Erotic Temples

I arrived at the bus station at 4.15pm ansd as soon as I was off the bus I was surrounded by touts asking me to go to this hotel and that hotel etc. I went to the guy from Hotel Zen and we took a cycle rickshaw to the hotel. I was shown 3 rooms and was happy to stay here. So I checked in, had some chai and then went in search of a bookshop and a walk round. I had met 2 Isreali women (Tali & Idit) on the bus. They had checked into a different hotel, but I saw them in the shops and we arranged to meet later that evening for tea. So I went back to the hotel, showered and went in search for a restaurant as the hotel menu was pricey.

I found a nice restaurant a few doors down called Aggarwals and there seemed to be some locals in there, so decided it was ok. Prices were ok as well. I had a lovely dinner of dal and roti, with pickle and salad that I hadn't asked for. I didn't realise I was so hungry, but all I had eaten all day was porridge. After dinner I went to the girls hotel to meet for a drink. We ordered dessert and tea. I ha kheer (indian rice pudding). It was yummy. We sat there for ages just chatting about our experiences in India. Anyway before it got too late I called it a night and headed back to my hotel. In the main square a religious film about Rama was being shown on a huge screen, so loads of people were gathered there. The shops were still open and the touts still in action asking me to come look inside their shop. I just ignored them all and wlaked briskly back to my hotel.

My room had quite a lot of bugs in it. They were black and a cross between an ant and a beetle and they could fly. I had seem loads of them out on the road as well as in other buildings. They seemed to be attracted by the light. I got one of the hotel staff to sweep them out of my room. I then turned out the main light and had to use the TV as there were no other lamps in the room. Luckily I had a remote, so I settled down for the night and put the TV on standby. I could here the bugs crawling around tho which didn't give me any comfort, but I knew they didn't bite. Mosquitoes are the main culprit. They love me!

The next morning I rose to a lovely sunny day and went to Madras Coffee House for breakfast. From there the ticket office for the erotic temples was just across the road. I bought an entry ticket and audio guide for the western group of temples (main group) and entered. The audio guide gives useful commentary about the Lakshmana & Kandariya-Mahadev temples, which are the first 2 temples that you come across and are next to each other. Lakshmana is the largest temple and dedicated to Vishnu. This temple dates back to between 930 & 950 AD and is one of the earliest. The Kandariya-Mahadev  is dedicated to Shiva & was built between 1025 & 1050 AD. The temples represent Chandela architecture. There are more temples further on, but no commentary available for them.

I spent my time listening to the commentary, walking round the temples, going inside and just observing and taking it all in. I took lots of pics from various sides. It was all fascinating to see. No one is quite sure why all the eroticism, but there are plenty of theories. One explanation is that these are tantric images. According to this cult, gratification of the baser instincts is one way to trascend the evils of the world and achieve enlightenment. Bhoga (physical enjoyment) & Yoga (spiritual exercise) are seen as equally valid in this quest for nirvana.

After a couple of hours wandering round the temples I went in search of the bus station by walking. There is a booking office for trains there and I needed to book a train ticket for Varanasi. It was only a 20 minute walk, but there was quite a queue. Tali & Idit were there and told me they were leaving on the bus that takes 15 hours as they couldn't get a seat on the train. I didn't fancy that option so had to spend an extra night in town. The computer system had crashed anyway so there was nothing to be done until the morning. 

I sent off some letters and photos and just walked around town browsing in the shops. There wasn't anything else to see in Khajaraho, the temples are the main attraction. There are 2 more groups of temples (Eastern & Southern), but they are quite far out and I wasn't particular fussed about seeing them. I just relaxed and read. It's good to chill out sometimes and not have to be on the move.

In the evening I went for dinner back to Madras Coffee House. They specialised in southern Indian cuisine. I wanted to try an Uttapam as I had never had one before. It's equivalent to an Indian style pizza, but nothing like normal pizza. There is a round dough like pancake made out of ground rice and dhal mixed together, smothered in butter with onions and potatoes mixed in. With it comes 2 sauces, one a cocunut type and another like dal. I liked it so much I ordered another one. It was the size of a mini pizza. Delicious.

Back at the hotel I arrived in time for a bollywood film, one of my faves (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai), so I settled to watch it. In the morning I awoke nice and early and made my way straight to the bus station to see if there was any chance of getting a ticket. The system was still down so I grabbed a cup of coffee from the shop nearby and waited, whilst reading. I didn't have to wait long - 15 minutes. The system was back - hooray. I got a ticket for later that evening and a bed/seat on the train. Thank goodness as the journey was 10 hours. I had to get a bus to the train station Mahoba, which was 4 hours away first. It was better than going back to Jhansi as that would be 6 hours by bus. I was told to come back and catch the 4.30pm bus. My train was at midnight, so would have a few hours wait in Mahoba.

I headed back towards the hotel and went for some breakfast, back at Madras Coffee House. I got talking to the owner and his son. They were telling me how they ended up in Khajaraho. I then went back to the hotel to pack and check out. I left my rucsac with the hotel and went online for an hour or so. I also had to top up my credit limit on my mobile so did that. At 2 pm I went to Raj's coffee to get some lunch as I didn't know when I would next eat. I left the cafe at 3pm and went to get my rucsac and decided to walk to the bus station with my bags as I would be sitting for ages. Loads of rickshaw drivers stopped to ask if I needed a ride, but I just ignored them. I arrived at the bus staion at 3.30 pm so had an hours wait for the bus. I just sat and read some more.

At 4.25pm the bus opened it's doors to let us on. It was a local passenger bus and most of the windows were missing. It was an old rackety thing. Getting on at Khajaraho was ok as it was the starting point, but as we set off the bus would stop at every opportunity to pick up more passengers. The bus became full sfter the second stop, but that didn't prevent the driver from piling in as many people as he could. People had to stand in the aisles and share seats. People were shouting at each other and were jostling for space. It was chaos! I filmed the chaos and will put the video on Facebook as I'm not sure I can upload videos on this site. I was glad to have a seat. I read as much as I could, but it got dark and the lights in the bus were poor, so I couldn't do anything else.

A few seats down from me a guy kept continously staring at me. He would turn round and blatantly look at me. I ignored him the first few times, but he was making me feel very uncomfortable. I shouted at him eventually as I was sick of it. In the seats directly in front of me was a young married couple. They saw I was uncomfortable and the lady turned round and asked me where I was going. She told me they were also going to Mahoba and to come with them when we got off the bus. I said ok, but the cynic in me was thinking what do they want? Anyway I trusted my instincts and went with the couple (names Anita & Amit). Amit carried my big rucsac for me. We had to catch a tempo to the train station. When we got to the station Anita told me they had hired a retiring room and I was welcome to join them. I said I didn't want to intrude, but she was having none of it and took me with them. She told me to relax. I used the bathroom put my bags down and then we all went for some dinner and tea. I went to find out about my train and was told it was runnnig late by 90 minutes. So we went back to the room, chatted a lot and then we all slept for an hour or so. Their train was at 1.30am. So we all left together to go to the platforms. I was so grateful for their hospitality as there wasn't a waiting room at the station and people were just all sitting or sleeping on the platform. The wait was long aswell, it had been 4 hours or so. They actually waited until my train arrived and Amit carried my bags onto the train for me and made sure I got my seat ok. I thanked them both and hugged them goodbye.

On the train I settled down and went to sleep. the train was due to get into Varanasi at 10.15am but due to the late running it would be noon.