India (5): Udaipur

Udaipur: Jan. 7-9, 2009
My train from Delhi to Udaipur was scheduled to be 12 hours and ended up being 18. But that just meant more sleep for me. I was able to sleep better on this train because I didn’t have to worry about missing my stop. Udaipur was the final stop. I shared my compartment with a sweet, older Indian couple that spoke elegant English. Coincidentally, they had even been to San Diego to visit their daughter who was living there. They kindly shared a few cookies with me.

The train pulled into to Udaipur at 1:00pm, instead of 7:00am as scheduled, cutting into my already limited time there. My hotel had sent an auto-rickshaw and I rode into town. Udaipur is in the state of Rajasthan and known as a beautiful desert region of India. But my ride to the hotel seemed less desert-like and more city-like. After Delhi, I was looking for a change but... oh well. We arrived in town driving through narrow streets and I checked in. My room was so lovely. I stayed at the Jheel Guest House for 540Rs ($11) a night. I had to climb up a very narrow, twisty, steep staircase to the 4th floor. My dreamy room had 3 sides of windows and was loaded with color: blue curtains, orange chairs, pink and orange bed sheets, yellow doors, green window frames, blue and pink flowers painted as a border… I could have just lived in the room the whole time.

I showered and went across the street to the rooftop restaurant. The owner of the hotel and the kitchen help were all very friendly. The main cook even taught me how to write my name in Hindi. The hotel was right on the edge of a large lake, Lake Pichola. Due to little rain, the lake was very low and murky near the hotel but further out it looked pretty and peaceful. In the middle of the lake is a very fancy all white hotel, the Lake Palace Hotel. It was built as a royal summer palace in 1754 by Maharaja Jagat Sing II. It lies on Jagniwas Island but completely covers the land giving the illusion of floating. It is gorgeous and about $600 a night! It was featured in the James Bond film, Octopussy. Numerous hotels around town show Octopussy every night at 7:00pm.

After lunch, I walked around town. I stopped at an amazing temple, Shree Jagdish Temple, and stumbled into a room full of women singing and dancing and drumming in their rainbow of saris. It was great. The entire temple, built in 1651, was intricately carved from top to bottom with elephants and women. There were a few holy men hanging out under a large carved elephant. I stopped in an art studio to watch them creating their works. While walking around, I passed a small herd of burros. I love burros. They are so charming. All the buildings were at least three stories in an assortment of pastel colors and covered in paintings of elephants and camels and maharajahs.At dinner that evening, the Lake Palace was lit up with a magical glow. It was brilliant. I met another solo woman traveller from Germany. She was 60 and traveling for 1 month around India alone. She hadn’t been to India in 36 years and commented on how much things had changed.I slept wonderfully that night and awoke to soft sunlight peeking through the curtains and a chant or morning prayer being broadcast on a loudspeaker. After showering and eating, I checked out a maharajah's house (Bagore Ki Haveli) that had been restored with furniture and decorations of that period. It was built by a former prime minister in the 1700's with 138 rooms. There were many sculptures, paintings, examples of the dress, musical instruments, etc. A display featuring the world's largest turban was quite an attraction. There was even a room filled with famous sites and other curiosities (shrunken down to about 6 feet) carved from white marble. Various shrines were on display. Upon leaving, I noticed the streets were blocked off and crowds were gathering. Apparently that night there was going to be a big Muslim festival. Due to restricted traffic, I had to walk about a mile before I could find a tuk-tuk for a ride to Shilpgram, about 30 minutes away. It is a fake village setup for tourists but I still liked it anyway. There were dancers and musicians and artists showing off there wares. Click on the links to see two videos of dances: 1) Flute Dance and 2) Skirt DanceA decorated camel was available for rides. There were also numerous huts built in various styles traditional in different regions of India. The interiors were also decorated and furnished with the particulars of the specific region. While wandering around, three children covered in dirt asked if they could have my banana in exchange for a photo. I consented and wished I had more to offer them.On the ride back to town, we passed a beautiful lake, rolling hills, and women in bright saris carry bundles of sticks on their heads. Back in town the people were preparing for the evening’s festival. In the meantime, I grabbed some lunch and headed over to tour the City Palace. (Unfortunately, just as I entered, I discovered my camera battery had died and I had left the other one charging in my hotel room so I had to walk all the way back and retrieve it.) The City Palace is a huge, marvelous structure with a maze of hallways, twisty narrow staircases, and tiny doorways leading to one fabulous room after another and surrounding spacious courtyards. Started around 1600 by Maharajah Udai Singh II, the city's founder, it is the largest palace in Rajasthan. Apparently fascinated with facial hair, numerous photos and paintings document his various moustache styles and wacky beard that he parted in the middle and brushed the hair upward on each side. The rooms were fabulous and gaudy. There were rooms with overwhelming paint jobs suffocating all walls and ceilings and other rooms with floor to ceiling colorful mirrored tiles. Many of the walkways also had breathtaking views of the city and lake. Very impressive.After exploring the palace, I hopped on a boat for a ride around the lake. The setting sun helped add to the beauty of the boat ride. We passed the huge havelis with their tiny windows and circled the Lake Palace Hotel in all its grandeur. On the boat I sat next an entertaining 8-year-old boy from Australia who happened to be staying at the Lake Palace with his parents. He asked how many stars my hotel was (I guessed 2) and informed me that his was 5-stars and very different from my apparent hovel. We stopped off at another island, Jagmandir Island, but, to my dismay, you could not actually explore the island. The boat lets you off at the base of an expensive open-air restaurant and that’s all you get to see. The rest of the island is private. What a scam. Back in town, the Muslim festival was in full swing. There were young men drumming and shouting chants, crowds of women in Technicolor saris, men carrying 8-foot-tall paper structures covered in glittery tinsel. The streets were packed. A few processions marched through the crowds chanting and drumming and, upon reaching the lake, tossed the ‘floats’ into the lake (which I was later informed just stay in the lake). I could hear the chants all through dinner and while heading to bed. Click on the link to see shots from the festival: Festival in Udaipur.The next morning, I ate breakfast and relaxed awhile on the rooftop restaurant. I read a bit, checked my email, and met a nice Finnish couple on break from medical school. Later I checked out and shared a taxi with the German woman to the airport. Arriving at the airport at 12:40pm, I discovered my flight was delayed. It didn’t end up leaving until about 4:00pm. Browse all photos from Udaipur by clicking on this link: Udaipur Photo Album.

I was flying to Cochin in the tropical southern state of Kerala for the last stop of my India journey.