Bera and Kherjarla:

December 18th, 2004 - December 21st, 2004

Last we wrote, we were leaving Udaipur for a small village called Bera. On our drive to Bera, we stopped at the Jain Temples in Ranakpur.

While Jain temples are common all over India, these ones are one of the main holy sites for Jain's (one of the major religions here in India). The main temple was huge and carved all out of sandstone. The carvings were so intricate and well done. There were several domes and spires, too. It is very hard to describe because it was so well done and is so big and beautiful. I took many photos but even that was hard to do because of how vast the temple was. I will send some at a later date from a better computer...

The atmosphere inside the temple was peaceful. We were shown around by a young boy who lived at the temple complex. His English was decent and he had some interesting stories.

As well, one of the caretakers showed opened a locked door for us and showed us some amazing gold idols. Of course, he demanded some rupees in return for his deed.

From the temples we had lunch and visited a local weaver to see how they make these special carpets - we withheld from buying anything as we have been suckers in recent days for stuff. They somehow manage to sit you down and have tea with you and talk to you into buying stuff that you don't need!

By 4pm we arrived at Leopard's Lair in a small village called Bera. The Lair is run by a man named Devi Singh who is part of the local royal family. Following a late lunch, Devi took us out in his jeep to the local hills in search of Leopards. The first night was unsuccessful because we had a late start. However, we did see 3 antelope on the drive home; they are some of the biggest in Asia.

The following morning we spotted a leopard and her two cubs up high on a rock soaking up some sun. We were able to view them through binoculars for some time. We saw the cave she went into and we planned to return at night.

At night we came back and Devi tied a goat in the valley at the base of the hill. After an hour the leopard came out of the cave. She slowly made her way along the hill and spotted the goat. However, she lunged at a peacock in the nearby bush and nearly caught it. Luckily for us she missed and then came back into focus on the goat.

Another hour later and the leopard was right near the goat. Finally she lunged at the goat and killed it. We were about 10-20 feet away in the jeep. By now it was dark so they were using a spot light for us to watch.

We watched the mother eat the goat for a bit before being scared off by us. We left the area for a while to give the mother some peace and quiet, before finally returning.

At that point the mother had fetched the cubs to eat as well and we sat and watched the mother and two cubs eat the goat. I was able to get some photos. Due to the darkness and our proximity, they were not great, but some should be OK once back home with Photoshop!

The next night I went out with Devi (Jess stayed home because she was sick) and we failed to find a leopard in the hills. However, on the drive back home we were stopped by a local shepherd who said he had heard a leopard wandering about in the village. We went to where he told us go and sure enough, a large male leopard was perched on a rock right above a house.

These leopards live in the hills that are very close to the villages. They feed off the grazing sheep and goats. If the leopards cannot get one of the livestock in the hills, they go into the villages at night and try and snatch a goat or even a dog.

Humans; however, are not at risk. In all of Devi's life he says a leopard has never hurt a human being in and around Bera.

After three nights in Bera we left for the village of Kherjarla which was 4 hours north by car and just outside of Jodhpur. Both villages were similar in that all the people were not used to seeing foreigners. When we drove by in the jeep in Bera or walked through in Kherjarla, people would stare at us and wave. Kherjarla was a nicer village and people quite friendly.

When our host, Dilip Singh, took us around all the kids followed us en masse. Up to 15 kids at one time would be following us on our walk through the village. None spoke English but asked questions through Dilip.

I should mention that we stayed in Dilip Singh's castle in Kherjarla. His family is also from local royalty, but now they take in guests. He was very friendly and knew all the villagers which was nice because we were really able to get a good local feel of the place. It was really funny watching kids running into houses yelling that foreigners had arrived and then everyone coming out to see us.

Dilip Singh's family had a temple built up on the hill that dated back to the 6th century AD. He said he was the 18th generation of his family in the region. It was so amazing to be around so much history.

We were giving a room in the top of the castle in the highest spires. It was an amazing suite with a beautiful view. It had a ton of old world charm with modern amenities like a toilet and all. However, the power went out in town (what's new) so we got to spend most of the night by candle light (takin' it back to the old school).

That takes us to now. We arrived here in Jodhpur this afternoon and are just taking it easy after a few days in the "bush" so to speak. We leave tomorrow night on the train to Jaisalmer which is in the desert and near to the Pakistan border in Western India.

I hope this message finds everyone well. Best wishes in the holiday season.

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