Sanchi, 25 augustus

The  sweet talking Indian at the Khajuraho busstop

Fixing the tyre at some tiny little men-only shit hole in the middle of nowhere

One of the entrance gates of Stupa n° 1 in Sanchi

Pilgrims at the Stupa site in Sanchi

Cave in Udaygiri

Raja, my personal driver/guide for the day, carrying my bag :)

School's out!

With the teachers in the school I visited with Raja

Litterally: old school!

In front of the school with to my left the principle

The colors keep amazing me.

Unfortunately I didn't roll the window down.

Craftsman in Vidisha

Raja having a happy day with his madam ;)

Good afternoon dear reader,

writing this from a sunny and warm Sanchi. I just visited the archaeological site that is also UNESCO protected, and honestly I was not really impressed. The stupa's are supposed to be a big deal but eventhough I see the beauty of the phenomenon and I appreciate the sculpting, I don't feel the awe like I felt it in the other places I 've seen so far.

More interesting to waste some words on: the freakin bus ride I took from Kajuraho to Bhopal. My GAWD was that a ride from hell or what. The noisy and obnoxious students on the bus were only the tip of the iceberg. First time in my life to take a bus with an actual sleeper. The top of the bus were mattressed cabins that could be closed with little sliding doors, which seemed super comfy at first glance. And it kind of was, until the roads were more and more Indian style, meaning unpaved and with bumps and holes galore. I got thrown up and down and back and forth that small sleeping cabin like a bag of potatoes. I bumped my head countless times and hardly slept. On top of the rocking and swinging there were two babies crying incessantly, which made me, a person who usually loves babies, want to launch the two little suckers off the bus alltogether.

Somewhere halfway the bus stopped due to tyre issues. It was around one in the morning so it was pitch dark in the little shithole where we stopped to get the tyre fixed. A white woman seemed an entirely new concept for the men hangin around the place. The stalls only sold chewing tobacco (no cookies madam) and a restroom was unheard of. Once they understood what I wanted I was shown  a small cemented space behind some gulfplate, which had no toilet features at all, there was not even a hole in the ground. The smell of piss was sick making. I thanked for the offer and started looking for an alternative with my little torch, and in the end I just sat behind a parked Tata truck. Less smelly and at least just as clean as an indian toilet.

Around six thirty we arrived in Bhopal. After half an hour searching for a decent, cheap room (no vacancies madam)I decided to skip Bhopal ( your own fault you stupid fully booked city) and take the bus to Sanchi. Here I am staying at another average place, for 300 roopie /night. The owner is a very nice guy and offered me some yoga and meditation practice free of charge.

And then maybe a little side note. The attraction I have on Indian men is freakin me out sometimes. Flattering to be the exotic one for a change, but sometimes it gets really weird. Last night I was accompanied to the busstation by some guy who had offered me some cheap silver earrings the other day in Khajuraho. I never went to his store since I had better things to do, since I was hanging out with another handsome man the Indian didn't really leave an impression. When he joined me to the busstop (in the rikshaw he payed for) I noticed what a goodlooking guy he actually was, but still your typical Indian player all the same... At the bus stand we had a cigarette (yeah  i picked that up again after Gwen left, I'm a loser allright) and we talked a little bit about this and that. Either way he was trying to get me in his bed, I explicitly told him there was no way but he was determined to stay with me until the bus left. 'Life can change every five minutes, you never know what is going to happen!' Sure, dream on. He even offered me to buy a new bus ticket for the next day just to make me stay the night with him in Khajuraho!! 'Khajuraho temples have special energy, makes special needs. I have what you don't have, you have what I don't have, so we connect special way.' Even when his proposal was pretty indecent, he was polite and charming and didn't get rude or pushy. I was more amused than apalled and laughed at his silliness for actually believing I was gonna take the offer. I went to the bus that (thank God) had arrived at the bus stand by then. He joined me ON the bus (!!) and asked me for 'just one kiss', explaining me how the energy was supposed to flow between man and woman... honestly dude. I said no, again, and then all of a sudden he rushed off the bus with hardly a goodbye. These INDIANS!!!

I hope I don't need to label these blogs as inappropriate for under 16...

Pics follow soon.

Greets and godspeed!

Tinie x

We waited at the crossing for this super duper train-thingy