Rapid Travel Chai

I went through all my pictures and couldn’t find any of the adult scenes that was at all appropriate for this family-friendly blog. The  temple carvings at India’s Khajuraho are famous for the sexually imaginative and acrobatic sections. Those are in reality only a small portion of the many aspects of daily life depicted however those Kama Sutra scenes bring in the punters.

Khajuraho has limited midday flights, a few trains such as an overnight train from Agra that I took, and is a long bus ride from most anywhere tourists would be. The town is more village is a relatively calm place to hang out in India, and has the accoutrements of a backpacker town. I did not have time to hang out so the overnight train from Agra gave me the chance to do a morning circuit of the temples and still catch an afternoon fight hop to Varanasi. The unprompted comment from the tuk tuk driver, “We have 84 positions, you should come back with your partner and we have classes you can learn,” was not enough to keep me overnight.

My two hour train delay cost me the sunrise, otherwise the plan worked well. I chartered a tuk tuk, starting first with the various outer temples and the Jain temple complex. Jains hone in on male anatomy, rather than the more varied tastes found in the Hindu temples.

Then I wrapped up with the main UNESCO-listed Western Group of Monuments.

India has so many ‘must-sees’ that are a minimum one or two day commitment so it is hard to choose. Until I found the train option I almost did not go to Khajuraho, thinking it might be like similar wood temple carvings in Nepal. They were quite different and spectacular, and I am glad I made the trip.