Caves! (And Jake gets attacked by monkey)

We've spent these past two days in Aurangabad, which is a good base to stay in for the Ellora and Ajanta caves. There is so much to say (and so many pictures to post!) but I'll try my best to keep this short. Basically, the Ajanta and Ellora caves are named for the small towns in which the caves are located. They are slabs of rock that have been carved into intricate Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain temples. They're gorgeous, they're insane, they're impossible, they're incredibly old. Some of the Ajanta caves date back to 2nd Century BC. It is difficult to explain how it feels to be standing in the presence of something that majestic and that old. So what did we do? Initially we were on a tour with a guide. At the first cave, Jake was trying to draw and I was exploring and the guide came and yelled at us because we were taking so long. The bus was honking for us, and we had to leave. After that, we promptly left the tour and did out own thing. What was that? We danced a lot. We sang Amazing Grace (the echos of it were just fantastic, even though we can't sing well). We climbed up on top of the Ellora caves and got in trouble with a security guard. We posed for pictures with a Buddhist Thai tour group and listened to them chant in one of the more impressive Buddhist caves at Ellora. We sat and meditated in the sun. Jake did a headstand.

Jake also got attacked/chased/frightened by a monkey. It was scary until the torch man chased the monkey away, and then it was HYSTERICAL. Don't worry, he really didn't get attacked. It is slightly scary to have a monkey charge at you though, even if just for a moment. Just ask Jake.

Something that has been new (and fun) about Aurangabad is meeting other travelers. Since we've been CSing, we haven't met too many travelers (I'm not complaining either way, it's great to CS and it's great to hostel). Yesterday we shared a jeep with a couple from Chicago and Belgium on an around the world tour (along with 18 other Indians.. Oh my goodness it was packed!), and we shared wine and hookah with an Estonian graphic designer. Today, due to a miscommunication within the hotel we ended up in a cab to Ajanta with an Austrailian couple, but it was a good miscommunication because we had a lovely day with them! We just finished dinner together, and it truly is wonderful to meet other folks on the road.

However, we're itching for some Couchsurfing, so tomorrow we depart at 6am for a bus ride down to a farm right outside of Pune, a city south of Mumbai. We'll be helping to build a meditation resort for about a week, and then it's off to a classical Indian music fest in the city of Pune. Will hope to get some pictures from the caves up soon because they're just astounding.

Today I missed American blues music and the sound of my friend Pete singing "Lonesome Road". But today I also saw white lotus flowers painted on the ceiling of a cave that is over 2000 years old. Things balance out.