Aurangabad

Tuesday April 29 1:26pm

On the train to Aurangabad from Mumbai I somehow ended up in a class above where I usually travel, so there were only two levels of bunk beds, and no beggars whatsoever. The bed was actually comfortable and the only person in my compartment when we left was a nice Spanish man named Alfanso, who was also on his way to see the Ellora Caves. We were both tired, so we went to bed fairly quickly, but about a half hour later another family got on the train and the peaceful journey came to an end as the man who was in the bunk next to me fell asleep and began snoring like a horse being strangled.

View from the mountain roads

At four in the morning I woke Alfanzo up and we got off the train. Alfanzo was an older man, probably in his fourties, so he was responsible enough to have reaserched hotels before he came to India. I had been planning to just hang around the train station until it was light outside, but he invited me to come along with him to his hotel, where we were sure there would be an open room because it is not the tourist season. The hotel was a little outside my budget, but just by a few bucks, so I quickly agreed with the idea of a shower and a bed in mind. We got to the hotel and checked in around 5, and Alfanzo made plans to take a day trip to the farther of the two sets of caves that we had come to see. I would have joined him, but the tour started at 8:30, I had an ear and throat infection, and I had not slept a wink. Instead I went to my super nice room and slept until noon.

Sufi saint shrine

At noon I got up and decided that I would spend the day doing the small tourst sights that most people skip, and I would go to one set of caves the next day (see next post). I was low on cash so I set out to find an ATM, and though the machines were everywhere I had to go to four different ones before I got one that worked. By the time I finally got cash I was hungry, for I had skipped breakfast, and I found this large but dingy bar and restaurant. When I walked in everyone was shocked, for they clearly do not get many women, not to mention white ones. But the food was good, the atmosphere local, and the prices cheap. I ended up eating at this place three times, and each time they seemed not to believe that I was actually there. They were so knocked off their game that they increased the quality of their service by 10 fold. To the guys at the table next to me they did little more then bring the food and take it away, but they served me my food, checked in on me constantly, and kept refilling my water glass from my water bottle. It was quite cute.

Inside Bibi Qa Maquab

After lunch I was off to see the sights, the first of which was the Bibi Qa Maquab, or the “poor man’s Taj” for it looks just like the Taj, except it is smaller, dirtier, and less well kept. It was funny in a depressing kind of way. But it was worth seeing nonetheless. I then went to the closest set of caves that were not much to see, and a few other sights that were not worth anything. However, I did get into a small water fight with some Muslim women in one that was the best part of my day.

After the tourist sights I went to the local market, for it is there that you truly understand the way a city works. After Varanasi I was shocked by how chill and laid back the place was. People stared at me because I was the only white person around, not because I was a potential source of extra income. It was friendly, clean, quite, and calm. There were mostly Muslims in the market, indicating a large Muslim presence in the town and almost no animals. People stopped to chat and the entire market was only a few blocks big. This small town was a whole different world than the India I was used to, and I liked it a lot.

I came back to the hotel early and settled down, for even though I had not done much it was still over a hundred degrees and I was exhausted.