were tiger hunting.

Hidden under thick vegetation they had been forgotten for over 1200 years. But the isolation, and the fact that the caves seem to have been abandoned over a short period of time, is likely the major contributing fact that we can enjoy this remarkable piece of art today, as they once were made and used by the monks.

Taken at the end of our three and a half week adventure, in Matheran, a hill station nr mumbai
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Getting to the caves takes perseverance, made worse because we were there on a public holiday. It seems that the Indians celebrate every conceivable event, including Christmas and New Year. They recently celebrated Diwali.

Arriving at the main entrance and under a blazing sun, the queue stretched the equivalent of the length of a football pitch in an undulating line of colourful saris. We were waiting for buses to take us four-kilometre, uphill to the caves.

We had somehow latched onto a couple with a small boy and ended up “pushing in”. Despite this we had a long wait. In retrospect, and after catching numerous trains and buses, I was surprised by the well-behaved queue. Normally, getting onto a train or bus can leave one bruised, battered and cursing.

Ajanta Caves on a day trip from Aurangabad
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Disembarking the bus it was a further uphill climb to the secluded crescent shaped valley. Some people took advantage of being carried up in a cart carried by four porters.

Ajanta was converted to a place of worship and meditation by the excavation of 30 rock caves, positioned in a horseshoe shape above a ravine and the river Wagura. Despite the name, Ajanta and Ellora are not a series of caves, but temples built out of the mountainside and carved by Hinayana Buddhist monks in 200 B.C.

Ajanta Caves
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Many of the caves are embellished with exquisite paintings and carvings, on every surface except the floor. Some of the artwork has become eroded due to decay and human interference.

There are signs warning visitors not to take pictures with flash inside the caves but, because of the large numbers of visitors, this was impossible for the small number of staff to enforce. Craig and I did our best to point out to people that they shouldn’t use flash, but our please fell on deaf ears.

Ajanta Caves
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Monkeys decorated the rocks below the caves, hoping for food in the garbage thrown away by visitors, my first taste of much more to come.

Another irritation is that locals continually asked to have their picture taken with us. If we had thirty rupees for every time we were photographed, it would pay for all the beer we drank.

After an exhausting day we couldn’t face the queue for the bus to the base so we walked, at least it was downhill and a little cooler.

The only disappointment in Aurangabad, a historic city with various monuments from the time of the Mughals, was that we didn’t have time to explore the old part of the city. But we had to move on, this time to the Ellora Caves.