Orcha
25 to 31 January 2003
Our train from Gwalior arrived in Jhansi about two hours later.  From the Jhansi railway
station we took an autorickshaw taxi to the bus stand, from where we took a crowded bus for
the half hour ride to Orcha.
Orcha is a small town which was very important about five centuries ago.  It is surprising
that such a small town has so many large and well-preserved forts, palaces, temples,
memorials and other historic structures.  We found Orcha to be an extremely pleasant, very
relaxing, and very friendly little town.  Yet for almost all tour operators Orcha serves
simply as a brief lunch stop on the way from Agra to Khajuraho
We had lunch at the Sheesh Mahal Hotel located in part of the former palace within Orcha
Fort.  Originally we had planned to stay in that hotel, but it had no vacancies, so we went to
what had been our second choice (actually a much better choice), the Orcha Resort.  The
Orcha Resort was excellent:  a single-story rambling hotel set in a beautiful garden, nicely
decorated, well maintained, completely clean, and providing excellent services.  The first
evening we dined in the hotel's very attractive but expensive (for India) dining room.
We took several pleasant walks within the town and in the surrounding countryside and visited
all of its many historic buildings and monuments, most of them built in the 1500's.  I took the
opportunity to get a haircut at a one-chair outdoor barbershop, while Virginia bantered with
some local men loitering about; I usually try to get a haircut on trips.  We also enjoyed
several excellent meals in the open-air Ram Raja Restaurant next to the Fort Bridge and
became very friendly with the owner and his family.  
When it finally became time to leave Orcha we took a motorickshaw taxi about 20km to the
Jhansi railway station, where the ticket agent told us all trains from Jhansi to Mumbai
(Bombay) were sold out not only for today but also for the next two days.  A man loitering
nearby "overheard" our conversation with the ticket agent and offered to use his
"connections" with the conductor to get us two Class "AC" bunks on the next train to
Mumbai for the official fare of 2372 rupees (US$50) plus a 1000 rupee (US$22) "handling
fee".   We accepted the offer, got on the train with our "friend" and after he had a brief
conference with the conductor we were provided with two air-conditioned bunks to Mumbai.  
After we got settled on the train we found that our train, which the ticket agent had told us
was "sold out" actually had many vacant bunks throughout our 24-hour trip to Mumbai; the
ticket agent obviously was in on the scam.
Orcha was at its peak around 1500 to 1700 when it served as the royal capital of Bundelas.  
Among the many architectural remnants of that era are the dozen or so royal chhatris
(cenotaphs) to the Bundela rulers.  There are also many ancient Hindu Temples, some quite
large,  The best known royal complex is the Sheesh Mahal palace/fortress, part of which
today contains the Sheesh Mahal Hotel and Restaurant. We enjoyed five or six days in this
lovely, friendly, historic little town.
Partial view of the large Sheesh Mahal Palace/Fortress
part of which now contains a hotel and restaurant.
The largest chhatri in Orcha.
A few more of the chhatris we visited in Orcha.
Getting an Orcha haircut.
A trio watching me get a haircut
and chatting with Virginia.
The Ram Raja Restaurant, Orcha.
Kitchen of the Ram Raja Restaurant, Orcha,