Madhya Pradesh

maree

Here are some tips for anyone considering Madhya Pradesh:

Khajuraho - well worth a visit. I think the entry fee was Rs500 but the temples are incredible (it's also worth renting a walkman with an audio commentary). The carvings are stunningly detailed and life-like. I stayed at the Lakeside Hotel and splurged on a sunny room with a balcony and attached bathroom with 24-hour hot water (and it even had a bath!!) - Rs 225. Blue Sky Restaurant is a great place to eat as it looks out over the ruins and you can see part of the sound and light show (which I didn't want to pay for) - good food too. The Jain temples (Eastern Group) are also worthwhile and are free. If there is any sort of dance festival going on then get yourself down to the mela ground behind the Lakeside. And if you meet 2 young boys called Ramratan and Aashtosh, can you get an address and send it to me as I have a photo for them and I lost the paper they wrote it on.

Gwalior - I got the overnight train from Varanasi, visited the fort and then left for Orchha (tried to avoid staying in big cities as much as poss on this trip) - it all worked out well but I'm still undecided as to whether it was worth it. The fort still has some beautiful tile work and some beautifully proportioned rooms.

Orchha - one of my new favourite places in India. Get a shared rickshaw from Jhansi (or get your own rickshaw if you want to get there fast like I did when a young boy vomited down my leg on the Jhansi train platform) - also attend to any internet/international phone requirements in Jhansi because you won't be able to do so in Orchha. The Shri Mahant Hotel was friendly and had a great balcony to watch the world go by plus views of the palaces and the Chaturbhuj Temple. I don't know if it is in the latest Lonely Planet but is next to the gate into the Ram Raja temple square. Chaturbhuj Temple was my fave building - unlike any Hindu temple I've been in before -proportioned and set out like some huge medieval cathedral - go up to the roof for fantastic views of the whole area or just take a book and chill. There are great murals at the Lakshmi Narayan temple and I enjoyed wandering around the palaces and the chhatris (tombs) further up the river ... cross the river and look back towards the chhatris for sunset. One ticket gets you into everything but is only valid for one day which would be pretty full on ¡V the guy at the Lakshmi Narayan let me in the day before I bought a ticket for a small bribe (and I assured him I'd get one the next day). Plus Chaturbhuj has no-one checking tickets so you can go as often as you want. Seem to remember that the ticket was pretty cheap anyway (less than Rs100) so if you wanted to revisit anything on another day it wouldn't break the bank. The locals are really friendly and welcoming plus there are no touts anywhere. Got dragged into some sort of procession with women and children one night and had to dance around with some sort of baby's cradle on my head....hoping it wasn't some sort of fertility dance! Good thalis at the Shri Mahant and another good restaurant down at the crossroad.

Mandu - another small place with great sights and friendly people (although why their greeting is "Bye bye" instead of "Hello" is anyone's guess). I stayed at the Ram Mandir dharamsala ¡V basic but cheap and central. Hire a bike. Go and see the sunset from near the Lohani caves. The Shivani Restaurant does good food (although you probably won't get pizza as per the menu.... the power cuts in Madhya Pradesh occur nightly and that means no ovens) as does the Shree Krishna.

Maheshwar - for some of the most beautiful saris in India...inside the fort you can actually see them being woven on handlooms. Once again, smallish place so friendly people. We were approached by someone connected to Akashdeep Rest House but the rooms were pretty dark and so they took us to a brand new place, with no sign, next door .... cheap and good plus a friendly place to eat across the road. Great sunsets from the fort overlooking the sacred Narmada River.

Omkareshwar - didn't like it so much when I arrived as there were some lectures going on and the place was packed. Grew to like it pretty fast though. The Ganesh Hotel overlooks the river and has good food. Omkareshwar really reminds me of Rishikesh....only smaller. Lots of stalls selling holy paraphernalia on the way to the Shri Omkar Mandhata (home to one of the 12 sacred jyotirlingam in India). The walk around the sacred island (shaped like the holy symbol 'Om') is great .... people bathing at the western end, temples, monkeys, even a camel plus I saw a pair of peacocks flying through the air - they look like something out of the Jurassic age.

So that was my visit to Madhya Pradesh....no time for Sanchi or the national parks at Kanha or Bandhavgarh....next time perhaps. Not too many tourists, nice locals and pretty relaxed....highly recommended! From there I headed into Maharashta as I was flying out of Mumbai - stopped at both the Ajanta and Ellora Caves....awesome.

Well, this was going to be short but once again I've gone out of control....hope this has helped some people.

jjacquemain

Great Information Maree, thanks...I was just looking for this sort of thing for my next trip.

picklepak

Maree, great post!

How long did you spent in Madhya Pradesh in total? I'd like to spend some siginificant time in the state next time I'm in India. I'm thinking maybe a month if I can swing it, or at the very least a two or three weeks.

Annie_T

Interesting list Maree. I spent a little bit of time in MP about 4 years ago. Agree about Gwalior...actually I found MP cities to be some of the more dire in India.

Sanchi is worth a look if you head back that way again. I remember getting up early and going to visit the Stupa...The sun was just breaking thru thick morning mist and it was really quiet and peaceful...it was one of those moments in India when you know quite clearly why you are there!

I was the only guest in the government run hotel there. Had a great room-really clean starched sheets - nice break from the sleeping bag) for about Rs 250 (from memory)...menu in the resturant was limited due to the lack of guests but they were falling all over themselves to serve me.

maree

Picklepak...spent about 4 weeks in the area. As usual, longer would have been better as there were other places I would like to have visited (Sanchi sounds good, Annie T, and at least one of the national parks would have added to the trip). But I had a scuba diving trip to do in Thailand so more time wasn't an option.