Around the World in 180 Days: September 4-7: Udaipur, India (By Jeff)

Our flight to Udiapur was a short 1 hour and a driver came to collect us upon our arrival as well. Coming into the city the monsoon weather began to come down on us and we began to get a much stronger feel of being immersed in real India. On our drive we saw cows freely walking wherever they pleased or sometimes just taking a nap right in the middle of the road. Our guesthouse was situated right in the heart of Udaipur and very close walking distance to all of the various parts of the city we chose to see. The first day we enjoyed lunch on our hotel roof top restaurant (a common theme with many of the restaurants in Udaipur) and just walked around the city. There is a beautiful lake that runs through the middle of the city and seemed to be the focal point of many local people. Even when there was no sun there were always kids swimming in it or jumping off the bridge into the water at all hours of the day. It initially crossed our minds to maybe take a swim until we got a closer look at the amount of garbage and waste that people threw in the water. We had a lovely dinner right on the water and a traditional spread similar to the one we had our first day in Mumbai and enjoyed the setting of the lake, the music, and the food for quite some time. When I asked where to go to the bathroom the server said he would show me and instead of a toilet he led me to a set of stairs that went down into the lake and said there was fine. It was at that point I decided I would most likely NEVER take a swim. It was one of the foulest odors I had ever come across and was running directly into the water that everyone used for swimming, laundry, and hopefully not drinking.

Cows on the bridge

The following day we set out to check out some of the tourist stops such as the City Palace which is the 2nd biggest palace in all of India and situated on a hill such that it can overlook the entire city. It is beautiful from a distance as we could see it from our hotel balcony and more so when you get up close. We took a guided tour for $2 each and he explained much of its history and religious significance…well worth the money. The entire palace is so detailed with tiles, artwork, glass, and other items imported from countries all over the world. At one point 3 immature kids were sneakily trying to take a picture of Liz and our guide intervened but could not properly punish them as he was on the job…a bit later he informed a guard who tracked them down, and brought them up to her to personally apologize…funny and awkward experience. As for the palace, it was amazing how intricate all the carvings on every wall were considering most of the palace was made of marble. We then checked out the elephant battle grounds and their sleeping areas which were awesome. He explained that elephants would stand opposite each other with a 4 foot wall between them, lock trunks, and play tug of war until one of the elephants was pulled into the wall when they lost. It was a cool sight and well worth the $0.60 admission fee. That evening we went to a traditional music show where all the performers dress up in elaborate clothes and perform music using various instruments and unique dances specific to Rajasthan. The show was great and we followed it up with an amazing dinner (big tourist spot) right on the lake in a secluded garden area. It was an all around great day of sightseeing, culture, and eating.

Hindu Temple

Traditional music and dance

City palace

Our last day we had to do some planning for a while as we changed our India plans and buy some flights before they got too expensive. For lunch we went to some kind of hippy Indian man’s restaurant who was a masseuse as well. The food was pretty good and then he went on to diagnose our problems by grabbing our hands and applying pressure to points that somehow correlated to nerves all over our bodies. Liz chose to get a massage from him that evening while I opted to hold out. In the meantime we went to the place we had dinner the first night since there was going to be a ceremony that afternoon honoring the water in the lake because before 2006 there was no water to be found in the lake and now it was plentiful. After her massage we went for a light dinner back at the hotel and took it easy the rest of the night since we had a long bus that next day to Ajmer…about 7 hours.