Khajuraho: Feb14-16, 2006

I took the night train from Varanasi to Satna (11:30pm departure, arriving late at 8:15 am) and then a bus to Khajuraho. I received a surprise sendoff from a group of young men I'd met at the ghats. They appeared at the train station at 11:20pm... what a surprise to see the four of them. I'd planned to say goodbye earlier but got busy packing. I'd been kind of feeling their friendship was for money... they'd implored me to take them all to the movies last week... only 120 rs, about $3, but still a chunk of my 5-10$/day budget. So my faith in them was renewed when they made the journey to the train station to see me off. I gave them each a friendship bracelet. Tomorrow, they said is Seekunder's birthday. I gave them 100rs to celebrate with... they turned it down at first saying "friendship, not money"; but then they took it. After they left, a Hindi man said they were making fun of me and that I shouldn't have given them any money. Don't know what to think about it all.

Sleeping on the train proved difficult... comfortable enough, but when an old lady slapped my feet and awakened me from a deep sleep after an hour or two... I don't know what for... I lost my nerve about sleeping afraid I'd miss my stop. There are no announcements and the conductors pay no special attention. A Korean guy was in the same compartment and going the same way. Between the two of us we kept track of our stop and managed to get off, and take a rickshaw together to the bus station where we got the bus to Khajuraho.

Getting off the bus in Khajuraho was akin to my Sauraha experience. Except there were maybe six tourists to a dozen touts this time. (In Sauraha I was the only tourist arriving on the bus and was surrounded by about 20 beautiful men who all wanted me... almost a dream come true, except they wanted me to stay at their hotel.) I wasn't having any of it. Fed up and a bit jaded after 3 weeks in Varanasi, tout heaven, I said the next person that approaches me, I will vow NOT to stay at his guest house. Still about 6 followed me and my Korean friend as we walked into town. A sadhu passed by and I sarcastically asked him if he wanted a room and pointed to my "tout friends". It must be time for me to leave India!

My Korean friend and I kept asking to be left alone. As we got into town another few touts glummed onto us seeing us with our telltale backpacks fresh off the bus. We separated to look at a few places. I walked on out of town to get a moment alone and compose myself. Looked at four places and went with the Yogi Ashram about 2 km north of town.

This is not a town where "alone" is a feasible concept. Low on tourists, everyone wants your business. Even a small boy befriended me as I rode my rental bike around and insisted I see his school; I literally begged off on seeing his home. I met the principal who seemed nice and offered to show me to the children; he easily backed off when I declined. My new little boy friend said I must come visit the school but not without him. Odd I thought. Later when I read my guidebook, the warning for this town was about school children who hook in tourists to make donations to their school then split the donation with their principle. It was an afternoon of touts as I tried to soak in the town. Another boy was desparate to get me to his house for tea and dinner. After I declined several times and kept running into him, he dejectedly said "you not want be my friend" and rode off. Alone at last, sitting on the road in the midst of town, three Indian men came up being friendly, complimenting me on my beard and piercings. "Ahh... at least they are just being friendly..." Then came the sales pitch for a taxi ride to the nearby jungle to see tigers. Then after the marriarage question, they offered to hook me up with a pretty Indian woman... for a price of course!

Today I dreamed up the following:

Street Lessons for Indians learning English:

Day 1: "Boat? Sir! Boat? Sir! Boat?"

Day 2: "What you like? Hashish?"

Day 3:" Marijuana, Cocaine? Good Manali Cream? I have everything: what you want?"

Formal English Lessons for Indians:

Day 1: "Hello."

Day 2: "What is your good name?"

Day 3: "First time? India?"

Day 4: substitute name of current town for India

Day 5:"How you like [name of country, town, etc...]?"

Day 6: "Where you stay?"

I'm quite sure this is how their english books are written, as this is the unvarying order of conversation.


Continuing in my list of interesting sights on the roads and loads on vehicles:

A thin mattress held upright on a motor scooter by the passenger riding behind the driver.
That was yesterday. Today I saw them with the bedframe!


I toured the temples this morning. Beautiful sandstone sculpted works of art chock full of relief statues... many horses, elephants, warriors, and Ganeshas. And then intermixed many erotic sculptures of men and women in kama sutra positions. Quite beautiful temples.

I had lunch at "Amy's International Restaurant" which advertised Indian, American, Italian, Continental, and Japanese foods. When I tried to order a bean burrito, the manager said he was sorry but the market has no beans today. So I went for an Indian thali. While I tried to wait and have some peaceful moments alone, the manager started a "conversation". How he'd started the restuarant with and American woman Amy who he loved and missed as she was out of the country right now. He droned on about how the electric was shut off because he couldn't pay the bills because tourists were few this season. But he had big plans for cheap rooms to build for a tourist guest house "Amy's Guest House". And he said how Americans would love getting food they are familiar with while travelling. All good thoughts, but I wondered if they ever had the beans for the burrito?