at 6am our man in the hotel brought us the bus tickets that he'd purchased for us at a slight mark-up. By 6:10 we were at the bus station, by 6:20 we were on the heap of a bus and by 7am it was moving. Initially there was lots of room on the bus so we put our rucksacks on the seat between us. As we could have guessed seat reservations were meaningless and the bus kept stopping to pick people up so that soon there were more people than seats. Just like the Nepalese the Indians seem to want everyone to sit and they cram more and more people into restricted seating space not seeming to care how uncomfortable it becomes for everyone. I spent a while standing to ease my cramped legs but people kept trying to get me to sit on millimetres of exposed vinyl seat surface.
The journey was through an incredibly dry, flat, infertile, dusty landscape and the road was very bumpy. Traffic on the road consisted of other buses, lorries, bikes and ox-carts. No private cars here. We arrived at Khajuraho about the expected time and the journey was infinitely more relaxing than the previous train journeys.
At the bus station we were inundated with offers of accommodation but chose the Shiva Lodge with its free lift. 60rp for an air cooled room with attached bathroom. Hardly luxurious but fantastic value. It soon became apparent that Khajuraho was used to tourists. The new village seemed to have sprung up entirely due to the ruins and temples that had been very well preserved, thanks to UN funding. There were lots of restaurants around, the locals spoke and understood English and the sellers were waiting. The sellers were not allowed into the cordoned off temple areas so we had a very peaceful, enjoyable afternoon.
People we talked to were happy, keen to pose for photos and as interested in us as we were in them. The temples were every bit as good as Borobudur so by the end of the day we'd decided we liked India and the hassles of the previous two days were becoming just good stories.
We ate well for dinner and tea including a couple of honey pancakes for me. The only hassle was a local who befriended me and wanted my address in England. I said no. We've had similar incidents before and it's difficult to know there motivation. We won't be playing ball.
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