I don't want to sound like a broken record, but once again we did not have a good start to this trip. We slept well enough on the night bus but upon our 1 hour early arrival in Aurangabad my stomach was churning. I did not feel good. We picked this particular bus as it was supposed to arrive in the city at 7.30 am, it's early but some places would be starting to open. At 6.30 am it was dead apart from one place, a 24 h coffee chain called Cafe coffee day. It wasn't too far (according to Ben) from where the bus dropped us off so we decided to head there until a more reasonable hour. Luckily the place had a toilet and the drinks were not too overpriced.
Our hotel was the other side of town so we decided to get an Uber - as one of the few cities that has it as an option (that we've visited) we thought we'd skip the bargaining for a hassle free ride . First problem was the Uber couldn't find us, he called to say he arrived but the map on the app clearly showed he was still a mile away. When he eventually arrived he didn't know where our hotel was either, after ringing his friend to help with the English to Hindi translation we were on our way. The area he dropped us wasn't the nicest, a bit ramshackle and appeared to be in the area dedicated to chicken butcheries, but this is where we had booked so we headed to the hotel.
They wouldn't let us check-in early, claiming there were no rooms. At this point I would have happily paid whatever price just to have a private room with a toilet but it wasn't to be. They said to come back at 12 so we went out on another mission to find a cafe that was open. We found that a lot of cafes in the area lie about their opening times online, we traipsed from place to place, me getting more desperate by the minute and poor Ben having to put up with my ever-increasing bad mood. Finally we found somewhere, it wasn't great; the reviews were bad and the toilet was worse... but at this point I just didn't care. To be fair, Ben quite enjoyed it here, having several cheap cheese and vegetable toasted sandwiches with masala chai, I'm sure my recollections are clouded by the fact I was feeling absolutely rubbish and just wanted to be in bed.
Four hours later, 12 was approaching and we were starting to outstay our welcome so we headed back to the hotel. There things turned from bad to worse. A new person was at the reception desk and they brusquely informed us that they had no rooms available! We quickly explained that we had a reservation, that we'd left our bags here earlier and that we were told to come back at this time. He then informed us we still couldn't have the room as the hotel doesn't allow international guests. At this point we checked our online booking where it clearly stated that the hotel does - it had mysteriously changed about 10 minutes later but we had the screenshot to prove it!
I know mistakes happen. This was just an error on the booking website. That isn't what annoyed me and Ben in this situation. What was most frustrating was the fact that they KNEW they didn't accept international guests at 8.30 when we first tried to check-in and they didn't tell us. They told us to come back at 12! I just can't comprehend why we were told to leave our luggage and return later when there wasn't any chance we would be staying there. At this point I just wanted to cry and Ben was more than irate.
The hotels solution was to put us on the phone to someone who confirmed that we couldn't stay there and claimed they would ring back with a new hotel booking. They didn't, well they did send us a booking four hours later for a way more expensive hotel... to be paid by us, but by then it was too late. We picked a different hotel in a different area and made sure that it wasn't in the same hotel chain. This new hotel was nearer the bus stop, train station and didn't smell of butchered chickens, so maybe it was for the best. I just wish we hadn't wasted our time.
The next time waster was trying to organise our train tickets out of there. There was a street nearby filled with travel agents. All the signs out front claimed the shops sold the same things, bus tickets, aeroplane tickets and train tickets. Not caring which shop we went to we started at the beginning of the road. The first shop claimed not to sell train tickets, despite us standing next to a four foot sign stating otherwise, and to go two doors down - strange. The shop two doors down said the same thing - even stranger. Eventually, ten shops in with frustration mounting we found a place that would sell us tickets, seemingly the last two for the train we wanted to take. At least our luck was with us for that.
It was a infuriating part of an exhausting day. We'd had enough. We were done with the world for a while so decided to camp out in our hotel room and get a Domino's takeaway. I know, I know, not exactly making the best of our time in Aurangabad but sometimes you just need a break.
The next day we woke up early to head to the bus stop. We were off to see the Ellora caves, what we'd come to Aurangabad for. There are three ways to get to Ellora from Aurangabad; a taxi/tuk-tuk - the most expensive option; a tour bus - this leaves the city at 8 am and has a half day visit to Ellora followed by sightseeing at Daulatabad Fort and Bibi Ka Maqbara (the mini Taj Mahal) on the way back; or to get the local bus - the cheapest option by far.
We decided on the local bus for many reasons, at this point we were a bit fort-ed out after Rajasthan and having seen the actual Taj, the mini didn't hold any appeal... plus it was a lot cheaper at only 60 Rs each and we like to do things in our own time. The bus took about 45 minutes and was very convenient to use. Water sellers roaming the bus stand told us which bus to get on and the conductor gave us a shout when it was time to get off!
After all we had endured to see the Ellora caves; two night busses in quick succession, Indore and the latest hotel hell, finally arriving was a welcome sight - it had a lot to make up for and it definitely didn't disappoint!
The UNESCO world heritage sight is spread over 3 km with 34 caves open to the public. With the caves being hewn out of the basalt rock cliff from as early as 600 AD continuing to 1000 AD it is a truly awe inspiring sight. Calling them caves doesn't give them justice, they are temples and monasteries hand carved into the cliff side, some small and simple meant for meditating, some three stories high and everything in-between. All the caves showed an incredible amount of stone carving skill and clearly depict their devotion.
Words cannot describe all the intricate details and amazing sights but luckily we took a lot of pictures. The caves are split into three groups based on the religion they serve and where they are situated, Buddhist, Hindu and Jain.
The Buddhist caves numbered 1 - 12.
The most unique cave in this collection is the Vishvakarma cave or Carpenters cave, given this moniker as the ceiling has been laboriously carved to resemble a wooden beamed ceiling. The Buddhist caves were built with acoustics in mind, specifically built acoustic chambers let sounds reverberate around the entire caves.
The Hindu caves numbered 13 - 29
The largest temple in this collection, cave 16 or The Kailasa temple is actually one of the largest example of a rock hewn temple in the world. What also makes it special was the method of excavation, as the temple was formed from the top down. The size of this cave is immense and although most of the Hindu caves are dramatic, the level of grandeur and the sheer amount of intricate carvings are almost over-whelming.
The Jain caves numbered 30 - 34
The Jain caves have caused the most confusion for historians, with aspects being similar to Hindu (as they were built in the same era) some caves have previously been mistaken for those belonging to the different religion. Artworks were so similar that depictions with the Jain dancing "Indra" shown have been mistaken for the Hindu "Shiva". To be fair both figures are shown with multiple arms and ornaments so it's easy to see how the mistake happened.
We had a great time at the Ellora caves, the grounds were well kept and the scenery included several waterfalls, a field of goats and a colony of monkeys living at the site. A baby monkey decided to attack Ben's shoes, however it's mother came and scooped him up - the monkey, not Ben! - and wandered off, almost as if she thought the baby was being a nuisance.
For me Ellora has been one of the most impressive and thought- provoking places I've visited. To imagine the work and dedication that went into excavating even the smallest of the caves is unthinkable! Not matter how amazing, by the afternoon we were exhausted! The site is only 3 km from first cave to last but after wandering from cave to cave, trying to explore anywhere we could it felt like we'd walked a marathon! After waiting 20 minutes for the bus a tuk-tuk appeared and offered a deal we couldn't refuse... 300 Rs for the 30 km journey back to Aurangabad!
We had a lovely day but were still feeling a bit travel weary. It felt like everything was tougher than it should have to be and the last several days hadn't helped. Why was it so difficult to get a hotel, to book tickets and to get where we needed to be? Ditching the route we had planned, we thought we would cheat a bit. Instead of going over land working our way to our next destination, we would just fly there instead. It was time for a holiday (and yes we've been on holiday all this time) but moving every couple of days takes it's toll. Having nowhere to be our base is hard, never settling long enough to warrant unpacking.
So it was time to have a proper rest, starting with an early night as our next stop is Goa.
Credit to www.meherbabatravels.com for the Ellora site map.
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