Spirit of India Day 12 Jain Temple and Bats!

Wednesday April 20^th

I slept really well and woke up feeling better. I had a light breakfast of muesli and fruit. Right after that we had a cooking demo led by our fearless leader Sameer. He showed us how to cook a typical local dish made from chick pea powder, garlic, onions and spices. Because of my stomach I declined to try it, but I was told it was quite good. He is going to give us the recipe.

After that we loaded up on our bus for another long drive. Again Sameer divided it into two parts. We were again taking rural roads and the scenery and things to see out the window kept me entertained. We stopped at a famous Jain Temple that was built in the 1500's by a rich merchant. The carvings and detail are amazing. Jainism is an offshoot of Hinduism.

Then we had lunch at another great heritage house. I again ate light – tomato soup and macaroni. Then we set off for another three hour drive. En route we stopped to watch a women and her child as they drove a team of oxen around in a circle drawing water up from a well to irrigate a field. And we stopped at a tree loaded with fruit bats! That was amazing. It was great to see them flying around and roosting.

We stopped at an ATM machine and while people were withdrawing money, I got out and watched as men were unloading motorcycles from a two level covered truck without the aid of a ramp or anything. Just manhandle it off the back and lower it to people below! Also, I finally got a picture of a local bus going by with people sitting on the roof!

We arrived at our hotel Swaroop Vilas about 6:00. Settled into our rooms, had dinner and hung around the hotel by the pool and the terrace bar, before turning in again for another early night.