Embracing the Beauty of Orchha: My Madhya Pradesh Journey
Embark with me on an unforgettable journey through Madhya Pradesh, starting with exploring the enchanting beauty of Orchha. Discover its hidden treasures and fall in love with this captivating destination.
My day started with a lesson (which I’d thought I’ve had learned already): don’t ever invite friends over for beer the day before a trip. Just don’t make any plans at all, it never ends well! I ended up sleeping hardly anything and just making it on time for the train.
It was my first time taking a train in India and I had never been to New Delhi Railway station. If it wasn’t for some friends, I wouldn’t even know how to read my ticket to find the coach and seat number. Luckily, the train departed from platform 1 which was the first one.
I had exactly 3 min to reach it. The moment, I got out of the cab, some random guy came and checked my ticket. He wanted me to follow him and even skipped the security check (“good” to know how easy this is, just walk/run around it #useless). For some reason he told me the platform was number 6 and not 1 so we ran there. There was no train in sight and he was like “You’ve missed it” although it wasn’t even 6 am yet. Having doubted him anyway, I just turned around, ran back to platform 1 and there it was. I boarded just in time, it started moving a minute later. No idea what kind of scam this was – if at all – but lesson 2 learned: don’t blindly follow random guys although you know better.
I had to cross 13 coaches to reach mine which took ages. Lesson 3: be on time for trains, even in India! These guys might be late for really everything, but not trains (as long as they start from this place).
Honestly, I had not expected such a nice train having seen pictures of crowded Indian trains. It was comparable to one of the older regional express trains (“REs”) in Germany – except for the toilets of course. The “Shatabdi” is basically exactly that.
I’ve reached Jhansi punctually at 10:45am and took an auto to Orchha. The cab driver started bargaining with 300 INR – without telling me that he would charge 200 INR extra for taxes though, since we had to cross states. I didn’t see any check post though, so no idea what that was about. An auto wala took me for 250 INR for the 13 km to the hotel and said it would already include this tax. Remind me to ask someone from here later about this… It did match the price I’d read about online, so should be fine. Unless a firang had written that… 🙂
Orchha is quite a small town, rather a village even. I’ve seen hardly any tourists – the best part: no INDIAN tourists. Call me a racist but believe me, these are the worst… Loud, littering wherever they go, asking me for selfies all the time… I definitely came at the right season, not too hot yet (for me at least) but hot enough for the main season to be over.
The hotel rates are ridiculously low right now on my whole trip. For the hotel here (Monarch Rama Palace), I paid 1.9k including breakfast. It’s not the Hilton obviously but the rooms are clean and most importantly the bathroom is fine.
After catching up on a lot of sleep, I went out around 4 pm. Since Holi was around the corner, one could get colours everywhere and a lot of stalls were closed even.
I had made a list of places that I wanted to see and had not managed to locate “Phool Bagh” on the map. I happened to stumble across the same right in the beginning, just next to these two towers and opposite Chaturbhuj. Not really worth mentioning though, takes you 5 min and it’s not really a great sight.
Chaturbhuj was quite amazing. Such beautiful architecture and since there were hardly any people, it was really quiet. So unlike other temples in this country… The light was perfect too as the sun was about to go down.
I’d read before that it’s possible to go up to the roof and that locals would pretend the entrance was closed so that you pay them to open it for you. It wasn’t exactly like that but yes, they did have their way to make some money. I’d almost missed the entry to the stairs if it wasn’t for them calling me there and telling me to go up. One of them guided me the way and it was actually needed. He apparently wasn’t able to speak and showed me with gestures where to watch my head and where to take pictures.
The view from the roof is seriously amazing. You can see the whole town and all the other monuments from up there. I would’ve loved to spend more time there but he eventually shooed me down saying it’s too late and they are closing. Ok fiiine, down we go…
I tried some of the sweets around, was really nice! They’re called “peda” according to a friend. They even filled their Gujiya with it, loved it!
The next stop was the Royal Chhatris at sunset. So beautiful!! I reached right on time to be accompanied by a group of Japanese. The guards there asked me for 50 INR entry (while they asked the Japanese for 1 Dollar, I felt so flattered 🙂 ) One can go up the Jahangir one, a nice place for the sunset. But man, what did these people think when they built such high steps and such tiny doors… in every single monument btw.
This place was one of the most peaceful places (although even Chaturbhuj was already rather quiet). The only noise around was the birds. So damn beautiful, especially after spending the last weekend in this noisy and dirty hell hole AKA Varanasi… Couldn’t stop smiling all the way 🙂
Since I’d seen a lot of recommendations for Amar Mahal and that they serve typical “Bundelkhandi” food, this was the place for dinner. And it was indeed mind-blowing. I tried the “Bundelkhandi Gosht” (mutton in a brown onion sauce with ground spices), so tender it would melt in my mouth… There’s one more dish that I need to try, so I’ll definitely be back tomorrow!
It really was the perfect start for this trip 🙂
Let’s see what day two has in store for me!
The Summary
Distances covered
Train: 410 km
Auto: 19 km
Foot: 6.5 km
Accommodation
Hotel: Monarch Rama Palace
Price per night: 950 INR
Rating: 3/5 (Minus: No cupboard, fan speed not adjustable)
Food
Breakfast: Hotel
Price: 150 INR
Rating: 3/5 (nothing special but good)
Lunch/Dinner: Amar Mahal
Price: 800 INR
Rating: 5/5 (fully mindblown!)
Entries/Fees
Chaturbhuj: 0 but 100 INR for the guide up on the roof
Royal Chattries: 50 INR
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