Day 70: November 13: Indias country side

Despite our late night last night, we woke up early to the same breakfast on the rooftop(we're starting to become old ladies with our routines!) and then hopped in a cab with two young Brits on their gap year before university. These chaps made good company (and made the cab cheaper!) on the 2+ hour drive up to the Kumbalgarh Fort.

The fort was MASSIVE - it has a 135 km circumference, and is the second longest wall in the world. It was a good warm-up to the Great Wall in a couple of weeks!

Not really knowing where to begin, we did what was natural for us, and went up first. Up we went to the highest point in the fort (the palace of course!) and got spectacular views of the rolling hills on the outside and the small villages, fields, and dozens and dozens of temples on the inside. As usual, we took a lot of pictures. Despite the fact that we both got extra memory cards hand delivered to us on this trip, we're starting to fear running out!

After we got the lay of the land from up top, we set out to explore as far and wide as we could before getting back to meet the Brits at the appointed time. We saw many temples, most of which appear to have been abandoned. We had a lunch of left-over bread and baked goods that we'd made ourselves with Shashi in the shade of one temple in a complex, completely out of sight of any other human. It was really refreshing given the number of people in any city in India.

After lunch, we walked toward a small village. There, we got more great views of the fort and mountains while some women and children looked on. They were just as curious about us as we were about them, if not more so. But as usual, they just waved and said 'namaste' and pretended to go about their business outdoors (which involved washing their small child in a bucket), while sneaking looks at us.

We walked back to meet the boys along the fort wall, then got back in the taxi to go to Ranakpur Temple. This ride was over an hour long, but we again passed some interesting scenery, which included beige and charcoal-colored monkeys sitting on a wall, eating and watching the cars go by. Their hunched position and their crumpled faces made them look exactly like little old men!

Upon arrival at the Temple, we bought our tickets and went inside to see a veritable complex of worship places with literally hundreds upon hundreds of columns, each intricately carved as though it was the only one. It was awe-inspiring.

Now you may wonder how we can continue to exude enthusiasm about the sight we see this far into the trip. But each place we go to is so singularly impressive that it's hard not to be struck by how much thought, time, and even love is poured into each monument. So we have to be enthusiastic!

We wandered around the rest of the complex, taking in the other temples, before we hopped back in the can for the 2 hour drive home. At least this time we were driving over paved roads, so the trip seemed to go a lot faster.

Back at the ranch, we had dinner at our guest house with our new British friends, and retired early.
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