Ghanerao, India

January 31, 2003
Weather: high of about 80ºF and scattered showers


I decide that homesickness is really a cheat that makes me ungrateful and ungracious. So I resolve to make a greater effort to keep my eyes open to the lovely things going on around me. Maybe it is a coincidence, but we have a truly wonderful experience with Upendra's family.

The Haveli Guest House in Jodhpur that was so instrumental in helping us get our motorcycle repaired also was our connection for meeting Upendra who invited us to stay with him in his village of Ghanerao. Here we are stopping along the way to pick up some of Upendra's family in Sojat Road.
A friend of Upendra's took us and some of the children in the household to visit a Jain temple near Ghanerao.
Jain temples are elaborately carved from white marble.
Upendra tells us that the Aravelli Hills are the oldest hills in the world and they are close to the newest: the Himalayas.
Being a part of Upendra's family for a short time is really a wonderful experience.
On the way from Ghanerao to Udaipur we stop at the spectacular Jain temple at Ranakpur. But first we admire the cheeky Langur monkeys.
We get a tour from the high priest of the temple. He has a stunning face, but we are too shy to ask him for a photo. We get the exquisite carvings instead.
The high priest asks us for a donation at the end, and we feel fine about supporting the Jains. After the tour, we are trailed by a man who wants another donation but he is just pesky and he sours the experience a little.








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