First a 2 hour train ride from Agra to Jhainsi, where we loaded into a new bus for more driving. Other than watching the monkeys, rats and other critters on the track as we were waiting, there was not much to report. We have been impressed not only by the numbers of beggars, but by the physical maladies they have. There are a lot of amputees here. There are a lot of people who have other physical malformations. There are too many to be as a result of infamy a la Slumdog Millionaire, but I don’t know.
The bus took us to the little town of Orchho, where there are shrines to various maharajas. The river there is mystical. While there, we watched a parade of worshippers on their way to the river for a ceremony. On our way out of town, the air conditioning stops and smoke began to pour from the bottom of the bus. We stopped and the driver and bus boy determined that the belt had broken. We had a choice of going back to Jhansi or proceeding, and we decided to push on. So we got more of a taste of Indian life by driving the next 2 ½ hours to a rest stop without air conditioning. The day was warm, but not too hot, so it really wasn’t too unpleasant. The problem was the patches of unpaved/minimally paved road where the bus put up huge dust clouds. All we really needed to approximate an Indian bus ride was an additional 100 people on the bus. Their busses are Very crowded. People are often sitting on top as there is no room to stand inside.
At the rest stop, the driver and busboy took to changing the belt for the air conditioner. It took an hour, and I was impressed that the a/c motor was held in place and the belt was tightened by a connector very similar to what I use in the OR for an External Fixator device. Mechanics is mechanics….
We piled back on to the now-air conditioned bus for another 5 hours to Khajuraho. This is a place that Paul has not seen, and he is jealous.
The bus took us to the little town of Orchho, where there are shrines to various maharajas. The river there is mystical. While there, we watched a parade of worshippers on their way to the river for a ceremony. On our way out of town, the air conditioning stops and smoke began to pour from the bottom of the bus. We stopped and the driver and bus boy determined that the belt had broken. We had a choice of going back to Jhansi or proceeding, and we decided to push on. So we got more of a taste of Indian life by driving the next 2 ½ hours to a rest stop without air conditioning. The day was warm, but not too hot, so it really wasn’t too unpleasant. The problem was the patches of unpaved/minimally paved road where the bus put up huge dust clouds. All we really needed to approximate an Indian bus ride was an additional 100 people on the bus. Their busses are Very crowded. People are often sitting on top as there is no room to stand inside.
At the rest stop, the driver and busboy took to changing the belt for the air conditioner. It took an hour, and I was impressed that the a/c motor was held in place and the belt was tightened by a connector very similar to what I use in the OR for an External Fixator device. Mechanics is mechanics….
We piled back on to the now-air conditioned bus for another 5 hours to Khajuraho. This is a place that Paul has not seen, and he is jealous.
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