This archaeological site is located near Bhopal and contains the oldest stone structure in India, the great stupa, dating from III century BC. The core of the stupa is built on top of the actual relics of Buddha. Not nearly as impressive as other similar places, but still enjoyable.
Upon reaching Bhopal (scene of the worst industrial disaster in history) we found the family of a friend, ex co worker at Columbia Pictures / Los Angeles. We had the chance to taste home cooked indian food as well as some Jain specialities for the first time. With their help I purchased a new camera, this time a Nikon S2500 Coolpix (compact and expendable).
Thanks again for the hospitality!
The day after the color festival was going on in India. People celebrated by throwing paint powder on each other. We escaped their actions with minimal damage 🙂
It’s time to congratulate our third crew member for the 40,000 miles (64,000 km) succesfully completed. That’s 50,500 km more than what she had when I purchased her. Still doing great, after some routine maintenance and minor repairs performed in Calcutta. We are now at km number 13,600 on our journey, still very far away from the destination.
The paintings found in the rock shelters at Bhimbetka are, most likely, the oldest man-made thing we’ve seen in our life. The shelters were inhabited from 100,000 years ago until the medieval times and the oldest surviving paintings are estimated to be 30,000 years old. Since our second camera died just as we were visiting the site, I must point you to wikipedia for more pictures and broader explanations.
Unlike Ellora (known for their architecture), the Ajanta Caves are appreciated for the paintings. To better preserve them most caves are kept dark. Since flash photography or tripod use is forbidden, not much can be seen in the pictures. So you have to believe us that they were cute.
One thing we noticed is that, while these monuments in India are recognized as being of great importance by worldwide scientist, few lonely foreign tourists are present compared to other major attractions we’ve seen, including those in Indochina. Could that be because of the inhospitable roads? The uninhabitable hotels? Or maybe because foreigners are charged as much as 32 times the price Indians have to pay for the entrance?
