The waiter suggested the Masala omelette to me, prepared with Masala spice. He didn't have to ask me twice. Judith's stomach isn't feeling 100%, so she decided to take it easy with a banana and some toast as a preventative measure. It was our first meal outdoors as this morning was pleasantly warm enough. We got to enjoy the fresh air and soak up some rays.
After checking out we headed off to Ranakpur Temple. I was of the opinion that if you've seen one temple you've seen them all (Rat Temple excluded!). Not so with Ranakpur Temple. The complex actually contains 6 temples. The one that everyone is awed by is the main temple, built in the 15th century out of white marble. The stats include 29 hall, 80 domes and 1440 individually carved pillars. From a distance you can see that it's framed by a mountain ridge.
Closer up, the front is like this. That's Judith in the foreground. I have no idea what she's doing.
This temple is the most important church in the Jain religion, one of the oldest religions in the world. It has a small number of followers compared to the other religions in India: Hinduism Sikhism, Muslim, and Buddism.
The temple is still active and has limited hours to accommodate people who are practicing Jainism. It cost 500 rupees for the entrance fee for Judith and I and included both the audio guide and a camera fee, about $20 in total. We took off our shoes and left them on the far side of the entry staircase close to the armed military soldier standing guard.
Upon entering the temple you have to pass security. The government provides the security for this complex and they use military personnel for this. We saw several armed forces types with rifles walking about. Armed personnel scan your purse and pat you down if they think you should be search further. They have a female guard and a male guard doing the scanning and checking.
We entered the main chamber and I stood there for a while to take in the magnificent space. Some of the interior pictures I shot are as follows:
This is the main dome about 4 levels up. The upper levels are designed with openings to let in natural light.
No two pillars are the same. I didn't count the 1440 pillars. It's a massive space with lots of nooks.
One of the pillars in the main hall. I don't know how long it took to finish the temple. The carving is as intricate as it gets and it's just about everywhere.
Outside, there were a few monkeys and I took a shot of two of them grooming one another. I don't know if they're acclimatized to humans. Either way, I felt I should play it on the safe side and not get too close.
We then proceeded onto Udaipur. There are few major highways in this section of India; you're forced to take the secondary routes that take you through the small towns and countryside. That suits us just fine although it does make for long road trips.
I like to think of myself as somewhat cool and collected. When I'm a passenger, I don't generally scream or gasp at the driving skills of others on the road. But even I couldn't stop myself from a gasp or two today on the many many times we came close to becoming a road statistic. The usual Indian driving method seems to involve driving with a portion of the vehicle solidly on the centre lane. When a vehicle approaches they wait until the last possible moment to swerve out of the way--and only swerve just enough so that they can return to their position on the centre lane as soon as possible. I am finding it a bit unnerving to be watching vehicles bearing down on us at great speed.
To pass, the typical method is to make sure you're on an outside curve or approaching the crest of a hill. Since the front vehicle is already on the centre lane, you honk your horn to get them to move over before proceeding which allows you to tailgate not more than a foot off their bumper while you wait for them to move over. This delay thereby ensures you're fully into the outside curve or as deep into approaching the crest as humanly possible. And because Indian drivers like to fill the entire roadway with lanes, they often pass even though there is oncoming traffic, turning the two lane road into a three lane road with very little room separating the vehicles.
I have been sitting on the passenger side as Judith said her neck was sore and that the driver's side was working for her neck issue. The passenger side has provided me with the best viewing angle to see the potential carnage underway. She's going to switch sides with me as she says her neck's better. I'm looking forward to that.
On our way to Udaipur, we passed by a water wheel system that lifts water from a well and dumps it into an irrigation trough. The engine is a couple of oxen who drive some gears to turn the wheel -- actually a chain of cups that dip into the well to carry the water. The wheel continues to spin until the cups come to the surface and are emptied into the trough.
It was interesting to watch the process for a while. That well was quire deep! The young man tending the oxen has a little seat built into the arm of the long stick right behind the oxen and normally sits doing this job. But I got to go for a spin...
Before dinner we saw a Rajasthan cultural show at the local museum. It was much better than a show we saw after our camel ride.
We're staying at the Raddison Blu for the next two nights. It's a swank hotel. Room pic will be uploaded tomorrow. But off to bed so I can hit the gym in the morning.
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