Buddhist caves and a wild ride
Trip Start
Jun 28, 2009
1
12
33
Trip End
Aug 07, 2009
Where I stayed
Pune, Maharashtra, India
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Anyway, we visited the Bhaja Rockcut caves showcasing Budddhist architecture and depicting tales from Buddhist lore (dating from 2nd century BC). We were up in the hills above the countryside away from the city’s congestion, and the view from the caves was spectacular! We also had to hike (not far) to the caves- a welcome change from being transported everywhere on our tour bus. The Buddhists’ living quarters were minimal and very simple (shocker) but the rock cut wall designs were impressive. By the way, the coolest thing about these caves is the fact that everything was carved from rock (not constructed) and that the original wood the Buddhists used is still visible- it forms the support beams of the cave’s largest arch. Architecture students come from all over the world to study the sheltered wood structures here- similar wood structures which would have been prevalent at the time didn’t survive the ages.
The most fun part of the day, however, was getting home from shopping in an auto-rickshaw. There’s no go cart or amusement park car ride as much fun as navigating what amounts to 7 lanes of traffic (many scooters, motorcycles, bicycles) on streets with dotted lines that suggest 3 lanes. I plan to take these more often!
Comments
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Love these pictures, it looks like you ladies are having an amazing time!
I don't think I would be brave enough to do a trip like this and I know you must be missing Justin like crazy! But I admire you so much and am thankful to live vicariously through you.