India.Khajuraho

  The journey to this amazing village began with a very special night train ride. This ride deserves special attention, as we had never experienced such impressions from a train journey before. So, let's start from the beginning. On Main Bazaar Street in Delhi, we took a rickshaw to the railway station we needed. We arrived an hour and a half before the train's departure to calmly orient ourselves at the station, given our lack of experience with Indian trains. On the main board in the station hall, I found the platform number from which our train was to depart, and we waited patiently for the train to arrive. When the moment for boarding finally arrived, we began searching for our coach.

  And there we were, on the platform, crowded with people, shouts, and various kinds of cargo, trying to find our coach. We walked along the entire train but couldn’t find our coach. Approaching a conductor, we asked him where our coach was, but he knew nothing, and we started to get a little nervous. Eventually, we realized that, by "a happy coincidence," our coach had no number displayed. Running along the train again, we confirmed this. But this was just the beginning...

   When we approached the found coach, we were surprised to see a bunch of people crowding at the entrance, who didn’t look like they were seeing anyone off and weren’t planning to leave. Naively, I asked them to let us through since we had tickets, but there was no reaction. Then, one of the Indians advised us to slowly make our way inside, ignoring everything. Armed with confidence and a loud voice, with the words "We have tickets!!!" we made a light assault into the coach and took our places, without any aggression. The Indian who gave us the advice followed us...

  We couldn’t fully occupy our seats because there were so many people in the coach, and it wouldn’t be humane to lift everyone from our berths. Thus, sitting on the packed shelves, our journey began.

  After a couple of hours, we decided to lie down somehow to sleep. Diana lay on the lower berth, with a few Indians sitting at her feet, while I lay on the third berth with our backpacks...

  Despite the situation, we kept our spirits high and approached this colorful moment of our journey with positivity. In the future, we had four more train rides of the same class (sleeper class), and we slept peacefully in our places without "extra passengers." This time, the rush was due to people working in the capital traveling home for Diwali (the most significant festival in India, lasting five days), which started the next day. When I asked the Indian who befriended us when the tickets would be checked, he smiled and logically answered with a question: "How will the conductor pass through?"

  There were many other interesting moments during our first train ride. For example, to get to the toilet, we had to literally crawl over bodies and heads lying in the aisles. But these kinds of adventures, in the end, create unforgettable impressions. We arrived in Khajuraho late, having managed to sleep only a couple of hours on the way, but our good mood didn't leave us even after this... After getting off the train, we checked our luggage into the storage room, then took a rickshaw and went to the western group of temples located in the village center...

  For the next four hours, we were immersed in the enchanting world of ancient Indian architecture...

           

 The next temple, the so-called Kama Sutra Temple, adorned with erotic sculptures, particularly attracts the attention of most tourists and is the most popular...

    The temples astonish with their grandeur, and when you realize that they were built in the 9th-12th centuries AD, the astonishment turns into awe. These unique structures amaze twice: first when you see them from afar, and the second time when you examine all the details up close...

  And this is how one of the temples is used for its intended purpose... It feels like people enter the temple to "partake" ...   

  After viewing the western group of temples, we headed to the eastern group, which is two kilometers from the center...

  Unlike the western temples, it's much quieter here, with no tourists, and very cozy. In this place, we escaped the scorching sun and felt the silence of India for the first time. During our nearly four-hour stay at the eastern group of temples, we saw only a few people. It was also very pleasant to exchange impressions with a French couple, who also appreciated the magic of this place...

  Next, we had dinner at a restaurant located on the roof, overlooking the western group of temples. Today, we tried Aloo Palak (potatoes with spinach) and the familiar Dal (pea and lentil soup) with chapati...

  After dinner, we strolled a bit through the center, then took a rickshaw to the railway station. Collecting our things from the storage room, we continued to wait for our train. In honor of the festival, an Indian approached us at the station and offered us traditional treats in our palms. It was very nice to feel such hospitality... Waiting for the train and boarding the empty coach, we joyfully lay down to sleep with the thought that tomorrow we would reach the cherished city of  Varanasi...