Dadu Aur Madak
Orchha| We
had been hearing some positive comments about Orchha, a village just
outside of Jhansi. Often the deciding factor in planning our day's
destination is the information available regarding lodging. There was
still more than 350 kilometers from Khajuraho to Agra, a distance right
on the outside edge of what we like to commit to in a day, especially
with the road conditions we had encountered so far in Madhya Pradesh.
We are told that the roads in Madhya Pradesh are the subject of jokes
in other states in India. If you have experienced the roads in most of
India you will understand that this is a scathing indictment. Orchha,
and the much larger Jhansi are the only practical places en route for
which we had any information about lodging. Lonely Planet described
Orchha as having a "...wonderful complex of well-preserved palaces and
temples." We found those remarks to be incredibly generous of the folks
at Lonely Planet. |
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is often the case, some of the most interesting things you might
encounter in the course of the day are along the way. Under normal
circumstances we end our day regretting having not stopped for that
photo you just can't explain to anyone--the donkey with one hoof stuck
in a blue plastic sandal, the procession of pilgrims, one of whom is
prostrate and rolling down the highway. Having only a short hop of 120
kilometers from Khajuraho to Orchha we were able to indulge ourselves a
bit. The water buffalo at left had the mack-daddy of all water buffalo
horns. Top right is just one of the temporary Durga shrines that had
been constructed in every little village we came across, and bottom
right is a typical washday at the river. |
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isn't so much that the sights in Orchha are uninteresting, it's just
that there seems to have been little effort expended to make the town
itself a welcoming experience. The road in deteriorates at the town
limits to a cratered and debris strewn mess, that was the site of our
third flat tire. Although our hotel was part of Orchha's large palace
complex it was a state run affair with a staff that was disinterested
at best. The meals there were unremarkable. The towns restaurants were
equally unappetizing, with open air seating next to the dusty and
diesel infused air of the town's noisy, bumpy roads. At left is a view
of part of the palace taken from the courtyard in front of the hotel.
The photo at top right was taken from across the river. The shot at
bottom right was from the terrace on the roof of the hotel. |
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town also housed this temple complex, but once again, following the
spectacle of Khajuraho it showed little to distinguish it. It is a
shame though, because the town would really have very little to do to
make visiting more pleasurable. There is however the possibility that I
am being just a little unfair. After loading both bikes on the morning
of departure we discovered the flat tire I mentioned earlier. Since
help didn't seem to be forthcoming from the hotel staff, we had to
unload both bikes and remove my rear tire and head out two-up in
search of a tire walla, with
Karen carrying the rear wheel between us. It
was an inauspicious start to our last leg to Agra, and may have colored
my perception of the overall experience. |
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