Weekend in Aurangabad

This weekend, myself and the OMG crew took a 5 hour bus ride to the city of Aurangabad, which is the nearest city close to the Ellora Caves. These caves are estimated to be from 300-750 AD, and range from Hindu temples and art to buddhist monasteries and art. They were breathtaking. The neatest part of walking around inside these caves was just imagining what it would have been like thousands of years ago, just after they were completed, it must have been a remarkable. The caves and art in general were in pretty good condition, especially Cave 16, which took over 100 years to complete, and was carved out of one entire rock. It wasn't even really a cave, but more like a giant temple. Cave 16 alone was worth the trek out to Ellora.

While the caves were fascinating, the best parts of the weekend, were the little moments that were unexpected. The first was that we decided to hire a rickshaw driver rather than take the public bus. I was able to bargain to have the driver bring us to the caves and back and drive us around in Ellora, for 500 rupees for the entire day, which is about $10 (he originally wanted 1300). It ended up costing us only $1 more than taking the bus. The one slight catch was that we were a group of 5, and rickshaws are made for 3 people in the back at most. So 4 of us had to squish into the back, white I was nominated to sit with the driver at the front and hang my right arm over him and grab onto one of the bars to ensure I didn't fall out the side. Needless to say it made the trip even more adventurous and was extremely fun!

Climbing up some rocks above all of the caves and just relaxing and taking in the views was a highlight of our day at Ellora as well. I regret not taking any pictures from the short hike and climb, but sometimes its nice to just live in the moment rather than stopping to take pictures. It made for a great afternoon.

Another great moment was on the way back from the caves we stopped on the side of the road, and I ended up taking part in a roadside cricket game with 4-5 guys. I went to bat and I hit the ball over the fence into some sort of crops. I think I impressed the guys I was playing with, although i'm pretty sure he was pitching at half speed. I would love to try and find some people to play with here in Pune, it could be lots of fun.

There were plenty of other great moments, including wandering the streets of Aurangabad, and being mobbed by kids all over the place. Apparently it happened to be friendship day in India on Sunday (there are a ridiculous amount of holidays here), so we were given a ribbon around our wrists marked "best friends" by a group of children. It was a great way to spend the morning before boarding our bus back to Pune.

The OMG Crew, on the side of the road on our way to the Ellora caves

Meditating with Buddha

Looking out from one of the buddhist caves

Inside Cave #16

Outisde view of Cave #16

Buddhist Caves: #1-5

Some art in one of the caves

The usual scene anytime we would stop walking, a bunch of people trying to take our picture...celebrity status with no credentials makes for some uncomfortable moments!