To Aurangabad: a long flat hill

February 22, 2016

"I'd been wanting to eat something that required a knife" Rachel says "I just didn't think it would be ice cream." We'd finished dinner in our hotel restaurant and ordered ice cream for dessert. The waiter recommended the traditional Indian frozen dessert, Kesar Pista Kulfi. It came as a round wafer wrapped in paper, flavored pistachio (pista) and served with spoon and knife. This frozen dessert is made by boiling full cream reduced by one third and is delicious.

Today was more tiring than yesterday for both of us, we were slowly gaining elevation like on a long flat hill. We cycled through more villages that were closer together than days before when we would have a stretch of quieter road. The intensity is tiring with dodging the tuk-tuks, bus, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, tractors pulling wagons, wandering cows goats dogs and pigs, pedestrians, vendors with push carts, food stalls lining the road...all going every which way in every direction.

But we made it before noon and checked into Hotel Panchavati's, lunch in the restaurant, and took a tuk-tuk to a grocery store to replenish our cornflake and powdered milk stash. Later in the afternoon, we take a tuk tuk to the "Mini" Taj Mahal.

We are pleasantly surprised that the Hotel is still reasonably priced and very nice (1100 rupees) since it was recommended in Lonely Planet. We've become disenchanted with the LP that it is no longer the budget backpacker bible it used to be, but now catering to the mid-higher end traveller. Makes sense, we guess the backpackers of years ago are now the older traveller that has more money.

Tomorrow we cycle to Ellora. The Ellora Caves are closed on Tuesdays, so we will take the Wednesday as a rest day to visit the caves.