DAY 17 FEB 22 BUSS RIDE TO ORCHHA AND TRAIN RIDE TO AGRA

BUS RIDE FROM HELL-ON THE ROAD TO ORCHHA
Without a doubt the best way for that up close and personal experience of seeing India is via a Bus not above at 35,000 ft said Seth.  After 4 hours of terrifying madness and participating in a  life threatening national sport....riding on the bus- I would say you've got that right.  Yes Pleep insisted we move the tour guide out of his front row seat so we could sit there on the 50 yard line seats where it was all in view.  Pleep, this looks like a single lane road.  And that bus is coming at us!  Not trading paint is def. not only a sport but an art form over here.

Yes more coming at us...if we survive I want a certificate for this event- more meaningful than crossing the Arctic line.   And they built single lane highways a couple of years ago because??  Am grateful as I see the requisite photo's of all of the Hindu Gods and a religious statue attached to the dashboard.  Which is the God of Driving?  A lethal brew of poor road planning, inadequate law enforcement, a surge in trucks and cars and a flood of untrained drivers has made India the world's road death capital.

Here come the goats...the cows and goats meander on to the roads joining the delicate dance of the bus, motorcycle, bicycle and more-at times causing a squeal of the breaks.  While the country side driving is different than the city it is no less frightening.  India overtook China in road fatalities (since 2006) and has continued to pull ahead despite a heavily agrarian population.  There are fewer people here than China and far few cars than Western countries.  Road deaths have increased 40% over the past 5 years.  The last recorded rate/2008 was 118,000 deaths per year.

Yes that is cow dung drying in the sun.  Quite the commodity in the country side.  And you ask why is it piled up like a beehive?  To dry out of course.  Because?  Yes used for building your house, insulation, burn it for fuel, use it to "plaster" the outside of the house and naturally smear it on the inside of the house to prevent insects...never mind Terminex.  Bringing new meaning to really going Green.

Oh joy another village with a narrow road and lots of stuff happening on it...hogs, cows, goats, stray dogs,  to name a few...never mind the cycles, bikes, Ric Shaw's, cycalos, cars, buses, tractors, wagons and bazillions of people walking around.  Nothing dull about driving over here.  Evidence of road accidents seems to be everywhere- especially in urban areas.  The highways and city intersections glitter with smears of broken windshields and are scattered with unmatched shoes, shored off bicycle seats and bits of motorcycles helmets.  Reckless driving is definitely a sport here- speed shifting while chatting on the cell phone are SOP.

Bus riding for the locals requires some acrobatic skills.

Lots of ladies hauling stuff in the fields...the country side is very clean.  Can't they teach that same trick to their cousins in the villages and cities???

Finally a road wider than one lane.  Pleep is loving the 3 lane highway...

Emerge!  Emerge!  Emerge!  Don't even think about crossing the road without your Guide...he must stop the traffic and we join arms and do the crab crawl to make it to the other side.  Surely they don't want to hit the tourists bringing much needed moola to to this country.

I am now convinced our driver is related to Mario Andretti and takes great pride in not being bossed around on the road- BEEP BEEP BEEP!  COMING THROUGH-GET OUT OF THE WAY! The rule is "Horn Please To Overtake"....

And yet more cow fun.  We did not see one "highway patrol car" or a police car for that matter the 4 hours we were on the "highway".  India has a 2 million mile road network in need of upgrade and safety.   Hello India Government?  Where are you?  How can you be so slow to respond to this huge mess?  Get some you know whats and take some responsibility for organizing your roadways-forget about the tourists- how about for the lives of your people!!


ORCHHA

 First stop off is a cheesey hotel that will serve us lunch.  Bocahita needs a large Fisher King beer after that ride.    A box lunch would have been better than this drek.  But hey the weather is stupendous- enjoy!  Buddha Bubs is beyond thrilled...more temples.  Yeah!

Come on Buddha Bubba- do a little reflecting.  "I don't need your lousy puns Bocahita.  And we stopped here because?".

Orchha is dramatically positioned on a rocky island, enclosed by a loop of the Betwa river.  Founded in 1531, it was the capital of the Bundelkhand until 1738, when it was abandoned in favour of Tikamgarh.  Lots of crumbling palaces and pavilions around here..  And hey what is a cenotaph???  Per Wiki:  Orchha (or Urchha) is a town in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh state, India. The town was established by Maharaja Rudra Pratap Singh in 1501, as the seat of an eponymous former princely state of central India, in the Bundelkhand region. 

 Quite the heritage site...no UNESCO but maybe one day.  We have a lot of work to do here to get the site up to standard but in the meantime a tourist stop none the less.  This is the area place where queens sometimes committed "sati" by jumping into their husband's funeral pyres.    Can you see ol'Bocahita doing just that?

The fortified  town of Orchha encloses three major palaces and ruined ancillary structures.  This place like many others, hidden in the forest for many years only to be discovered and prepped for American tourists wanting to say any and all things very old.

And there is the Betwa river...not totally polluted Indian style.  And we visited this place because?  4 hours on the death defying bus to see this?  So looking forward to riding the train for another 4 hours of transport.  Wonderful.

RIDING THE RAILS OF INDIA

Bocahita had visions of a palace on wheels.  Looking forward to riding in one of the opulent former rail cars of the princess's and maharajah's.  After that bus ride and that lame "stop" in Orchha so looking forward to a little comfort.  After all we are on the way to the Taj Mahal.   And hey Seth why didn't we fly?  No Bocahita, impossible as no planes are allowed to land near the Taj due to fear of terrorism and these folks need the billions in Tourism the Taj brings in.  Well alrighty then let's roll!

Well so much for that dream.  Riding the rails in India is an event not for the weak.  The railways here are not just a means of transport, they are a way of life.  A staggering 18 million people travel by train daily on more than 9000 services.  The religious pilgrims count for hundred of millions of journeys every year.  Where's a good Holy Man when I need one?  Getting to the platform-running the gauntlet of hawkers and beggars- was no easy task.  Go Annie and Bubs....take a rest with some new found fellow travelers.   Waiting, waiting, and I see a crowd jump up to meet and get on...

You have got to be joking me....SETH!!!!  No Bocahita, that one is not ours.  It is going the other way.

Yes Indian trains are all they are cracked up to be.

They crush off and they crush on....

  And you are going to put those sacks where?

And my new German friend GiGi waves "over here Bocahita, I have a seat for you!".  Of course you do dear Gi Gi.  Shall I crawl over the gang or just push on through?  Finally on the train in the AC Car.  Knowing the AC stands for All Crazy, we jolt our way out of the station.  While we did have our own seat it was grungy, dingy and kinda dirty.  I'll pass on the food being passed out by the young men.  Thank you very much.  And if you think Bocahita is going to use the facilities, so not happening.  Do I look like I read Lonely Planet?-  And Tauk took us on the train to GO NATIVE???

And the silver lining to the very long bumpy, dusty and wacky day was arriving at the Agra (Taj Mahal) Oberoi Hotel.  Praise God and raise the flag.  They left the lights on for us.....