Orcha and Khajuraho

ORCHA
Orcha is a cute little town (complete with fans). This town also contains the only body of water that Lonely Planet recommends Westerners swim in and it is beautiful. A river with lots of places to jump in for a dip. As appealing as that sounds, I pass on the palace and the beautiful river to chill in my room (aka NAP) and I join a few of the crew for a cooking class in the evening. We got dropped off to the home of this young mother and she showed us how to make puri (the fried bread), Aloo R(spinach & potatoes), raita, an eggplant dish and marsala chai. We do a great job and everything is delicious, we also get hennaed. The others don't know what it entails or that it will last about 2 weeks (shhhhhh!). Some of the crew still cannot eat Indian because they are still sick, I just plough right through.

Before I came to India, my friend David told me to get used to the idea of getting sick because EVERYONE that comes to India gets "Delhi Belly", well MR. AUSSIEMAN, NO DELHI BELLY FOR ME!!! I am the only one in my group who does not get sick.

We make a stop at a sustainable paper making plant, where local tribal women use recycled clothing and wood pulp to create their products. It is a worthy cause supported by Intrepid allowing these women to make a living. I walk in to instant attention and David announces me like I am royalty, he tells everybody what a wonderful person I am trying to take some of the heat off of me. He has made this trip soooo enjoyable, keeping us laughing and entertaining us by singing. It is very interesting how everything is made and the best part is we get to shop at the end of the tour.

KHAJURAHO

Khajuraho is where our guide Nitin is from and we have found out his nickname is Nittu. Khajuraho hates the distinction of being known for their erotic temples. Seeing some of the orgy scenes on the temples, it is clear why the world knows about the Taj but have never heard of Khajuraho. Khajuraho is also quite remote and that probably preserved it being destroyed by earlier invaders.

Here we are invited into the home of an artist and friend of Nittu. He does incredible work, lots of intricate paintings on silk and all kinds other things. He describes how the art has been passed from generation to generation. I stay behind to be introduced to his wife and mother and they were impressed that I did not run out of the door. He said that I am welcome in their home anytime. I visit his shop the next day for a few pieces. We end the evening by going to a traditional dance performance.

We fly to Varanasi, the city of the dead tomorrow. Am I in business?