Day 8, Ajanta [Tuesday 11th December 2007]
Previous day: Day 7, Ellora [Monday 10th December 2007]
Next day: Day 9, Matheran [Wednesday 12th December 2007]
This morning is the earliest wake up call so far - 7.15am!
We get up early to catch a bus to the caves at Ajanta. The bus is quite comfy, with a majority of Indian tourists, plus a few Americans, a couple of Spaniards and a couple of Russians. There's a guide on the bus, an erudite chap with the obligatory 'tache, who imparts a fair amount of knowledge about the history of the area in a thick accent.
The Ajanta caves are all Buddhist and are 30 in number. Arranged around a horseshoe shaped river gorge, they were discovered by a good old British soldier in 1817 named John Smith, who then went on to graffiti his name onto one of the painted walls, some of which date back to 200 B.C.
What sets these World Heritage caves apart from those at Ellora is their richly painted "frescoes", which apparently aren't technically frescoes but something similar. The depth of detail, the variety, the sheer volume of the paintings is staggering. Many are in a remarkable state of preservation. They range from narrative scenes telling the story of the Buddha in the days before his enlightenment to more decorative elements such as flowers, fruits and musical instruments. Notable scenes include the episode of the "1000 Buddhas", when the Buddha manifested himself 1000 times at Sravasti - a wall covered in image after image of Buddha, each one posed slightly differently. The image of the Buddha's serene gaze in cave number 1 is absolutely beautiful, and incredibly well preserved. In another cave he wears a brilliantly over the top crown - it's about 2 feet high and dripping with gold and jewels. What is perhaps most interesting is the wealth of outside influences displayed throughout the paintings - I noted Japanese umbrellas, sumo style fat cherubs, expensive - at the time - Persian blue pigments, Islamic geometrical patterns, South Indian and Punjabi dances and clothes, and musical instruments from around India such as the sarod and the flute.
We were on a guided tour so unfortunately we didn't have a long time to take in all this beauty at our own pace, but what we saw was a fascinating and dramatic introduction to Buddhism's past in India.
After a rickety bus ride back to Aurangabad I decide it's time we tried some chai. We've been here a week and have had any yet, for fear of digestive episodes. So at Prashanth, a run down little place, I get chai and pakoras. Turns out the chai is nothing special, just tea. Milky, murky, sugary brown sludge. Bah! Foiled. Will try again tomorrow.
We use an internet cafe near our hotel to write home. I try out some Hindi while we're in there, but it turns out I've told them that yes, I've had my dinner. I try again, and make myself understood. "Yeh kitna kya hai?" - How much is it? Trying even a little bit of Hindi is a great ice breaker. The owner tells me he'll teach me Hindi for a month, for free - all I have to do is sit at his desk every day, 9 to 5, and help attract foreigners to his shop.
For dinner we get a bit excited and over order a bit - we have so much food between us we're forcing it down in the end out of guilt. We only ordered 3 dishes, but they eat big portions here!
Around 11pm we pick our bags up and go to the station to catch our train to Nerul. Sitting on the platform, every other bloke who walks past eyes Kate up. They're pathetic and so blatant about it. We met an Indian lady who we recognise from Ajanta, who is putting her American daughter-in-law onto a train and is worried about her waiting on her own until 1.30am. The girl is blond and blue eyed and attracting a lot of attention! Unfortunately our train comes an hour and a half before hers so we can't wait with her.
Our train is late, but arrives around midnight. Sharing our 2AC compartment are two husband and wife eye surgeons from Aurangabad. We talk about their work - they aren't paid well but they get a lot of job satisfaction. India has a huge backlog of people waiting for cataract operations - apparently it is a very straighforward keyhole operation, which is done through a 2.8mm incision. They live with their extended family - their parents and two kids aged 13 and 15. They are going on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and will be away for 30 days. It's the first time they have left their kids for so long, and while we're talking one of the children calls to say they miss them. We talk about Aurangabad, the Ellora-Ajanta festival we just missed, their trip to London and Europe's "old world charm". They're friendly and chatty and I really enjoy talking to them.
We have to change trains at Nerul at 5am - only 3 hour's time! I better get some sleep before we get to Matheran tomorrow.
Next day: Day 9, Matheran [Wednesday 12th December 2007]
Previous day: Day 7, Ellora [Monday 10th December 2007]