Hotel Hillock Mount Abu

... The carvings were really intricate as the craftsman were paid by the amount of dust they collected so the more they carved the more they got paid. Each part of the temple was carved completely differently, no two panels were the same and the detailing was so impressive. There were lots of elephants, flowers and gods carved into the marble, other Jain temples we have seen have lots of carvings but this was something special.

After ...

... at the weekends, all the accommodation triples in price, you have to Queue to eat in a restaurant and all the of the sightseeing spots are crammed with Indian tourists, many of whom seem more interested in taking pictures of us and other 'western' tourists more than enjoying the place they have traveled 100's of Kms to see ...

21, 22 , 23 July 2008 Seven of us started off from Ahmedabad at @ 5.30 am on 21st July for Sheoganj in a hired Toyota Innova. It took us 6 hours to reach there with a break in between for tea and snacks. Stopped at Ambaji for darshan also. No crowds there so we could do darshan in peace. Sheoganj (pronounced as shivganj) lies in Sirohi district of Rajasthan on the banks of river Jawai. We already had confirmed booking at Woodlands Palace run by Gopalsingh. The staff was very ...

... the blog but I couldn't help myself! On Sunday we did what we came to Mount Abu to do - trekking. We did a 5 hour trek through a national park and it was definitely one of the highlights if not the highlight of our trip so far. Our guide Charles was a Buddhist and I don't think it's any coincidence that he was by a mile the nicest, most genuine Indian we've met to date. His main belief is karma and what goes round comes round. He knew absolutely ...

... properly upright, looking properly uptight. In one sense, I just hope that the train steams off so that I don't get booted off to stay in Ahmedabad any longer. But in another sense, I am fearful that once underway, the conductor that comes and checks your tickets will be cross with me and send me to the hinterlands of the long train, to hold on to a handle for dear life while my feet flop in the breeze. The train moves slowly forward. "So I ...

... spoustu času hledáním střechy nad hlavou, prvně míříme do vybraného hotýlku (podle LP), ale ceny s porovnáním s kvalitou se nám zdají přemrstěné a tak vyrázíme jinam. Náhodou taky potkáváme stále tu stejnou dvojici z Izraele. Jeden hotel na břehu jezera neměl vodorovné podlahy - hned jak jsme tam vkročili, přisli jsme si jako na lodi a vyrovnávali rovnováhu roztazenými pazemi. Nakonec nacházíme tu nasi střechu nad hlavou ...

... is that the day we spent in bed happened to be Yom Kippur, a very religious holiday for jewish people that requires fasting for 24 hours. Now neither my aunt nor myself are religious enough to fast for the holiday, and we both admitted it had been several years since we had last done so, but on this Yom Kippur, both of us fasted for 48 hours to make up for past sins. We hope it still counts by God, despite it being unintential and not of our choosing! As we ...

... to Udaipur. We juddered over long stretches of incomplete hardcore. I felt like I was wielding a pneumatic drill. At one point we got stopped and held whilst someone blasted a couple more holes in the mountain side, all in the name of development. Hard to complain when the driving force is tourism between the two towns. Got to the hotel, ate thali, drank beer, slept. We stayed for 4 nights. I should be ashamed to say that we didn't really explore ...

... loads on the heads and backs along with the rural beauty of animals (more camels, cows, buffalo and sheep!) were just some of the highlights. It was a long drive and we arrived at night. We struggled to find a good place to stay. Many of the tourist spots get so built up with hotels, however, they tend to subscribe to a quantity over quality approach in many cases. By quality I don't mean expensive just good ...

... Abu. A real oasis. The town hugs a pretty lake where holiday makers paddle in pedaloes, eat ice-cream and buy ****** souvenirs. The vibe is much like Shimla in Himachal Pradesh - lots of school groups and Indian families having fun. And no hassling by shop keepers on the street! The silver jewellery was also really well priced - almost half the starting prices of Jaisalmer. Even got a decent hotel room for 250 rupees a night (AU$7).. Lucky for us Diwali (Festival of Lights) hadn't ...