Mon 16nov- took a bus to udaipur.
this was the worst bus journey ive ever experiened in my whole life. the stupid horn that played a tune everytime it was honked (which was every second) deprived me of any potential sleep. i dont have any words to describe to you how annoying it was-i cursed the whole 8hrs there.
when we finally got to udaipur, we checked into yet another cockroach infested shithole with a bathtub that had been sellotaped back together with industrial tape.ive come to the conclusion that big highrise, holiday inn-type hotels in india are the ones to avoid. the smaller, quant, family run places tend to offer the best service and more original thoughtful decor and aesthetics than anywhere else. I killed a few cockroaches and headed out for a late lunch.we had no luck and found ourselves back at the hotel eating at the restaurant. As soon as we'd eaten we ran out of there and headed for pichola lake, the famous lake where the lake palace (now a 5* star hotel) majestically stands in the middle. We watched sunset here and let me tell you it was breath-taking. It was so so so romantic and peaceful. No words describe it.It is definitely one of my top 10 sunset locations.
udaipur is known as the "city of sunrise" and one can definitely see why. it was built around four lakes, with the placid blue water reflecting ethereal white palaces and temples beyon which shimmer the distant Aravali Hills that we'd been situated in back in Pushkar the day before. Udaipur has a real sense of space and peace, and the city is luckily free of the intense capitalist that one sees so blatantly in other streets of India. Udaipur was built on the shores of lake pichola by maharaja Udai Singh II in 1559, who returned here after the thrid and final sacking of the previous Mewar stronghold, Chittaurgarh. Udai Singh's son, Pratap, kept the Mughal invaders at bay for a further 25 years and is said to have been so disgusted by the raja of Jaipur, Man Singh's relations with the Mughals that, after one historic meetting, he had the gound where Man Singh walked washed with Ganges water in orderto purify it!Much of Udaipur, particularly the old part located on the shored of Lake Pichola is where you'll find the city's most striking landmarks- the towering city palace and lake palace.
Tues Nov 17- took a day off from the group to xplore by myself. I needed alone time and to do things my way at my pace. Had a cheeky liein and made my way out on to the streets of udaipur around 11. I ate breakfast of chai and biscuits at a nearby chai stall. sat by the roadside with the locals dirnking my chai and watching india in action, passing me by. Eventually i got up and walked though the local park. i came across 3 abandoned children sitting under a tree eating itsfruit. must not have been more than 3 yrs old. sat down, played with them for half n hour. heartwrenching to see they had no-one looking after them but it was so endearing to see them laughing and smiling. really makes one put things into perspective. these kids have nothing of material value in comparison to us and yet they smile wihout a worry in the world.
headed to city palace museum after and viewed the exhibit. was fairly well preserved and huge- took over 2hrs to fully explore. lovely views fromthe towers of the haveli overlooking the lake palace. everytime i go to a fort/palace/temple, i just cant get over the brilliance and detial of the architecture. I truly am baffled at how this splendour was created, from conception to construction- it;s awe-inspiring.
met up with the other group members eventually and spent sometime on the internet, shopping and eating far too many pastries at a German bakery. Surpisingly there's been a lot of those popping up everywhere we've been.
