The Lake(less) City
April 15 - day 14
I arrived in Udaipur last night and, after a long day, wanted to get straight to me hotel and was in no mood to explore. I had booked ahead and was expecting something a little better than what I found, as both my guide book and the fiendly hotelier in Jaisalmer, plus some other people I had met, had recommended it. It's not bad, per sey, but the room is very basic and the whole place just feels a bit lacking in character. Still though, I needed a bed and they had a bed, so I took it. My instincts were confirmed at the rooftop restaurant (of which Udaipur has many) which, although has good views, was catering to a very run of the mill backpacker crowd; my fellow diners all seemed to be fresh out of uni, drinking beer only at their hotel with either little inclination or no imagination to look elsewhere, whilst ranting about politics and boasting about the places they had "done" so far. I considered checking out as soon as I could, but when it came down to it.... well, I couldn't be bothered to shift all my stuff again! It's at least in a quiet part of town, it's cheap and I don't need to spend a lot of time here other than sleeping.
I granted myself a slight lie-in in the morning as a reward for my journey, and decided to have an easy day exploring the city, which could be very easily done on foot, taking my time in the surprisingly mild 40 degree heat. It's weird to me that so many other people I've met here think that the heat is unbearable, but there's no humidity whatsoever so to me it feels fine!
After getting my bearings I spent the early part of the afternoon at the city palace, which was a nice building and had lovely views (although the lake is mostly dried up following a poor monsoon last summer), but Jodhpur spoiled me with its audio tour and I foudn myself wanting more information than my guide book had to offer! Afterwards, I headed down to the lake for a boat ride (shorter than normal due to the low water level), along with three Swedish women with whom I got talking. Two of them were working in Delhi, and it was interesting to hear about their experiences of living and working there - very different to my experiences! It also turned out that two of them were looking to go on a day trip tomorrow to a nearby fort, as was I though I hadn't yet found anyone to split the fares with. They invited me along and I was more than happy to do so as it was refreshing to meet some people who weren't just off out on the backpacker trail!
I later went on the hunt for some yoga classes, but with no luck. As it is low season now, most places have stopped doing evening classes, and morning is just not practical what with day trips, hotel checkout times etc....my dream of yoga on a rooftop at sunset is crushed, boo hoo! What's a girl to do, but chill? I found a cafe by the lake and whiled away the evening there. It was pleasant enough, until the owner began telling me all about his hatred of Muslims...
In all, I had quite a relaxing day, which I think I had been much in need of. Udaipur has a rather ambient feel about it; so far I like it, and am looking forward to spending a couple of days here.
Day 15 - Kumbalgarh and Ranakpur
About a 2hr drive from Udaipur are the fort of Kumbalgarh and the Jain temples at Ranakpur, which together make quite a comfortable and worthwhile day trip. I was picked up at 8am (which on Indian time meant 8:40 - I think perhaps I was born here in my first life!) by Karin and Miam, and our driver for the day who seemed only to understand us when looking directly and intently at us when we spoke. We were a little wary of speaking to him at all for fear of diverting his attention from the road... As always though, the drive was one of the best parts of the day and not just for me this time - with Karin busy working in Delhi and Miam just visitjng for a week, neither had really had the chance to get out of the cities and they were enthralled by the villages we passed through. I think I enjoyed their reactions almost as much as the scenery itself!
The fort at Kumbalgarh was made up of a small palace section and surrounding fort plus wall, apparently the second largest in the world after China. Impressively, the fort was only ever conquered once when outsiders poisoned the water supply, and even them they were booted back out within two days. I especially liked the doors at the top of the winding entrance path, designed with elephants in mind. The twists and turns in the path would stop charging elephants from building up any speed, and when they reached the top the doors were laden with iron spikes at exactly theuir head level. Clever! Perhaps not so clever, but highly amusing, was the tactic to give horses wee fake trunks so that the attacking elephants would think they were babies and thus be nice to them. Aww! The palace itself was a bit on the bland side, but the walk up to the roof was completely worth it for the surrounding views. Aside from the temples clustered at the bottom and a farm or two nearby, we could see nothing but countryside and hills for miles around, literally as far as the eye could see at which point it muddied into a sunny haze.
We took a break for an unforunately bad and overpriced lunch in the middle of nowhere (captive market) on our way to Ranakpur, where we arrived an hour later. I had been led to believe that there was a mass of temples tucked away in a valley, but at first glance there didn't appear to be much to see. Once we were passed the entrance though (where Karin and Miam were asked to wear some charming pink frocks to sover their skirted legs), the trees opened out into a clearing, at the centre of which was one BIG temple! Even from the outside it exerted a certain stealth, and inside we were taken fully aback by its onateness, and the sheer scale of detail that had gone into the carvings that covered every surface except the floor. It was telling from our silence that none of us had ever seen anything like it. Before we knew it, an hour had passed and it was time to go, and I think we each left feeling slightly converted! We returned to Udaipur feeling tired but calm, and agreed that it had been a memorable day.
Day 16 - Udaipur
My last day in Udaipur has been a little up and down, but I'm the first to admit that it is partly my own fault. Staying up too late last night meant I was too lazy to get up at first light for a yoga class, and also that I was late having breakfast thus spoiling my appetite for lunch a bit when I was going on a cooking class from 11am until 2pm - I hadn't expected to be eating until 1:30 ish, but the lady had me chomping almost straightaway! The course was run by my hotel and delivered by the owners wife in their family kitchen - quaint! - and it had been recommended by some people I had met earlier, plus my guide book. I'm quickly realising though that these things don't always mean they will also be suited to me! I was disappointed as the class was more like a demonstration when I'd been really looking forward to scrubbing in, but the instructions were very good and I've come away with some very thorough notes. The food was good, but not as good as I had expected and I think some tweaking would be in order to make it more suited to the Western palate. Not that I want to de-Indianise it in any way, but I like my heart and don't think that deep-frying everything is really essential! I took away some good base tips and learned how to make masala chai, but value for money it was not.
Speaking of money, I'm noticing at this point in my trip just how much I have adapted to the currency. I'm pleased with myself that I'm not constantly converting back to GBP - a complete waste of time when the cost of living is so different - but it's on the odd occasion when I do consider how much I'm spedning that I have to laugh to myself at just how small the amounts are that I'm quibbling over. A little can go a long way here, so it's worth it (more to come later on how my stubborness prevails!), but I think what I'm saying is that it's funny jusy how quickly you can become tight fisted!
After my huge lunch I was pretty much good for nothing, and wandered around the shops for a while before giving up and crashing out on a rooftop in the sun with some cold drinks and a view of what remains of the dried-up lake. Nice as it was, I eventually (probably when my food had digested) snapped out of it and realised that sitting in a tourist trap surrounded by all the usual hippy clothes and backpacker cafes was boring the crap out of me, so I went for a walk. I picked a road leading away from the town and decided to follow it, knowing roughly where it went. I didn;t go too far though; far enough that I was away from the tourist enclave of the town centre, but not too far that I would get lost or end up somewhere unsavoury. All I really came across were streets and markets, but I was happy enough that at least these were real Indian streets and real Indian markets. There was no harrassment here as few people spoke English, so all I really got were curious stares. This little jaunt was probably the first highlight of my day. The secnd was dinner. Yes, I know, I shouldn;t have even had rtoom to contemplate food, but I had a long night of travelling ahead of me and plus I'd found an amazing little cafe the previous night. Though on the outside it looked like a proper little hole in the wall joint, insdie it was a really cute (and really tiny!) family run place, with out of this world home cooking. It was set out on two levels (i.e. two corners above and below each other), with a table in the lower one and some floor cushions laid out in the top as there wasn't space for a table. Obviosuly space was limited, meaning that on the night before I had shared the table with a very enthusiastic English couple , and tonight my only other companion was the owner's grandaughter, who I had to step over as she was sleeping on the cushions. Like I said, cute! I can't describe how yummy my banana curry was tonight, suffice to say that it was by far the best meal I have had yet in India, and I think it will be hard to beat. I bought up a stash of their speciality chocolate-coconut balls, and have them for company with me now on the train before sleepies.... YUM! Goodnight :-) x
I arrived in Udaipur last night and, after a long day, wanted to get straight to me hotel and was in no mood to explore. I had booked ahead and was expecting something a little better than what I found, as both my guide book and the fiendly hotelier in Jaisalmer, plus some other people I had met, had recommended it. It's not bad, per sey, but the room is very basic and the whole place just feels a bit lacking in character. Still though, I needed a bed and they had a bed, so I took it. My instincts were confirmed at the rooftop restaurant (of which Udaipur has many) which, although has good views, was catering to a very run of the mill backpacker crowd; my fellow diners all seemed to be fresh out of uni, drinking beer only at their hotel with either little inclination or no imagination to look elsewhere, whilst ranting about politics and boasting about the places they had "done" so far. I considered checking out as soon as I could, but when it came down to it.... well, I couldn't be bothered to shift all my stuff again! It's at least in a quiet part of town, it's cheap and I don't need to spend a lot of time here other than sleeping.
I granted myself a slight lie-in in the morning as a reward for my journey, and decided to have an easy day exploring the city, which could be very easily done on foot, taking my time in the surprisingly mild 40 degree heat. It's weird to me that so many other people I've met here think that the heat is unbearable, but there's no humidity whatsoever so to me it feels fine!
After getting my bearings I spent the early part of the afternoon at the city palace, which was a nice building and had lovely views (although the lake is mostly dried up following a poor monsoon last summer), but Jodhpur spoiled me with its audio tour and I foudn myself wanting more information than my guide book had to offer! Afterwards, I headed down to the lake for a boat ride (shorter than normal due to the low water level), along with three Swedish women with whom I got talking. Two of them were working in Delhi, and it was interesting to hear about their experiences of living and working there - very different to my experiences! It also turned out that two of them were looking to go on a day trip tomorrow to a nearby fort, as was I though I hadn't yet found anyone to split the fares with. They invited me along and I was more than happy to do so as it was refreshing to meet some people who weren't just off out on the backpacker trail!
I later went on the hunt for some yoga classes, but with no luck. As it is low season now, most places have stopped doing evening classes, and morning is just not practical what with day trips, hotel checkout times etc....my dream of yoga on a rooftop at sunset is crushed, boo hoo! What's a girl to do, but chill? I found a cafe by the lake and whiled away the evening there. It was pleasant enough, until the owner began telling me all about his hatred of Muslims...
In all, I had quite a relaxing day, which I think I had been much in need of. Udaipur has a rather ambient feel about it; so far I like it, and am looking forward to spending a couple of days here.
Day 15 - Kumbalgarh and Ranakpur
About a 2hr drive from Udaipur are the fort of Kumbalgarh and the Jain temples at Ranakpur, which together make quite a comfortable and worthwhile day trip. I was picked up at 8am (which on Indian time meant 8:40 - I think perhaps I was born here in my first life!) by Karin and Miam, and our driver for the day who seemed only to understand us when looking directly and intently at us when we spoke. We were a little wary of speaking to him at all for fear of diverting his attention from the road... As always though, the drive was one of the best parts of the day and not just for me this time - with Karin busy working in Delhi and Miam just visitjng for a week, neither had really had the chance to get out of the cities and they were enthralled by the villages we passed through. I think I enjoyed their reactions almost as much as the scenery itself!
The fort at Kumbalgarh was made up of a small palace section and surrounding fort plus wall, apparently the second largest in the world after China. Impressively, the fort was only ever conquered once when outsiders poisoned the water supply, and even them they were booted back out within two days. I especially liked the doors at the top of the winding entrance path, designed with elephants in mind. The twists and turns in the path would stop charging elephants from building up any speed, and when they reached the top the doors were laden with iron spikes at exactly theuir head level. Clever! Perhaps not so clever, but highly amusing, was the tactic to give horses wee fake trunks so that the attacking elephants would think they were babies and thus be nice to them. Aww! The palace itself was a bit on the bland side, but the walk up to the roof was completely worth it for the surrounding views. Aside from the temples clustered at the bottom and a farm or two nearby, we could see nothing but countryside and hills for miles around, literally as far as the eye could see at which point it muddied into a sunny haze.
We took a break for an unforunately bad and overpriced lunch in the middle of nowhere (captive market) on our way to Ranakpur, where we arrived an hour later. I had been led to believe that there was a mass of temples tucked away in a valley, but at first glance there didn't appear to be much to see. Once we were passed the entrance though (where Karin and Miam were asked to wear some charming pink frocks to sover their skirted legs), the trees opened out into a clearing, at the centre of which was one BIG temple! Even from the outside it exerted a certain stealth, and inside we were taken fully aback by its onateness, and the sheer scale of detail that had gone into the carvings that covered every surface except the floor. It was telling from our silence that none of us had ever seen anything like it. Before we knew it, an hour had passed and it was time to go, and I think we each left feeling slightly converted! We returned to Udaipur feeling tired but calm, and agreed that it had been a memorable day.
Day 16 - Udaipur
My last day in Udaipur has been a little up and down, but I'm the first to admit that it is partly my own fault. Staying up too late last night meant I was too lazy to get up at first light for a yoga class, and also that I was late having breakfast thus spoiling my appetite for lunch a bit when I was going on a cooking class from 11am until 2pm - I hadn't expected to be eating until 1:30 ish, but the lady had me chomping almost straightaway! The course was run by my hotel and delivered by the owners wife in their family kitchen - quaint! - and it had been recommended by some people I had met earlier, plus my guide book. I'm quickly realising though that these things don't always mean they will also be suited to me! I was disappointed as the class was more like a demonstration when I'd been really looking forward to scrubbing in, but the instructions were very good and I've come away with some very thorough notes. The food was good, but not as good as I had expected and I think some tweaking would be in order to make it more suited to the Western palate. Not that I want to de-Indianise it in any way, but I like my heart and don't think that deep-frying everything is really essential! I took away some good base tips and learned how to make masala chai, but value for money it was not.
Speaking of money, I'm noticing at this point in my trip just how much I have adapted to the currency. I'm pleased with myself that I'm not constantly converting back to GBP - a complete waste of time when the cost of living is so different - but it's on the odd occasion when I do consider how much I'm spedning that I have to laugh to myself at just how small the amounts are that I'm quibbling over. A little can go a long way here, so it's worth it (more to come later on how my stubborness prevails!), but I think what I'm saying is that it's funny jusy how quickly you can become tight fisted!
After my huge lunch I was pretty much good for nothing, and wandered around the shops for a while before giving up and crashing out on a rooftop in the sun with some cold drinks and a view of what remains of the dried-up lake. Nice as it was, I eventually (probably when my food had digested) snapped out of it and realised that sitting in a tourist trap surrounded by all the usual hippy clothes and backpacker cafes was boring the crap out of me, so I went for a walk. I picked a road leading away from the town and decided to follow it, knowing roughly where it went. I didn;t go too far though; far enough that I was away from the tourist enclave of the town centre, but not too far that I would get lost or end up somewhere unsavoury. All I really came across were streets and markets, but I was happy enough that at least these were real Indian streets and real Indian markets. There was no harrassment here as few people spoke English, so all I really got were curious stares. This little jaunt was probably the first highlight of my day. The secnd was dinner. Yes, I know, I shouldn;t have even had rtoom to contemplate food, but I had a long night of travelling ahead of me and plus I'd found an amazing little cafe the previous night. Though on the outside it looked like a proper little hole in the wall joint, insdie it was a really cute (and really tiny!) family run place, with out of this world home cooking. It was set out on two levels (i.e. two corners above and below each other), with a table in the lower one and some floor cushions laid out in the top as there wasn't space for a table. Obviosuly space was limited, meaning that on the night before I had shared the table with a very enthusiastic English couple , and tonight my only other companion was the owner's grandaughter, who I had to step over as she was sleeping on the cushions. Like I said, cute! I can't describe how yummy my banana curry was tonight, suffice to say that it was by far the best meal I have had yet in India, and I think it will be hard to beat. I bought up a stash of their speciality chocolate-coconut balls, and have them for company with me now on the train before sleepies.... YUM! Goodnight :-) x