Mon 1 Dec Udaipur
Out in the cool of the morning. It is beautiful, crisp, and clear. Perhaps 16-17 C (61-63 F). For breakfast we end up at Queen Cafe again where we order poha (expertly seasoned), chana masala, paratha, raita, and milk tea.
Before 9 am we see the locals bathing in the lake.
We are heading to see the City Palace. On the way is the Jagdish Temple with spectacular sandstone carvings (or maybe these are marble carvings, since Udaipur is the center of marble for India). OK, people take photos of themselves and their friends. And they take selfies. But an incredibly crass English - speaker (American?) climbs into the small shrine of Durga and takes a selfie with the statue. Aaaargh.
We walk up the hill from Jagdish Temple to the City Palace, where we pay our entrance fee (115 R each) but forgo the camera fee. Here we start to see the more mature Brit, Euro and Asian tourists, who come in busloads or with their own guides. This museum tells the story of the proud Mewars, who ruled their kingdom continuously from CE 734. The hero here was Pratap Singh, who evaded capture as a young'un and fought bravely as a warrior etc etc. According to this museum, the Mewars were the only kingdom that was not conquered by the Mughals (muslims). They say that Jodhpur kings intermarried with the Mughuls. We learned otherwise in the Jodhpur museum. Hmmmmmm... Comparing the two museums leads one to the conclusion that there is some exaggeration here. So much for history. Anyway, lots of spectacular stuff including a ruby-red mirrored room and the Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace), a completely mirrored chamber with stained glass windows that spill reflected colored light.
For lunch, we walked over to Lotus Cafe, where we climbed up to the rooftop eatery, and ordered safed maans (lamb - but maybe goat to judge by the bones) (160 R), chicken swetta (140 R) and hakka noodles (100 R) along with a pot of lemon tea (45 R). This was our first meat in a while.
The hakka noodles were a pleasant surprise, full of veggies. Not anything like the hakka noodles we had had in Atlanta or Toronto. We ate our veggies, for sure.
After lunch we walked and walked. We were in neighborhoods to the west of the lake, away from tourists. Then we crossed the auto bridge (north of the pedestrian bridge we had been using). We saw where the fancy wedding and carriage horses are stabled.
Back on the east side of the lake, we walk north, walking out of touristy Udaipur. Eventually we are on New Bridge, perfectly positioned to see the sunset in 20 min. But if we wait to see the sunset, we will be walking back in the dark on unfamiliar streets. So we leave the lake, the bridge and all possibillity of seeing the sunset and walk to Hathi Pol, about 1/2 km north of Clock Tower, and about 1/2 km north of Tourist-stan. South to Clock Tower, which comes sooner than we imagine. Up to our hotel.
We hear the fireworks boom of the evening sound-and- light show starting somewhere over the lake, so we go to our hotel's rooftop restaurant and listen to an evening concert floating across the lake. We ordered alu palak (130 R), naan (60 R) banana lassi (90 R), and cold coffee w ice cream (120 R).
Downstairs to our room to pack, watch some TV, and then to bed.
Out in the cool of the morning. It is beautiful, crisp, and clear. Perhaps 16-17 C (61-63 F). For breakfast we end up at Queen Cafe again where we order poha (expertly seasoned), chana masala, paratha, raita, and milk tea.
Before 9 am we see the locals bathing in the lake.
We are heading to see the City Palace. On the way is the Jagdish Temple with spectacular sandstone carvings (or maybe these are marble carvings, since Udaipur is the center of marble for India). OK, people take photos of themselves and their friends. And they take selfies. But an incredibly crass English - speaker (American?) climbs into the small shrine of Durga and takes a selfie with the statue. Aaaargh.
We walk up the hill from Jagdish Temple to the City Palace, where we pay our entrance fee (115 R each) but forgo the camera fee. Here we start to see the more mature Brit, Euro and Asian tourists, who come in busloads or with their own guides. This museum tells the story of the proud Mewars, who ruled their kingdom continuously from CE 734. The hero here was Pratap Singh, who evaded capture as a young'un and fought bravely as a warrior etc etc. According to this museum, the Mewars were the only kingdom that was not conquered by the Mughals (muslims). They say that Jodhpur kings intermarried with the Mughuls. We learned otherwise in the Jodhpur museum. Hmmmmmm... Comparing the two museums leads one to the conclusion that there is some exaggeration here. So much for history. Anyway, lots of spectacular stuff including a ruby-red mirrored room and the Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace), a completely mirrored chamber with stained glass windows that spill reflected colored light.
For lunch, we walked over to Lotus Cafe, where we climbed up to the rooftop eatery, and ordered safed maans (lamb - but maybe goat to judge by the bones) (160 R), chicken swetta (140 R) and hakka noodles (100 R) along with a pot of lemon tea (45 R). This was our first meat in a while.
The hakka noodles were a pleasant surprise, full of veggies. Not anything like the hakka noodles we had had in Atlanta or Toronto. We ate our veggies, for sure.
After lunch we walked and walked. We were in neighborhoods to the west of the lake, away from tourists. Then we crossed the auto bridge (north of the pedestrian bridge we had been using). We saw where the fancy wedding and carriage horses are stabled.
Back on the east side of the lake, we walk north, walking out of touristy Udaipur. Eventually we are on New Bridge, perfectly positioned to see the sunset in 20 min. But if we wait to see the sunset, we will be walking back in the dark on unfamiliar streets. So we leave the lake, the bridge and all possibillity of seeing the sunset and walk to Hathi Pol, about 1/2 km north of Clock Tower, and about 1/2 km north of Tourist-stan. South to Clock Tower, which comes sooner than we imagine. Up to our hotel.
We hear the fireworks boom of the evening sound-and- light show starting somewhere over the lake, so we go to our hotel's rooftop restaurant and listen to an evening concert floating across the lake. We ordered alu palak (130 R), naan (60 R) banana lassi (90 R), and cold coffee w ice cream (120 R).
Downstairs to our room to pack, watch some TV, and then to bed.
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