Since we are still waiting for our apartment to be vacated, we have some extra time on our hands. Most of the Indians we've met work 12 hour days six days a week so they don't have much leisure time but they all agreed that we would enjoy spending time at The Caves. With that powerful recommendation, we set off.
Tucked up in the hills of a national forest are 110 hand-carved Buddhist caves dating back to the 1st century BC when it was a thriving meditation and learning center for this religion.
You could literally walk anywhere you wanted and touch any part of these ancient sculptures that struck your fancy. Our guide encouraged us to sit on the "sofa" and to make ourselves at home. Done.
More shocking than the unprecedented freedom to investigate such fabulous ancient history was the fact that we saw actual Indian couples by themselves - as in, they were all alone - just the two of them hanging out in a secluded spot. I had to ask our guide why, all of a sudden, couples were everywhere when we never saw any at any other time. Two words: Indian mothers. Couples came here far away from the prying eyes of their Indian mothers who would not approve of such a match. Some dates were apparently going better than others.
The caves were a huge hit. The sea breeze and view at the top was worth all the sweat it took to get us there. Now if our apartment never comes through, we've got another option.
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