Bundi. Boom.

Entrance to the Queen's Bath - aka Temple of Awesomeness

The step well just keeps going down....

Faded grandeur inside the once mighty palace of Bundi

Bundi Palace, with fort walls behind

Bundi is another small town with a mighty history in southern Rajastan. It’s busy, colorful place in a paradoxical state of complete decay and steady commerce. In this sense, it’s a typical Indian town. The pipes from the houses empty directly into overflowing street sewage gutters, and cows, pigs, goats and dogs wander freely, living off of (and adding to) the piles of garbage and excrement in the streets. Meanwhile, merchants sell their wares, women dressed in dazzling colors and flowing skirts gracefully dodge speeding motorists, temple bells ring and the scent of incense floats in the air. We visited the ruined palace at Bundi, taking in views of the town below from the high ramparts and peering at the much-faded but still grandiose frescoes covering the walls of the palace rooms. The highlight of our visit, however, was seeing the 17th-century step wells commissioned and built by members of the royal family of Bundi. Step wells are square-shaped, immense underground recessions with carved stone walls and long flights of stairs leading downward nearly 50 meters to pools for bathing. The wells are open to rain and sunlight as well as underground reserves of water. Entering the Rani-ki-Baori (the Queen’s Bath) in Bundi was like walking into Indiana Jones’ Temple of Doom, but in the best sense possible! It was like stepping into a vast, underground cathedral for water worshippers. An incredible amount of workmanship and vision went into creating these step wells – one of the most striking and truly awesome sights in India….in the world!!