Forest and Shade
Trip Start
Jan 12, 2005
1
25
47
Trip End
Ongoing
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Where I stayed
Hotel Roopa
Ranakpur, India
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Forest and Shade
As we neared our destination, we finally left the desert behind and slipped into the hills and forests of Ranakpur. The forests were dry and many trees were bare, mind you, but at least along the rivers we were finally able to relax in some greenery and shade.
Jain temples
There are two main attractions in Ranakpur. The first is the wildlife sanctuary and scenic hill country. The second is a remarkably preserved complex of Jain temples full of detailed stone carvings. One temple alone was supported by hundreds of carved white stone pillars. The Jains' respect for all forms of life was noted by a big tree growing through the center of one part of a temple, and a live cobra snake which lived in another part of the temple.
The Roopam Hotel
Yet nice scenery and beautiful temples aside, there wasn't much else to do in Ranakpur. Our tour operator supposedly upgraded our hotel here, yet Anjali especially was disturbed by the large group of leering men that littered the grounds of our cleanish but basic hotel. They gave us an eerie feeling by following us with their eyes whenever we left the hotel for a walk and would ask us to appraise their recently acquired watches. It all lead us to wonder if we and our belongings were safe. We decided to cut our itinerary short here and press on to Udaipur...
