November 17 - 18, 2010

Wednesday was a day of travel – from Agra to Khajuraho. We began the journey by train from Agra to Jhansi; this was a 2.5 hour ride. Some facts about the India railway which is the largest in the world: they employ 1.2 million people, 15 million people per day use the railway, it is the cheapest in the world ($.04/km) there are 105,000 km of rail, it is over 100 years old and it is Government run with its own budget. The train was very comfortable, quite comparable to Amtrak and they even gave each person a big bottle of water and snack. We were in an air-conditioned, reserved-seat train; however, we did see trains with no windows and lots of people dangling out the door. Many used to ride on the roof, but, because there are electric lines above now, not so many do this anymore. From the train station, we boarded a bus for a long ride to Khajuraho stopping for lunch at a pleasant old palace with a walk around the market. We arrived at the Radisson Hotel about 5:00, met in Sanjay’s room for another rum and coke party, then headed to dinner at 8:15.

On Thursday after breakfast, we met up with another guide who took us to view some of the Hindu and Jain temples and erotic sculptures in Khajuraho. The Kamasutra carvings that swath the temples are among the finest temple art in the world. Around the temples are bands of exceedingly artistic stonework showing a storyboard of life a millennium ago – gods, goddesses, warriors, musicians, real and mythological animals. Two elements appear repeatedly – women and sex. It was an incredible experience and we only wished we had had more time to look closely at the art.


We returned to the hotel about 12:30, packed our suitcases and left for the airport for the 50-minute flight to Varanasi. We got to another Radisson Hotel but had no time to go to our rooms. We hurriedly boarded our bus for an unbelievable experience. Varanasi is to Hindus what Mecca is to Muslims. Varanasi has been the center for learning and civilization for over 2000 years, claims to be one of the oldest living cities in the world and is the holiest city in India. It is the city of Shiva where Hindu pilgrims come to wash away a lifetime of sins in the Ganges River or to cremate their loved ones. Varanasi has always been an auspicious place to die since expiring here offers moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death). Our bus could only take us part of the way, we then boarded bicycle rickshaws where we had another harrowing experience darting through the traffic, people and animals. The last 10 minutes was by foot and we were, as usual, accosted by people selling their wares and occasionally beggars. Spiritual life in Varanasi revolves around the 80 ghats, the long string of bathing steps leading down to the river on the western bank of the Ganges. We boarded a rowing boat and were taken first to the site where cremations were taking place. There were 10 fires burning corpses with many lined up to be cremated. We then went to a place to watch the aarti ceremony which is performed by the Hindu priests at sunset 365 days/year in thanksgiving to the Ganges. To return to the hotel, we reversed the process: walk, rickshaw and bus. By this time, we were all starving so we went to the lounge at the hotel for beer, pizza, and chocolate mud pie!

Some of the erotic art at the Hindu temple.

We are standing in front of one of the many Hindu temples in Khajuraho.

Our nighttime walk in Varanasi.