Friday, April 3, 2009

Train Trip

A few weeks ago we went on our second Indian train trip.  This time to Aurangabad from where we visited the heritage sites of Ajanta and Ellora Caves.  Having participated in last year's trip to Hampi, organised by our local expat group we were pretty well versed in what to expect on the journey, the train ride in particular.  We left Hyderabad at 1:30 on the Friday afternoon and arrived at our destination at midnight.  Not being the novices anymore we were well prepared; scrabble board, wine, food and books soon whiled away the 10 hours or so.



Sugar intake during the sight seeing


Inside the train carriage


The carriage, or bogey as they are know by here,  was booked for us (65 members of the TEA group) alone and was a second class, 3 tier AC carriage.  This means that there is AC (thank god!) and that there are 3 levels of bunks on each side of the compartment and 2 bunks on the narrow side of the aisle.  No doors separate the compartments so much better to do this trip when you are friendly with the other travelers.

There were about 20 kids on the trip and they all behaved exceptionally well.  For  the most part of the journey they swing from the upper most bunks having fun, and only  occasionally need reminding to avoid heads below.

At the station we (the group) are looked upon in a strange, though not unfriendly fashion.  It is not that often that such a large group of foreigners are seen hanging around the platform.

Here is a pic of Bethan hauling her luggage up the steps of the station.  Bless her, she is so good for a 7 year old!


The following morning, we took a 2 hour bus ride from Aurangabad to Ajenta where some of the caves dated back to 6th century BC.  These cave were hidden for hundreds of years and were rediscovered by some member of the British military in 1839.  They are what is known as dug in caves, meaning they have been carved in through a rock face.  The intricate detail within is pretty amazing and some are decorated with beautiful paintings.  Having visited Petra in Jordan the month before I was slightly 'caved out', but could not help marvel at the skill and determination of how these magnificent caves were made.

The same day we also visited Daulatabad Fort, which was like visiting the place where all the designers of computer games must go for their ideas.  Moats, bridges, secret passages, hide outs, places from which boiling oil was poured (or so we were told!) lol.   The rule was at every junction you came to, to reach the top of the hill, you had to turn right, turning left would lead you to a dead end (maybe in more ways than one....)

Had a problem with loading some photos (or rather, in the order they have loaded) so will post some extra photos in the next post.

The Sunday saw us climbing on board the bus again, and this time visiting the site of Ellora Caves.  These caves were equally as amazing as the Ajanta Caves, but some of them were different in the fact that they were 'dug out' caves, meaning they started from above and dug down into the rock.  In the picture below you can see how they dug down in a big square shape, leaving a block in the centre which was then carved in intricate detail.


Lawrence and Nikhil enjoying all the sites had to offer


Fresh Juice Indian style

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