Khajuraho’s temples were awesome, the town a tourist trap. Arriving in the remote town of 15,000, we were besieged by a crowd of rickshaw-wallahs and hotel touts. We checked out several before agreeing to two nights at what appeared to be the cleanest of the overpriced group. I could tell my frustration from the day was showing, when the reception at the guesthouse commented, “I think you had long day. Long and tiring day of travel.” Right he was. We discovered the restaurants in town were equally overpriced, charging double or more than average prices elsewhere in India. I figured everything was overpriced because the town mainly received packaged tourists who flew in (as the bus ride discourages many other travelers). Besides the ridiculously high prices, the touts and salespeople in town were some of the most persistent and annoying I’ve ever come across. Anytime we answered “no” to a shawl, ride, restaurant, etc, they would respond, “later?” or “okay, maybe tonight then.” The exception to these guys was the one young guy who asked if we wanted internet, when we were looking around for an internet café. It turned out to be great, not just because it was what we were looking for, but the connection was fast and the speakers were playing Marley (rather than the usual screeching old Bollywood tunes). We discovered why he like reggae so much, as he asked if I wanted to come back later that night for some weed and beers. The last thing unique about the town were the bugs, which I’m sure Joylani will write about, so I’ll skip that part.

            The temples were not just a highlight of Khajuraho, but the only thin worth seeing. But they were definitely worth seeing. Constructed and carved out of sandstone in the 10^th through 12^th centuries, their mere existence was impressive. Not just the fact that they still stood after so many years, but the relief work was unbelievable. Bands of carvings wrapped around each temple, every wall and surface covered in stories and pictures. Despite the fact that many of the carvings depicted scenes of daily life or religious figures, most of the subjects were nude. And this is where the temples derive their fame: the myriad of erotic scenes depicting women and couples. Most of the figures were actually women in suggestive forward or rear-facing poses. The most prominent theory on why the so-called Kama Sutra temples were decorated as such, is that the builders wanted to create something so pleasurable that the gods would never destroy it. Today lighting rods run from the peak of each temple down the ground, just in case the gods ever do try to destroy them. Overall, the architecture and carvings were amazing and the carvings entertaining and interesting at the least. I won’t try to describe the scenes as I’ll do a poor job and its embarrassing to write about, but here’s a few of the tamer photos.

 

 

I’ve also created an “X-Rated Ruins” gallery, which includes some more Khajuraho photos, as well as some funny sex statues we’ve seen on this trip: http://homelesshapas.com/photos/main.php?g2_itemId=775

            On a less comical note, for me the temples fell somewhere between the Athenian Acropolis and the Mayan’s Tikal (as far as temple complexes go). Tikal was much larger than Khajuraho, but the construction was much simpler and the decorations less impressive. However, Joylani reminded me that they were built 500 years before Khajuraho and each successive Mayan ruler destroyed or built over his predecessors buildings. Yet, the Athenian Acropolis still seems to overshadow both, with both its overall design and smaller details. The scale, building materials, and aesthetic appeal keep it at the top of my list. To take this whole tangent even further, I wonder why all these temple complexes were built in the hottest places. This morning was just as hot and humid as the morning Joylani and I spent exploring Tikal in the jungles of Guatemala. And the day we visited the Acropolis, the thermometer hit 105 F. Not sure why people built amazing things in the heat, but I do know that I can complete my “Great Temples of the World Review” once we hit our next ultra hot and humid destination and see Cambodia’s Angkor Wat.