We wake early at about 7am and have toast and tea for breakfast. Brian mentions Stacy’s ticket - or lack of - so we go to the train station to see if a refund is possible. This is not possible so Brian has a quiet word with Pappu. He offers to repay the cost of the ticket. Being the gentleman he is, Brian declines the offer.

We go down to the lake to take a few snaps then head back to the hotel. The owner thanks us for staying with him then presents us with lovely purple and yellow garlands. We say goodbye to the rest of the staff and begin the next leg of our journey, 300km to Jodhpur.

En route I am woken by bumpy tracks and find myself in the middle of a jungle. The mountain road cuts its way through a steep mountain pass.

The beautiful Jain temple

We come to rest at the bottom and stop off at a most beautiful of Jain temples. The workmanship was simply stunning. It had incredibly detailed panels crafted out of white marble.

The temple itself sits in Ranakpur national park which boasts monkeys, tigers, cheetahs and other assorted wildlife. Talking of monkeys, Tuesday is the holy day of Hanuman, the Monkey god. As such, this is a day of rest for many Indians.

Some time later we stop off to buy provisions. My poor stomach is groaning like an ancient ship caught out in a storm. Pappu suggests that I try a milk coconut, grown for the liquid rather than for its flesh. Rather impressively, my stomach takes on an altogether more sanguine attitude for the afternoon. Thank you Pappu!

On we go, temperatures rising. We now seem to be entering into an area of virtual desert. I manage to sleep fitfully in the back of the car. Eventually we arrive in Jodhpur (pronounced Jo-puur). The city of riding pants is noisy, crowded and polluted. Somehow, I don’t think we’ll be rushing out to sample the delights tonight.

We check into the ‘Durag Villas’ taking a R150 Rupee double room each. The heat outside is quite overwhelming and we decide to luxuriate in the cool air conditioned rooms for the night.

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