We arrived at Jalgaon (the transit point for Ajanta Caves-60km away) in the afternoon and it was raining big time. Danny caught the last bit of the monsoon but i didn't so this was the first time it rained in India for me. We stayed at Hotel Plaza (700 rupees for 2 nights), which was highly recommended in the Lonely Planet Book where it boasts about the ever helpful hotel owner and boy he didn't let us down. We never got to know his name but his English was the most fluent we've met for an Indian. When we got there, there was no electricity so no TV and we couldn't go anywhere because it was raining so Danny slept and I became a new man for a few hours, reading a book, a newspaper and completing sudoku puzzles. It was very different but i felt very knowledgeable after that brief period in my life. Later in the evening, the hotel owner came telling us to keep the volume 'slow' (down) and to keep our doors locked and kept checking to see if we have done. He also told us the travel details to get to Ajanta Caves.
Next morning at 7.30 am, we were up and ready to go to Ajanta Caves. He kept us inside and called an autorickshaw driver, so they didn't give us the tourist rate and got us to the bus station for 12 rupees, it would have probably cost us 30. The bus journey took us about an hour (50 rupees), where we had to get another bus from the junction to the caves (another 4 km). I got in for the local rate (10 rupees) where Danny had to pay for being a white boy (250 rupees). How the times have changed when we get to India, the brown boy gets the priviliges!!! The Ajanta caves consist of 30 buddhist caves, which date back to 1-2 AD and are situated between the mountains and around a river. We looked in each cave, some were incomplete but they all looked very similar with a Buddha statue as the main fetaure with old paintings on the surrounding walls. This is a world heritage site so there were scientists preserving the monuments within the caves, so we can see the detail clearly. The Ajants caves were well hidden and the area was so peaceful, something not normal in India. We crossed the river to see the viewpoint for a 20m waterfall and to the top viewpoint to see the whole of Ajanta caves.
In the evening we went for something to eat at a restaurant the manager recommened but I had a burning question to ask him. On the Indian trains, you are alawyas approached by sellers, beggers but also transvestites who demand money. If you refuse to give them money, which we always do, they start clapping there hands loudly and i didn't now why so this was my question. Why do these men who dress up as women (didn't think he knew what a transvestite was) demand money and clap there hands? His reply was perfect-These are not man, not woman, they are gay (like gay people are not women). Me and Danny pissed ourselves where he realised he said the wrong thing and that transvestites was the right word. The reason why they did this was to embarass people by touching them, so people would give them money to go away and they made quite a bit doing this. But me and Danny are strong and these sorts of things dont embarass us but we have a plan. On one of our train journeys, we're gonna switch on them and embarass them. They have been marked!!
Link to the photos (there same as the last blog): 
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