Khajuraho Hindu Temples

What a great day so far! I went to the gym and Charlie and Diane were there too (it’s always us three!), then had breakfast, then boarded the bus for the 10-minute bus ride to the 1000-year-old Hindu temples. Absolutely breathtaking! (Sorry I keep using the same words over and over!) Abhi handed us over to a local guide named Ashwami, but Abhi always called him Peter Sellers because of his likeness to him. 

It was very interesting to learn about the temples, including all the stories embedded in the sandstone, many of them erotic. Think kama sutra. After he spoke for an hour or so, we could explore on our own for 45 minutes. We could even climb up and go inside them. It was like being inside a living museum but not exactly a museum because you could touch and climb. Loved being there. So peaceful, too, away from the traffic and honking and pollution. The temples are scattered across a very large park with no litter. It’s now a UNESCO World Heritage site. They look similar to the temples in Angkor Wat but they’re older. Some people in my group have been to Angkor Wat and said another difference is the intricacy of the artwork here.

Next we went to lunch at a place called Garden View Restaurant, run by two sisters. Then we drove back to the hotel for free time. On the way we passed a Hindu funeral procession and Abhi took the opportunity to tell us all about the ceremony. Very interesting! There were about 20 men walking in the road, four of them carrying the body on a stretcher made out of sticks and cloth, covered with large leaves and pink flowers on top. Next will be the cremation, which is all done by these men in a very ritualistic way. 

For our free time, we had several options. Paul, Sharon, and I walked for 15 minutes to the tribal museum. (Yesterday when Abhi was telling us about it, everyone thought he was saying travel museum!) That was great! A tiny little museum filled with ancient and modern art of nearby tribes. Sharon and I were disappointed there wasn’t a gift shop. The guy there was a young man with excellent English who explained all the details of the art. He was so sweet and even invited us to come to his village home for a meal! We politely declined but did give him a tip since the entrance was free. He kept telling Paul he would keep him in his heart and at one point he said “I love you” to Paul. It was quite endearing. 

Pretty soon we have to meet to go to the Jain temples.