Khajuraho, India
A lot of people prepped us for India. Whenever we told anyone we were going to India as part of the trip it always elicited some reaction from the listener. Whether good or bad - India sparks something in people. One thing we got a lot was "you have never smelled anything like the smell when you land in India." Braced with that glowing recommendation, we head off to Khajuraho.
One of the ways we planned our itineraries for these countries was by UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These are placed that have been deemed by the UN and the World as significant and worth saving. So, by going to these places you are pretty sure you are going to get something special - it is not easy to get the designation. These sites run the gamut from places everyone has heard of, to more obscure locations that most people do not know exist. Khajuraho is one of those places. This is a small town with mostly farm land, dirt roads and some seriously beautiful 1000 year old temples. In the recent past (and with clever marketing) the temples of Khajuraho are now known as the Kama Sutra Temples of India. In reality there may be a dozen carvings out of thousands that depict anything Kama Sutra like - but to be fair the carvings that are sexual in nature are pretty graphic.
We planned one day there which was plenty. On the drive from the airport - our first taste of India street life was pretty outrageous. Everyone knows that cows here are sacred and allowed to walk the streets freely, but when was the last time you stood next to a full grown cow or even more so a bull?! These are not small animals, and in Khajaraho they were everywhere. But then again, so were the goats, donkey, pigs and we even saw a monkey and mongoose here. But, Khajarho only has something like 15,000 people and in a country of a billion that is a very small town. But we did get a taste of how popular we are in this country. Not a lot of Americans walking these streets. In fact, not a lot of tourists at all. It was a very cool experience to visit all of these temples and usually be the only ones walking around.
One day was enough but a cool place to visit and a good way to ease into the very different world that is India.
