Kama Sutra Khajaraho

1/14/10
Because we were three and because we found a taxi driver that had to go to Khajaraho to pick up some people, we got a very good deal on a taxi to Khajaraho, which saved us a major headache of getting there by public transport as both Tala and Khaj are out of the way. The taxi stopped about 1 hour outside of Khaj for a dinner. We made the mistake of not asking the price for the food before ordering as in Tala everyone had been so honest and nice. When we asked for the price, they told us 220 rupees (5bucks) each for a meal that in tala had cost us 30-40 rupees. We all burst out laughing at this. They tried to rip us off soo bad that they shot way over. Had they asked for like 70 each we probably would have paid. Instead we each gave 50 still laughing and headed off. We asked the driver later and he had paid 30. Khajaraho would end up having the strangest people we had come along so far. When our taxi arrived around 10pm and the streets were mainly empty. 5 teenage guys were there to welcome us. They all spoke good spanish (as well as english) and showed us around to different hotels. They were quite nice, but after our stay in Khaj they had become annoying. They were always there talking to us and would wait for us to come down from our rooms or leave the temple complex and keep following us. (and of course always mentioning that we should go visit their shop) We called them our personal surveillance guards as they knew where we were at all times and would keep track as to whether we were in the hotel, what restaurant we were at or at what temple complex we were at.

1/15 Today Jovan, Esther and I visited the world heritage Khajaraho temples. They were a collection of temples that avoided destruction (as they were hidden in a deep jungle) when the Muslims came through and destroyed all similar temples due to the sexual nature of them. They are probably the most ornately and detailed carved temples I have ever seen. The artwork was really quite beautiful. The carvings included war scenes with plenty of elephants and other daily life scenes. The temples are mainly honoring women, so carvings of women are the main focus and grace all the temples. Of course what makes these temples most famous are the Kama Sutra and erotic carvings which had all the Indian tourists pointing and laughing and many of the western tourists blushing. There were definitely some pretty crazy carvings.
After we had seen the temples we just laid down in the grass (first place we had seen nice grass in India) to read and lounge and just have peace and quiet. The temples are a bit expensive to get into, but one of the bonuses of going is is that there are no honking horns, touts, and people bothering you. Though as we sat on the grass reading, we were definitely part of a huge photo shoot as all of the Indian tourists would walk by and try to discreetly (though unsuccessfully at this)take pictures of us. Besides all of the Indians trying to take photos without us noticing, there are also plenty that walk right up to you and say nothing else other than "just one snap" in which they don't wait for you to respond and stand right next to you while there friend takes a photo. You have to be careful of this in some of the busy areas like the Taj, b/c just one snap for them turns into a long line of other people also wanting a picture. Eventually you just have to say no or you wouldn't get anywhere. At lots of the tourists sights there are the lower class Indians dressed up in native outfits or with a camel or pony or something and you can pay 20-40 rupees (1/2 to 1 dollar) for a photo with them. If I also charged that same fare for a photo with me I would pay for my Indian trip more than twice over!
That evening we got asked by a man who said he was throwing a birthday party for his daughter to come attend and eat with his family and such. He said it was because he liked to talk and meet westerners. We were thinking about it, but he was very pushy and in my opinion too pushy for someone who just wanted to invite us for something. So in the end we didn't think it would be a good idea and that perhaps at the end or something there would be an uncomfortable scene where he demanded a lot of money or something. These types of scams are common in the heavily touristed areas of India. It is one of the unfortunate things of India is that you always (well at least until you are the quieter and calmer and more friendly mountains) have to be on your guard with everyone...that everyone is trying to scam you or cheat you and just see westerners at big ATM machines. As compared to somewhere like the Philippines or China or Malaysia where you wouldn't have to worry about those things. The best places to meet friendly Indians though are on the trains b/c these locals are just traveling and have not anything to do with the tourist scene. They are always very friendly, offering sweets and other goods they have brought along for the journey.

1/16 Just sort of a hang out and relax day. I did lots of job stuff both for USAjobs.gov and raytheon. That evening around 10 we took a rickshaw to the train station to get a 2 hour train to Mahoba. From there we got off as we had a train to catch to Agra departing at 1:30am. Thankfully! the train was only 40 minutes late as it was soo cold. The three of us sat there on a cold metal bench and huddled together. The train station as usual was full of what appeared to be big lumps of blankets, but it was really huge groups of Indians huddled together sleeping on the concrete floor covered in blankets with not even their heads sticking out. We had the 4th class (which means cold and drafty) train to Agra, but this time we wouldn't be arriving until 9ish, so I wasn't afraid to pull out the warm sleeping bag and go into a nice deep sleep! Plus as we were 3 there was a good chance at least one of us would be awake.