UDAIPUR...TIL NEXT TIME!

Udaipur City... 9am approx... bidding farewell to our new Indian friends we had made on the sleeper train, we jumped in an auto-rickshaw to the Panorama Hotel... Up to the roof for a morning feast as our room was being readied and that was where we were introduced to a view that shouldn't come so cheap, but did! Palaces, havelis, hindi temples, and hotels that look like all of the above, all sitting pretty on the lakeside, how lucky we felt as we took a birds-eye glimpse at what was to come in our short visit to Udaipur.





A short walk over a somewhat bovine ingested pedestrian bridge brought us towards the colourful labyrinth of narrow streets in the small city centre area. Walls everywhere were painted with dazzlingly bright advertisements for hotels and cafes, cows sitting lazily in front of them just for the photo opportunity. We'd only been there about an hour before we'd fallen completely in love with Udaipur, and that was before we entered a single palace!



The Bagore Haveli was our first stop. I gather that a Haveli is a small palace fit for a queen but I can't imagine that a king should have too many objections to a pad like this either. Soft furnishings in rich fabrics made you want to have a lie down in each room. The rooms were connected by shady corridors with lattice windows allowing sprinkles of sunlight hit the floor. These people sure knew how to make themselves comfortable. The Haveli also displays the biggest turban in the world but we weren't allowed to try it on.



The Jagdish Temple can be found right in the centre of Udaipur and sits atop of a busy flight of steps. The colours that Rajhastan is famed for are displayed for all to see on these steps as worshippers, vendors, and beggars rub shoulders in the daily hustle and bustle.



The City Palace looks out over the lake and is now half museum and half fancy hotel. The Museum is restored in parts to it's original grandeur with many rooms displaying some of the original furniture. Coloured glass panels in bay windows overlook the city. Przem got a little over zealous with the coloured glass shots but I must admit they did turn out rather well. The Palace also has views of the famous Lake Palace Hotel, famed for it's use in the James Bond movie 'Octopussy'. The Hotel unfortunately was far to lavish for humble backpakers such as ourselves, they wouldn't even let us in for tea :(





A visit to the Maharaja's classic and vintage car collection came with a free bottle of pop so we said why not?! Rolls Royce models, one of which had also been used in 'Octopussy', Mercedes, Cadillacs and really really old Ford models sat sparkling in their respective lots. Wow this man had alot of spare cash! The bottle of pop wasn't bad either.



On our last evening in Udaipur we sat ourselves down under a mango tree in a beautiful courtyard at the Bagore Haveli and were treated to a colourful extravaganza of traditional Indian dance performances. Dances from several Indian states were performed for a awe-struck crowd finishing off with a gravity defying performance from Rhajastan where the dancer in question carried first one large clay pot, then another on top, and another and then danced on as her trusty assistant placed nine clay pots balancing on the head of the dancing lady. This amazing dancing lady was about sixty-five years of age by the way! She kindly posed for a photograph after the show, she took the pots off her head first for safety's sake.







Our days in India were running out quickly so we had to say a sad goodbye to the magical Udaipur. Personally I could have spent at least another week just lounging about in the many many pretty cafes. Amritsar here we come....