Interesting Sights in Aurangabad
Trip Start
Oct 22, 2005
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9
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Trip End
Ongoing
Aurangabad, India
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Daulatabad is a massive fort built to be the new Capital of India in the 14th century. This plan failed and the fort was abandoned. Entering the fort we were amazed by its size. Some of it's sections were huge. Unfortunately the Tower of the Moon was under going repairs. In one section Rick got out his torch so we could navigate the spiraling tunnel. Megan wasn't impressed by the bats. The fort was also the first place we were asked to be photographed with Indian tourists. At first we thought they wanted us to take their picture, but no they wanted a photo with us. Our "white englishman" celebrity status continued through-out the day.
We then moved onto the Ellora Caves. The 34 caves have been cut into the side of a cliff as Budhist, Hindu and Jain temples. If you visit these caves you will be amazed by the detail of the stone carvings. We looked at the Kailasa Temple (larger than the Pathenon in Greece). Depicting the Hindu god, Shiva's, home in the Himalaya it was cut from one single rock. In India we've found if your a local things are cheap (10 rupees). If your a "foreign tourist" things are 250 rupees.
After this we drove to the Panchakki Water Wheel. It was built as a mill and a marvel of engineering for the time as it gets water from 6km away. The pools surrounding the wheel were full of fish and a cool breeze came off the water. A relaxing spot.
Back in the taxi we moved on to the mini Taj Mahal. This is a replica of the one in Agra and as we intend to go there we didn't go in. Mohammed then drove us onto the Aurangabad Himroo Industry. This is a small workshop where they hand make saris, the traditional way. The owner showed us around the workshop and we saw some weavers do their magic. On the way here we also went through a local market. Mohammed had to pick up some groceries for his family's dinner, so we stayed in the taxi while he went shopping. It was like being in a fish bowl. With no westerners in sight many locals were surprised to see us there.
We then went back to the hotel and decided to have Indian in India! The LP Guide recommended the Tandoor Resturant and Bar. We ordered a garlic naan, butter chicken and steamed rice. Rick also had a bottle of the local beer - Khajurans. The food was great (though we are religiously taking our Travelan tablets). Back to the hotel to put up our mozzie nets and get some much needed sleep.
Overall Aurangabad was a great place even though the LP guide recommended to give it a miss and head for Jalgaon instead.
