Hi, have to make this a quick one - I've ended up in the beautiful jungle-type Mount Abu in Rajasthan. Maya is in Gurgaon in Delhi doing some 1 day psychology/spiritual courses. I'm staying with Chaula - I mountaineer that I met in the hospital in Leh. Her family are amazingly hospitable and they have given me a huge en-suite double room with a satin bed cover! Her house is huge... all the flooring and lots of the furnishings are marble and it's 3 floors up with great views. The rooms all have balconies and the main balcony has a hammock on it which I sit on whilst reading. The lowest floor actually has rock underground protruding through the flooring and into her natural feeling living room (I'll take a pic and post it!). But the best thing of all is HOME COOKING!!and ofcourse, the company of a wonderful family. It is the little girls birthday tomorrow so there'll be a small party and I'll meet the family friends. Mount Abu is a wildlife haven, with birds, snakes, panther, hyena, bear and various other scary things living here. You wont believe this,but I actually went to a Hindu temple yesterday, which has a Shiva statue in the centre of a lake. I saw an underwater path to the centre statue, so was contemplating about walking across when I spotted it - a real bloody crocodile onthe steps coming out of the water near the statue. I can't believe I was so close to it. When I realised it wasn't a statue I slowly stapped on some higher rocks. It's unbelievable - there aren't any warning signs or anything - somebody could have easily crossed the path and been eaten! Anyway, after that I went to see the stunning Delwara Temples. These are Jain Temples made purely from marble. The carvings are indescribable. Unfortunately no cameras were allowed inside, but I sketched on of the halls (I found my missing sketch book by the way). In the guide book it says that the sculptors received money according to how much dust they collected, which gave them the motive to make these marble carvings as intricate as possible. I was literally staring at the walls, ceilings and pillars for hours. I walked around Nakki Lake this morning, which is beautiful. I'm leaving Mount Abu in 3 days or so - hopefully I'll go to the enclosed wildlife sanctuary tomorrow and I'll see the famous sunset at either Sunset Point or Honeymoon Point. I want to give them a pressie for their kindness - I bought them chocolates and I made an amazing Italian pasta last night, but I'm thinking of painting a picture of a Mount Abu scene and having it framed if I can (for their house). Mumbai is next on the list for a couple of days and then a 1 month group overland trip, covering parts of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. If I do not write much in that month, please forgive me, but I will be constantly moving. My goodness, that will be over xmas and New Year. I'm sure that I will write again before that, but if I do not, Happy New Year everyone and don't get too drunk (Kripa)! Oh well, so much for a short entry! Adios!