Peace And Quiet - Ranakpur

Ajay has recommended that we go to Ranakpur for 2 days of peace and quiet in the mountains. So we got up, had one last look at our gorgeous view from the castle, picked up some somosas for breakfast and off we went in the car. Will has been getting really bad stomach cramps again in the last couple of days so I'm really hoping some R&R will get him back to normal.

The journey was really lovely through the mountains, seeing the locals and watching everyone get on with their daily lives. The best part was that I could feel it becoming more peaceful. I was excited to arrive and when we did I was even more excited. We arrived just before lunch so we checked in, did a quick wash and then headed out in the car to see the Jain Temple. If I'm honest I have done zero research about Ranakpur and just went along with whatever Ajay recommended. Wow wow wow, I wasn't expecting the spectacle that I saw. Firstly it was enormous, I was expecting a small one room temple and its was just stunning both in its surroundings and the temple itself. We must have been there for about 2 hours around the temple, its outer temples and the grounds. It was really lovely. The only problem once again was all the disrespectful Chinese tourists who were screaming for each other around the temple. I had to shush them at one point as it was just crazy. Luckily I was able to find a lot of hidden corners for peace and quiet.

We then visited the sun temple which was very small compared but with no one apart from us there, which was really nice. I sat in the prayer room and listened to the world around me. The rustle of trees in the wind, all sorts of birds chirping, bliss.

Our final stop was to see the big lake full of crocodiles! A local boy at the hotel took us along a dry and baron path to the lake. As Monsoon didn't hit Rajasthan all the mountains are duty baron mounds. The lake was really low of water but this meant you could see the crocodiles in all their glory. We only saw a couple but were told there are thousands in just that one lake! We sat, bird watched and just enjoyed the sunset. There are so many different types of birds in India its so fun to just sit with the binoculars and spot the exotic birds. After a while the boy had to go back so we tipped him and let him go without us in hope we will be fine finding our way back and we did 😊 I must admit I was a bit worried about walking back as there are leopards, grey langurs, buffalo's, sloth bears, cobras and much much more.

When we got back to the hotel Ajay was sat waiting for us in his car in the car park. He waved us over and said it's whiskey time. Haha it was so funny, we all jumped in the car, Ajay asked one of the boy waiters to bring some glasses and we sat enjoying the local whiskey. I don't actually like whiskey but this was a super smooth, white whiskey. It was yummy! First we tried it with lemonade and then with lime and soda. Ajay was using the front seat as his little bar, it was fun. He even brought us papad and snacks! We soon finished 4 little bottles of whiskey and realised it was very strong so insisted we have dinner! After dinner Will was feeling really ill again, I don't think the alcohol helped but he had a horrific fever and bad stomach. So we went to bed and drugged him up.Read more