I arrive early morning in Aurangabad and straight away realise its not my kind of place. Just dust, crumbling buildings, chaotic traffic, poverty, and pollution. I had planned to stay here a few days and use it as a base to see the ancient caves and temples at Ellora and Ajanta. I find a guest house and set off on foot to get my bearings. Still finding nothing in the town that makes me want to hang around, I quickly set about changing my plans.

I head off straight away to Ellora to see the caves there, and spend a few hours looking around and getting some photos. Outside the entrance to the caves the normal circus of sellers, tourists, beggars and traffic persists. Once in the grounds though, it is very peaceful and easy to walk around un-hassled. The caves are really fascinating and some of the carvings in the stone are amazingly intricate and somehow extremely well preserved considering their age. They had lain undiscovered for hundreds of years but are now one of the most important tourist attraction in the India. There are three sets of caves. Buddhist being the earliest and simplest, Hindu being the biggest and most impressive, and Jain being the smaller of the three groups but having some very intricate work.

I head back to Aurangabad and set about arranging transport out of the town. I decide not to visit Ajanta. Two days of caves is enough for me and I don’t really want to stay in this town any longer than absolutely necessary. The following morning I get a bus to Pune and another from Pune to South Goa, Its time for some much needed beach life.