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Khajuraho is a wonderful place for history and culture buffs. Although reaching Khajuraho is not... ..
Khajuraho is a wonderful place for history and culture buffs. Although reaching Khajuraho is not very easy, unless you are flying in from Delhi. We took a train from Mumbai to Satna (18 Hrs) and a Taxi from Satna to Khajuraho-Rs.700/- (1 and ˝ hrs of back breaking journey). State transport is virtually non-existent. The Delhi-Khajuraho rail link is to commence from Jan 2009.
We stayed at the Radisson, which we realized is one of the places to stay at Khajuraho. The check in was smooth and efficient and the staff was sweet enough to allow us to choose our room. The lobby was welcoming with large sofa’s and water pools and small fountains dotting the entire place.The hotel is located at around 1 KM away from the Western Group of temples and you can reach there by Auto or Cycle rickshaw for around Rs.10/- or a lazy stroll of 10 minutes. . The hotel has a serene surrounding and the atmosphere is very relaxing.
The town is very quiet and safe and the people are absolutely friendly and helping. Time here loses meaning and you would for all practical purposes would not require your watch, the pace of life is slow, mellow and relaxed. The town is so small that within 1 day almost everyone knew us from the vendors at the bus stop to the richshaw drivers and just about all the shopkeepers and the restaurant staff at the Raja’s Café. Raja’s café is just opposite the entrance of the western group temples and is debatably the best eatery in the town and serves both Indian and Continental dishes. The Indian dishes are made considering the foreign tourist’s palate in mind. The son of a Swedish lady who had made Khajuraho her home runs the place.
The western group of temples is the most prolific and exhaustive of all the groups (Eastern Group consists of three Jain temples and southern has one Dhuladeo temple). One requires around 5-6 hours to explore the western group. The temples are built by different generations of the Chandela dynasty. The sculptures on the temples are exquisite and unlike popular imagination is not all about sex. It depicts the charm of daily social and family life. According to folklore the purpose of building the temple complex was to get people back to the social life, which was waning, with the advent of Buddhism.
The light and sound show at the temple complex is a must visit as it dramatically recreates the history of Khajuraho with Amitabh Bachchan’s soulful voice over.
The rooms were very luxurious and smallest of the details have been attended to. The rooms were very tastefully done and had the usual tea-coffee maker and a mini bar. The bathroom was fully stocked with all kinds of kits (Dental/Sewing, etc) so you don’t have to fret if you forgot get something. The room has a large balcony and offers a wonderful view of the pool. The doorframe of the balcony was a dampener as it was made of steel and shabbily painted and it opened and closed with a characteristic clank, it stood out like a sore thumb in an otherwise very tasteful interior. Thankfully the curtains, when drawn, cover this aberration.
The a-la-carte breakfast was amazing; the chef had tried his level best to serve Authentic South Indian cuisine. The Aloo paratha’s were out of the world!!! The hotel has a very large pool, with poolside sittings, which we didn’t use as the temperature was around 3 Degree Celsius. The bar was well stocked and unlike the restaurant, was not very steeply priced. The cocktails are passable (I tried the Ciaprinha) and it was far from good, stick to the basics here.
There is not much to do when you are not visiting the temples. The hotel does have a pool table, carom board, chess board and a library (not exhaustive)in the lobby. They also have a spa with Kerala massage facility.
Overall it was a wonderful experience at Radisson and Khajuraho would love to go back.
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