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Hannah and Liv's Travel Update
Today we travelled to Ranakpur, the site of the most beautiful Jain temple in India. The drive took us again via the most incredible mountain range, with lush vegetation and a beautiful gorge. The path took us up into the mountains sometimes, where we were amongst monkeys in the treetops, and as we twisted our way upwards we looked down over a sheer drop on one side. The scenery was just breathtaking and indescribable, such a shame we can't capture it how we would like to on camera. We had the most amazing views of the valley below and in the distance as far as we could see. Throughout the morning the sky became bright and sunny, and after a brief pause as we had a puncture and broke down in the middle of a dusty indian road, we arrived at a quaint little hotel, which reminded us of an old-style British retreat where we ate lunch on the front lawn under canopies. We set off again in the afternoon to visit the Jain temple complex, the biggest in India and set right in the middle of the Jungle Book! Surrounded by mountains, green foliage and trees full of monkeys, the temple was absolutely stunning, and although simple compared to the elaborate colours we had seen so far, it was the sheer size, detail and decoration of the pure marble which inspired us. Filled inside with 1400 pillars, it housed 4 enormously carved domes by 4 entrances and many more smaller, and each column was intricately and individually carved. There were idols everywhere with beady eyes, which were sat similarly to Buddhas, and a sacred tree grew through the centre of the temple. We bumped into the high priest who blessed us and put a saffron dot on our foreheads. The temple was just as beautiful from the outside too and we spent a while sitting outside it.
After making our way back to the hotel we felt warm enough to lay out in the garden by the pool reading, before buying a feast in the hotel shop which happened to stock cadburys chocolate, ferrero rochers and pringles!
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