Day 14 - Khajuraho to Varanasi

After breakfast, we visited the temples in Khajuraho that the Chandelas constructed in the 9th and 10th centuries.  A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Due to the dry climate, the temples survived.

This temple is still an active Hindu temple.

Then we were off to lunch at a small restaurant run by two sisters.  Once again great Indian food.

Next was a short flight to Varanasi.  We checked into our hotel and then took battery operated rickshaws to the Ganges to watch the evening ceremonies.

We boarded a boat and watched the priests perform the sacred light ceremony on the ghats, stairs.

The boat took us past the cremation steps, ghats, on the river's shore.  Operating 24 hours a day.  

The sacred light ceremony from the shore.  Seven priests.

The streets were packed with pilgrims and tourists.  An amazing site.

Day 13 - Arrived Khajuraho

Three hour train ride.  Then lunch. Then a four and a half hour bus ride.  

We saw the country and lots of villages.

Definitely do not want to drive in India!

Article V  of the Highway Code of India -  All maneuvers, use of horn, and evasive action should be left to the last possible moment.

Article IX - Overtaking is mandatory.  Overtaking should only be undertaken in suitable conditions, such as in the face of oncoming traffic, on blind bends, at junctions and in the middle of villages/city centers.  No more than 2 inches should be allowed between your vehicle and the one you are passing; 1 inch in the case of bicycles or pedestrians.

Tomorrow the temples and a flight to Varanasi.