Out of Khajuraho

After the chaos I almost ended the night on a good note. I stopped into a store and bought a couple souveneers and the guy was really cool. We chilled and talked about how much he hated the touts that stressed out his customers (he doesn't pay commission so they hate him as much as he hates them). My favorite topic of the day! I got a couple really nice things to bring home and was feeling pretty happy. Then I rode back home on my bike and had some tasty biryani (Indian fried rice), and was about to kick into my book and pot of tea on the balcony, relaxed and happy, when one of the employees of the hotel sat down, gave me a 30 second shpiel (literally, 30 seconds or less) about his daughter's terrible burns and high hospital bills, and then demanded - demanded, not requested - 1,000 rupees. For those of you not up on exchange rates, 1,000 rupees is a fortune in India. It's like $30 USD, but it's also what a private room for 3 nights, two dinners, two breakfasts, dessert, several pots of tea, and a load of laundry cost me this week. Taken aback, I just stared at him, which prompted him to put his hand out and repeat his demand. Since he and I were the only ones awake in the place at the time, I felt kind of threatened, so I said I could spare him 100 (enough to buy a nice dinner at a restaurant, incidentally), and he said "no. 1000."
The nerve of this guy! Unbelievable. I had a conversation with the guy who owns the place about it this morning and he seems pretty resigned about it. It apparently happens a lot. Then he told my horoscope (apparently I'm highly sensitive to the suffering of others and can sometimes be a bit dreamy).
Anyway, after a very cramped bus journey I finally am out of that place and on my way (in style!) to Varanasi. I'm in the 2AC coach, which is like first class on a plane. Very nice. Hopefully that will clear my head and I'll feel better about this country. But if all else fails I'll be in Cambodia in a little over 2 weeks. That's the beauty of this trip, if I'm fed up with a place, I only have to hold out and keep myself busy for a little while longer!