February 23, 2016
to Ellora: sweet short ride and half a rest day
A tuk tuk slows next to Patrick and talks with him. "That was nice of him" Patrick says. The driver mentioned to Patrick that the Ellora Caves were closed today, a Tuesday. We were aware of this, and adjusted our schedule accordingly, taking today as a half a rest day to do housekeeping chores, like laundry and visit the caves tomorrow.
Because the distance was short, we treated ourselves to banana pancakes and coffee in the hotel restaurant instead of our usual cornflakes. We did have to climb up a bit before dropping down off the Deccan Plateau which we will climb back up again to go to Ajanta.
We arrive early and check into Hotel Kailas just in time for a second breakfast. This time...eggs, toast, juice and coffee. Rachel has missed eating toast, something crunchy. This hotel is really the only nicer places to stay in Ellora, and is pricey at 2400rupees ($36). We find this worth the value of being so close to the caves and able to see them early morning and maybe before crowds.
The laundry is hung behind the building of our room and we can see the line from our window. We watch as a troop of monkeys move through the area and start jumping on the line knocking some of it onto the ground. We are also in a CNN partnership hotel, so we watch movies in the afternoon. There is not much to Ellora, especially when most shops are closed.
Today's rest gives us time to plan the next stage to Ajanta with another rest day to see the caves then five days to Mandu. Ajanta is another UNESCO site with Buddhist caves from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD. Mandu is a plateau that has baobab trees.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Today's ride: 28 km (17 miles)
Total: 13,317 km (8,270 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 0 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |