Jodhpur to Udaipur

We had a long drive to Udaipur from Jodhpur yesterday.  We left our guest house in the morning with Nandhu, who was very excited to bring us to his home town the whole day.  It was our last day with Nandhu and we were definitely feeling a bit sad-- he's been amazing to see Rajasthan with (so if anyone is heading to Rajasthan let us know, we have his number!)  About halfway to Udaipur we stopped to see a Jain temple.  It was pretty spectacular and a nice break before we got to some of the tough mountain roads which were covered in families of langurs.  When we got to Udaipur we settled into the guest house (the final one owned by Preeti's "cousin"--not sure if they're actually related).  We relaxed for a bit, and then went to meet Nandhu for one last dinner.  He somewhat cryptically didn't tell us where we were going until we asked, to which he cheerfully replied, "My house!"  We enjoyed a last night with Nandhu in the company of his family (actually his brother's family) who lived in a small colony outside of the city center.  A big meal chapati, rice, papad, gobi matar, chicken masala (YES!), dal, salad, yogurt, and all sorts of crunchy spicy snacks filled us up to capacity.  The meal was interrupted periodically with the front door opening a bit, and then fits of giggles that could be heard from outside.  Apparently all the neighborhood kids were fascinated by our (but probably more so Elliot's) presence and wanted to sneak a peek.  We introduced ourselves to big groups of kids who politely introduced themselves and then erupted in laughter running out the door.  We had a great time.  On the drive back into town Nandhu said some very kind words about how he would miss us and we assured him we would miss him too and keep in touch-- we were all a bit sad by the time we said goodbye.  Fortunately, Nandhu promptly called us very cheerfully this morning when we woke up, to tell us he was on his way back to Jaipur.  I'm glad to know the frequent phone calls won't end until we leave India at least.

Ranakpur Temple

Langurs!

We spent the day exploring the city, not really commiting to any of the tourist sights yet.  Tomorrow we'll visit the temples, forts and palaces, but for today we just enjoyed the city.  It was nice to have a slow paced day, walk around, and run a few errands like buying more shampoo.  Our time in India is winding down quickly and we have a lot to prepare for Europe.  We contacted several farmers in Italy today-- hopefully we can set up a bit of our schedule now so we have a better idea of what the next several months might look like.  We had a delicious dinner at the restaurant on the rooftop of the guest house-- the owner Raju and his wife offer cooking classes, so maybe we can poke our head in the kitchen tomorrow.

Some pictures from our day walking around town...

One of the many beautiful murals in Udaipur