If I had to answer a question on what’s been the best part of the trip so far then I’d have to say that spending time with people I’ve known online for a while, met through friends of theirs or the residents of the homestay would have to top the list. These are pretty strong […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Although we’re doing this trip by ourselves, as opposed to using a travel company, we decided that we had the need to get a driver whilst in Aurangabad. I got the number of a driver, Bhagwat, from my friends Madhu and Savita (10YearItch.com) who had used his services during their time in and around Aurangabad. […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
The caves near Aurangabad (Ajanta and Ellora) have been on the top of Jane’s ToDo list for some time. She could almost have crossed Ellora off the list 22 years ago when she visited Ellora whilst touring India with a friend. But in Aurangabad last time her friend fractured her collar bone and couldn’t visit […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
I felt pretty stupid when I arrived at Daulatabad Fort as I’d see many pictures of it before and thought that the whole fort sat at the top of the hill, yet only about one fifth of it sits on the hill, the rest, the majority is thankfully at ground level. Arched entrances to small […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
On our second day in Aurangabad we visited the Bibi-ka-Maqbara tomb and then after that, even though I nagged him for twenty minutes Daddy wouldn’t tell me where we were going next. Mummy said we were going to another silk/cotton shop and didn’t let on where we were really going. We drove out from old […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Aurangabad was named after Aurangzeb, the son of Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. In the north of the city sits the tomb of Aurangzeb’s wife, Rabia-ul-Durrani. Constructed between 1651 and 1661 my book says “it is a poor imitation” and it isn’t wrong but if you […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Could this be the funkiest way to travel? On the way to the caves at Ajanta we stopped to get a drink and an autorickshaw pulled up at the same cafe, however it wasn’t just any rickshaw, it had been pimped. I wonder if India has a version of America’s Pimp My Ride programme with […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
The traditional clothing for ladies over here in India is either a Sari or a Salwar Kameez, the latter being a long blouse without buttons (the kameez) worn over a pair of leggings along with a dupatta (scarf). Sarees look beautiful but aren’t so practical in the UK and look out of place on a […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
We’d been looking to forward to visiting Ajanta, a set of caves dating back many centuries, for some time. Jane especially wanted to come here as she never quite made it here when she visited Aurangabad 22 years ago. The caves are located in a horseshoe gorge and appears like an ideal place for the […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Orchha is a gem of a place for anyone who loves historical buildings, especially if you prefer them looking authentic, pre-restoration. Its Sheesh Mahal is a large palace to the north of the town that has commanding views over the lush, green surrounding countryside. The upper domes of the palace are home to vultures that […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Orchha market was a lot more smaller than most other markets we’ve been too but that’s no surprise as this town is home to only a few thousand. It’s the first quiet market I’ve ever come across which made it a lovely experience. Amy wanted to buy some henna-style printing blocks and some coloured powder […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Vivid colourful trucks are everywhere in India. Unlike in England, where trucks belong to a company like Tesco or Sainsbury, trucks in India are often owned by individuals. Therefore English trucks are only decorated with the company’s logo and colours, whereas Indian trucks are made unique by the owner or driver. As you can see […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Last night’s train journey, at 15 hours and 600 miles, was the longest one in our plan and if we didn’t catch it we’d have a problem on our hands, so being cautious I’d booked a backup train. To minimise cancellation costs I needed to cancel the backup train before we caught the planned one. […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Emilia has already blogged about our visits to Sonagiri and Datia when we were travelling from Gwalior to Orchha. I’ve just looked through the photos I took there and realised how much I liked the different carved screens that were in the palace. Every screen seemed to be unique although maybe they weren’t as […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Well it was inevitable, the monsoon would get us eventually, although as we were travelling by car from Gwalior to Orchha it didn’t affect us much, just slowed the journey right down and it was slow enough to start with. We’ve had thunder and lightning pretty much every day, twice a day at least whilst […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
