Sunday, November 20, 2022 – Temperature 13-30 C ( 55-86 C )

The hotel we stayed at was a royal hunting lodge called Bal Samand. It is nestled in a valley with a dam that was built to create a lake that could be used for the lodge. The small palace on the property was once a summer residence of Maharajas of Jodhpur and is now a hotel. There are stables with horses that can be used for riding by the visitors who stay there. Some of the stables have been converted into hotel rooms, which is where we stayed.

I woke up at 5 am, took a shower and at 6:30 I went for a walk around the grounds. It is an amazing property.

It is a long drive to Udaipur and we had lunch along the way at a nice restaurant.

We stopped at the largest Jain temple in India and toured the building. Jainism is a sect of Hindus that undertakes 5 vows; 1) Ahimsa “ non-violence or non-injury “, 2) Satya “truth “ always speak the truth, 3) Asteya “ not stealing “ not take anything that is not willingly given, 4) Brahmacharya “ celibacy “ Abstinence from sex nd sensual pleasures, 5) Aparigraha “ non-possessiveness “ non-attachment to material and psychological possessions, avoiding craving and greed. The temple was exquisitely carved out of marble.

After leaving the temple, we continued our drive to Udaipur and along the way we spotted a man with an oxen-powered waterwheel.

With the rest stops and some site seeing along the way, it was 18:30 when we arrived at other Trident Hotel Udaipur. We checked in to the hotel and since we were on our own for dinner, some of the group ate dinner at the hotel while some went out to eat.