Month: January 2013

Delhi QuickTrip: Khajuraho and Orchha

Post author By pkk
Post date January 22, 2013
2 Comments on Delhi QuickTrip: Khajuraho and Orchha

For the past three-day weekend, we decided to revisit a site we’d already visited, and to take in a new site on the way back. One should probably choose one of the two for an ideal weekend trip, and I will provide the logistics for those preferred itineraries.

Khajuraho is a peaceful small town in Madhya Pradesh famous for the amazing sculpture, much of it erotic and some of it downright “pornographic”, on its 10th/11th century Hindu and Jain temples. Khajuraho is certainly worthy of a revisit, but what really drove it as a destination for us this past weekend was the relatively last minute availability of overnight train tickets–on the UP Sampark Kranti which departs Delhi’s Nizamuddin Station at 8:15 PM and arrives in Khajuraho at 6:35 AM. The rail connection to Khajuraho is fairly new–when we first visited in 2003, Khajuraho was, for those who didn’t want to fly, a painful multihour jeep/bus journey from the nearest railheads–and the rail connection seems to have caused fairly positive developments in Kharuraho’s tourist infrastructure, including a better selection of hotels and restaurants and a pedestrianized area in the core of the town near the greatest set of ruins. We stayed at the Hotel Surya, which cost less than 600 rupees for a non-AC room booked online. (I should note that while there are some upscale hotels in town, none of them are walking distance from the ruins.)

One could easily spend two nights or more in Khajuraho. The town is peaceful, the selection of food and lodging pretty good, and, even if the ruins themselves would occupy only a day of sightseeing, there are likely pleasant walks and bicycle rides that could be had, strengths that come from it’s being pleasantly quasi-rural for a major Indian tourist site. But because my time was limited, we didn’t want to take an overnight train back to Delhi and Khajuraho still has no nonstop flights to Delhi (flights to Khajuraho go on a triangular Delhi to Khajuraho to Varanasi to Delhi routing), we stayed only one night in Khajuraho and took a rather painfully slow daytime passenger train to Orchha, which left Khajuraho at 12:30 PM and arrived after sunset. To return directly from Khajuraho to Delhi, you could take the UP Sampark Kranti back, which departs Khajuraho at 6:20 PM and arrives at Nizamuddin at 5:30 AM, if you are okay with an overnight return trip, or take the Khajuraho – Udaipur InterCity, which departs Khajuraho at 9:10 AM, and then transfer to a Delhi train (such as the Shatabdi, see below) at Jhansi, Gwalior or Agra (probably the first, in order to have the safest connection).

From Orchha station, which is right before Jhansi Junction, we caught an auto rickshaw to Orchha town, about a 20 minute journey for which you will certainly be overcharged. By the time we checked into our hotel (unremarkable but cheap Fort View Guest House), it was dark. Were we to do it again, or arrive at Orchha earlier, we would certainly try to book the Maharaja Suite at the Hotel Sheesh Mahal, which is the state-run establishment that is the only lodging in the fort itself. Being a state-run hotel the Sheesh Mahal is not fancy, but the Maharaja Suite is fairly impressive, and for a relatively low price of around $100 allows you the experience of staying in a unique and private part of the old palace. The Maharani Suite, next to the dining room, is nowhere near as impressive–we imagine the substantially cheaper regular rooms may be more appealing. The Sheesh Mahal is also, by our limited experience, probably the best place to eat in town. We visited some of the more upscale hotels located just away from the town center but were not really drawn to any of them (despite really wanting to be). With one’s own transport the Bundelkhand Riverside may be okay, and we didn’t visit the fanciest hotel in town (the Amar Mahal), though its location didn’t inspire us.

Orchha may be one of the most impressive sites in India that are not commonly visited. Though seemingly well frequented by tour groups (including especially Korean tour groups), which may find it an easy stop from Khajuraho, there are not very many tourists considering the tremendousness of the fort. The Jahangir Mahal, in particular, is extremely explorable, and in most ways just as impressive as any of the palaces in Rajasthan. Chaturbhuj Temple, which is in Orchha town, is also unique–a vast cathederal-like Hindu temple with an impressively high roof with a good view. Like Khajuraho, Orchha is also pleasantly rural (and less tourist-oriented to boot), and would be a good base for walks and bicycle rides (we are also intrigued by the “mud-hut home stays” listed in the Lonely Planet). Of the places we’ve visited “near” Delhi so far, Orchha is the one that we could most easily imagine visiting repeatedly.

To return to Delhi from Orchha, we took an auto rickshaw to Jhansi Junction and then the comfortable Shatabdi to New Delhi Railway Station, which leaves Jhansi at 5:59 PM and arrives in Delhi at 10:45 PM (though odds seem to be that it will run late). The excellent timing of the Shatabdi return trip makes a simple weekend trip to Orchha easy. Any number of overnight trains departs Delhi for Jhansi, including the Dakshin Link SF Express, which departs Nizamuddin at 11:00 PM and arrives in Jhansi at 5:20 AM, giving you a full 1.5 days in Orchha for a two-day weekend. If you want to arrive Friday night, a few different trains leave Delhi in the afternoon and make it to Jhansi Junction about five to six hours later, though unless you leave a bit earlier in the afternoon that would mean an Orchha arrival after midnight.

India QuickTrip

Delhi QuickTrip: Ahmedabad

Post author By pkk
Post date January 16, 2013
12 Comments on Delhi QuickTrip: Ahmedabad

Jali window at Sidi Sayid Mosque

My first QuickTrip is actually pretty far afield: Ahmedabad, the largest city of Gujarat. We headed to Ahmedabad last weekend not because it was a logical destination for a QuickTrip (rather, I think it’s better as part of an extended Gujarat trip, since any travel in Gujarat likely passes through Ahmedabad), but because a friend of ours from New York happened to be in town visiting family during a festival, and we wanted to take the trip down to see her and to experience the festival. Uttarayan, a holiday also known as Mahar Sakranti and celebrated in Ahmedabad as a kite festival, takes place from January 13-15 or so, and is an excellent time to visit Ahmedabad. However, the city has more than enough to merit a visit even outside of those dates: beautiful, impressive and distinct architecture; a lively old city that is a mix of different religious/cultural groups; and of course the distinct and tasty cuisine, available at a good selection of restaurants. Oh, by the way, you should know that Ahmedabad is not pronounced Ahmed-a-bad, but rather Ahm’dabad (three syllables).

To get from Delhi to Ahmedabad we took an overnight train, the Rajdhani, which departs New Delhi Railway Station at 7:55 PM and arrives at Ahmedabad Junction at 9:35 AM. As those of you familiar with Indian trains may be aware, the Rajdhani is the fanciest big category of overnight trains, and the timeliness and maintenance of the cars is kept to a fairly high standard. Meals are also included in the slightly premium fares. In order to be well-rested for work on Monday, I flew back, on an Indigo flight departing Ahmedabad at 7:50 PM and arriving in Delhi at 9:20 PM. In Ahmedabad we stayed at the Hotel Volga, which cost around 1000 rupees. Those looking for fancier digs should consider the House of MG, a heritage property located in an old mansion, that is upward of $100 or so and also in a prime downtown location. Memorable meals included Agashiye, the Gujarati thali restaurant on the roof of the House of MG, and Gopi Dining Hall, a more affordable restaurant that also did a very good Gujarati thali.

Gujarati thali at House of MG

We spent our first day seeing the major historical sites of the town. Our first stop was the “shaking minarets” of Sidi Bashir Mosque, which is just south of the railway station (a 5-10 minute walk). The mosque is not impressive in size, but it is quite old (built 1452) and represents an unusual style of mosque. Then, before we even checked into our hotel, we went to the Dada Hari Vav, an amazing stepwell not too far from the railway station. This is a pretty astonishing example of a Gujarati stepwell, though I understand that there are a few that are even more amazing in the state. We also saw a second stepwell nearby–while the walk was interesting, the well itself was nowhere near the Dada Hari.

After checking into our hotel, we walked from the Sidi Sayid Mosque to the Friday Mosque, which takes in much of the historical core of the city. Sidi Sayid’s Mosque, known in town simply as “jali” for its famous jail windows, and located just across the street from House of MG and also near the Hotel Volga. A walk from there toward the Friday Mosque takes you through the most colorful parts of the city, which also happens to be a largely Muslim area. We strongly recommend seeing this area during both the day and the night, as nighttime brings a different atmosphere, especially around the market areas. Near the central Teen Darwaja is the Bahdra Fort, which is somewhat ruined but the roof of which provides interesting exploration for a good half hour.

Jama Masjid

The Friday Mosque, dating from 1423, is easily one of the most beautiful in India, and interestingly different from the red Mughal creations further north (though the carved pillars are similar to the also reused Jain pillars at the Qutb Minar). The area just south of the mosque is an interesting market area. For a quirky and interesting view of the mosque, take the (scary/decrepit) cast iron spiral staircase in the back of the fruit market up to the roof.

On the second day, following the recommendation of our friend, we took the government walking tour, starting from the Swaminarayan Temple. We recommend the tour, which takes you not through the city’s major sites (which we covered on the first day), but through the city’s fascinating “pols,” or neighborhoods. The House of MG also organizes walking tours, which I imagine are good.

After spending part of the afternoon revisiting some of the sites from the previous day, I taxied to the airport for my flight, while Derek stayed behind to take kite festival pictures.

India QuickTrip

Introduction to Delhi QuickTrips

Post author By pkk
Post date January 10, 2013
2 Comments on Introduction to Delhi QuickTrips

Now that we’re living in Delhi, not only will most of my posts be based on our India travels, but I will also do a series of QuickTrips, easy trips that can be done in 2-4 day weekends out of Delhi. As with previous QuickTrips, these posts will not necessarily be based on an idea or a theme, but will be focused principally on the logistics necessary to squeeze as much experience into limited time, along with some recommendations on things to do and see.

Delhi may be the best city in the world for QuickTrips. Not only is India perhaps the country in the world with the greatest density of world class tourist attractions, but the extensive transportation infrastructure, including especially the cheap domestic airlines and the extensive rail network, mean that literally dozens of excellent destinations can be explored over a regular or long weekend. Even the (sometimes tediously) slow speed of the Indian rails plays to one’s advantage, as destinations that, at faster speeds, would be more awkward distances are actually stretched into overnight trips that allow great efficiency of travel. And, of course, for cost, travel in India is hard to beat, with overnight sleeper trains in 3AC (for information on classes of Indian rail travel, see these posts (1,2)) available from about 600 rupees, or about $12, basic but comfortable AC hotel rooms often available for around 1000 rupees, or about $20, and domestic flight segments often available for less than 5000 rupees, or about $100. Many QuickTrips will cost less than $100 for a couple, if a flight is not involved.