We got off at the terminal and, walking past the machine gun nest, entered the building. There were no airport staff manning the counters so we tried one of the automatic check-in counters. To our alarm the only flights it was coming up with were 15:15 - over twelve hours away!
After about ten minutes of mild panic we realised that we weren't flying Air India this time, and that the reason we couldn't see our flight was that it was on another airline in another terminal !
So after getting permission from the army to leave the terminal we walked over to the correct terminal and got ourselves organised. Our flight wasn't leaving until 6:00 but we managed to keep ourselves amused.
We landed at the new and modern Aurangabad airport around 7:00, and were met by our two hire vans. For the sake of accuracy, we note that Jocelyn stayed in Mumbai with her sister for the two days and had a lovely time !
We went past our hotel, were we were able to access one of our rooms and have some breakfast. Then we headed out to see the Ajanta Caves. The Ajanta Caves were over two hours away on possibly the most poorly maintained highway we have come across in India. Fortunately, because we were all so tired most of us didn't have to watch as we were sleeping soundly!
The Ajanta Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage site featuring about thirty caves cut into the rocks and featuring carving, sculptures and paintings of Buddist religious art. They range from approximately 2,200 to 1,400 years old. A number of buddhist monks were among the visitors.
You did have the option of being carried around here in a pole-chair which was carried by four porters. The offer of a chair was re-made at the top of each set of stairs which, it must be said, were rather arduous for someone in my peak physical condition ! We did refuse the chairs, partly on healthly lifestyle grounds, and partly because it just seemed a little too "British Raj". Later when we actually saw someone being carried we would add a third reason - visible terror of the carried as they went up and down the stairs.
The caves were certainly impressive. After our visit we headed back to Aurangabad, had a rest for a couple of hours, then dinner, then off to bed.
Trina, Anelise, Bryony and Bern also managed to fit in a massage treatment. We also discovered that getting laundry done here costs about 20% of what it cost at the Taj - should have bought a couple of bags of dirty washing !
Location:Aurangabad (Maharashtra)
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