Hello all once again. My quasi-weekly updates continue. At the moment I am sitting in an air-conditioned internet cafe in Aurangbad, the central hubs for visiting the caves of Ellora and Ajanta. It is important to note the room is air-conditioned because it is well over 100 degrees in the city, magnified by the pollution and dust. Remarkably though I am getting rather used to the inconveniences of India, and am oddly starting to enjoy them - though I could often do without the smells.

As predicted, it proved quite difficult to leave the beaches of Goa. I rented a motorbike (ok a scooter) for two days in Palolem. Really the only way to get around. Of course, I got less than 500 meters from the rental stand and crashed the damn thing into a well occupied restaurant. Fortunately, this was a relatively cheap lesson on which handle is the gas and which handle is the brake, as it only set me back a few bandages and 1000 rupees. Really could have been much worse. So after two days of cruising the countryside and a week of beaches and beer, I decided it was (really) time to head out.

Travelling to Hampi was really my first time travelling alone in India, as I had met people in Mumbai on the way to Goa. I had to shift gears and get back into the mode of travelling. But of course, the bus was loaded with foreigners, particularly Israelis, so there was always company. Hampi is just plain amazing. I think books either have been or should be written about this place. The landscape bares a striking resemblance to Joshua Tree: millions of boulders strewn about. But unlike Joshua Tree, there are seas of rice fields and banana trees turning the rocks into islands and peninsulas in the green ocean. If somehow there was an odd space-time disruption and Vietnam, Joshua Tree, and ancient Indian temples slammed into eachother…this would be Hampi. Anyway, the sights are endless, but a recap anyway - Hanuman Temple at sunset (definately send some pics of this), Achuyaratha Temple and Sule Bazaar, and riding an elephant amidst the shadows of the Virupaksha Temple. Incredible all…again rented a motorbike to check out the sights, this time no crashes.

Leaving Hampi was agian difficult, but onward I must go. Boarded the bus 2 days ago for Aurangabad via Pune and discovered myself, for the first time, the lone white guy on the bus…though I have a pretty good tan now if I do say so myself. Today I checked out the cavs at Allora and must say that they are truely amazing. If there was only one it would have been worth checking out, but there were over 30 massive temples and meeting halls carved directly into the mountain over generations between 400-800ad. Some are over 3 stories high with intricate passage ways, columns and frescoe-like paintings. There are Jain, Buddhist and Hindu caves and they all seem to compete for superiority. I actually liked the incredibly detailed, yet simple and modest Jain templess, as the Hindu and Buddhist ones were often glamorized and emmense for no reason. Anyway, quite an incredible sight.

So, tomorrow I check out the caves at Ajanta which are supposed to contain amazing “frescoe” paintings, before catching a train tomorrow night to Delhi (22hours) to meet up with Blake at the airport. I will try to send some pictures next time, though unless the room is air-conditioned there is no way I will write anything near this long.
Namaste.

PS - Last night I had a beer called “10000″ that said it was over 8.75%, I thought it was bad until I tried this stuff starting with a Kh that said “super stong beer”. Literally took one sip and left it there :mad:. Where are the Kingfisher’s when you need em?