A Visit to la Casa de Avani

While working at Travel Ad Network this past year in NYC, I was fortunate enough to become friends with my coworker Avani, who after graduating from NYU spent a year in the American workforce before returning to her hometown of Jaipur. After months of talking about coming to visit, Carrie and I were extremely excited to take her up on her offer. We had no idea what we were in store for when we arrived on her doorstep, but we spent the next two days living it up and having perhaps our favorite experience of our trip to date.

Over the span of 48 hours, we got to know her parents (two of the kindest and most generous people one can ever meet), ate a nonstop flow of the best food we have encountered yet (all home cooked by her servants, which are a very common part of an Indian household) and spent countless hours talking and seeing India through their eyes.

The house itself was beyond beautiful. Built over three years, it contained works of art on every wall, ceiling, floor and throughout the backyard. Even the rooms themselves were like artwork, with her brother’s room being modeled after a basketball court and the bathroom looked like a jungle. Heck, there was even an elevator that we got stuck in for around 15 minutes…hilarious! We were treated to a super comfy bed, hot water showers and all the amenities of home…a very welcome respite from three weeks of traveling. Every room in the house

What did we do? Well, poor Avani hurt her back a few months ago and is still recovering, but she still troopered it up and took us to a few of her favorite night spots in Jaipur including a pair of amazing rooftop restaurants with views of the city. When she was unable to come with us, she sent us off with her father’s driver to a local bazaar to do some souvenir shopping (hopefully for the last time) and to a gorgeous Hindu temple (Shri Lakshmi Narayan),

which was made of white marble and intricately carved all over. Somehow, this was actually the first Hindu temple we had visited despite being in the country for nearly three weeks.

Carrie and I can’t say thank you enough to Avani and her parents for their hospitality and for treating us like members of the family. They have one of the nicest houses imaginable and every door was open to us during our whole stay. We hope to one day be able to repay the favor and wish Avani and her father a speedy recovery!