The Hospital
By Thomas on June 23, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Tony keeps saying how nice Mt. Abu is – especially the ice cream parlors. Not like I have any way of knowing that. I got sick on my second day here and I’m spending most of the time in bed. It started with a swelling around my left ear. When I asked Tony if my face was swollen, he said that my face always looked fat so he couldn’t tell (well, thanks). But a day later, while we were having breakfast, even he began to worry.
As soon as I had had a couple of spoons of yogurt » Continue reading this post »
Mt. Abu
By Tony on June 21, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Continuing our quest to visit the ultimate Jain treasures of India, we’ve made our way here to Mt. Abu. In addition to being the location of the spectacular Dilwara temples, Mt. Abu is the only real hill station in Rajasthan providing a cool relief from the blistering heat of the surrounding desert.
Mt. Abu comes as somewhat of a shock to us because it is a kind of resort area for middle class Indians, mostly from the neighboring state of Gujarat. Gujarat is considered the most prosperous state in India and Gujaratis are well known for being exceptionally generous and hospitable. These generalizations are » Continue reading this post »
The Adinath Temple of Ranakpur 360 View
By Tony on June 19, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Over the past few months, I have been dragging Thomas from one Jain temple to a another. It has become a bit of an obsession, and we are actively hunting out all the key Jain sites. (Stop laughing! If I have to spend hours watching him photograph every bug between Hong Kong and Rajasthan, he can visit a few Jain temples.)
Well, my somewhat obsessive quest has brought us to one of the Grand Daddies of Jain architecture: the Adinath Temple, located in Ranakpur, a VERY small, one-kiosk town northwest of Udaipur. Considered one of the masterpieces of western Indian architecture, the huge fortified temple opens up into a surprisingly large multi-storied structure containing a series of vaulted chambers supported by 1,444 columns, each carved with unique designs ranging from sensuous dancers to geometric patterns to fine floral motifs.
Surprised that we hadn’t come on a daytrip and that we intended to stay overnight in the tiny town, the local Jains invited us back to the temple to participate in the evening prayers. When we returned at night, the dark, candle-lit temple was echoing with drums, giant ringing bells, and Jain chanting. At first we hung back not wanting to disturb them, but we were quickly ushered up onto the altar platform in front of the large statue of Adinath and included in the service. We had no idea of what was going on, but smiling faces kept welcoming us and everyone seemed absolutely thrilled to have us there. This is truly one of the most hospitable places we have been so far.
What’s more, this phenomenal Jain temple allows photography, so I can share it all with you in the form of a 360 view!!!
The Art of Hanging Around
By Thomas on June 17, 2008 | No Comments »
Elin is a chaos pilot. That doesn’t mean she graduated from some backwater second-class flying school. Oh no! She is studying at Kaospilot International in Sweden, a school for young entrepreneurs and project leaders.
What sounds rather dry and business-suit-like turns out to be quite the opposite. When we met Elin in our hotel in Udaipur, she was on a mini-vacation from her latest 3-month project in Mumbai. We’re not talking a banking internship or an assignment on the growing high-tech industry – her project is simply titled “Mumbai Music – The Art of Hanging Around.” » Continue reading this post »
Room with a View
By Tony on June 15, 2008 | 1 Comment »
You need to pamper yourself a little to survive the onslaught of the Indian experience. Long term travelers, in general, must recognize the necessity for some downtime; in India, the need to pull back is a hundred fold. Sensory overload, or perhaps complete system breakdown, is a serious risk. For us, Dream Heaven comes just in the nick of time. » Continue reading this post »
