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Published: April 19th 2008
The city made famous as the backdrop of the James Bond movie,
"Octopussy" was our next stop and proved to be one of our favourites in India. A mxture of palaces, lakes, ghats and a warren of streets, make this a magical place to explore. It's a city that's made a special effort to suit its well supplied tourist count with lovely little haveli-style accommodation, excellent cuisine, a variety of organised things to do and see and attempts to keep the place clean and tidy. It's also free of the usual hassles found in other major tourist traps in India; shop owners are not permitted to flog themselves on the streets, autorickshaws are not allowed to park on every corner and the streets are free of litter - it's a real breath of fresh air. Not that these things ruin the Indian experience - far from it - that's all part of the Indian experience but it's nice to have a change when you've been travelling through the place for nearly three months.
We decided to put our bags down for a few days during the Holi festival period and so had a go at some authentic North Indian cooking
under the supervision and with the inspiration of a local chef, at
"The Spice Box". We also tried our hand at a bit of miniature painting, trying to emulate the great works we'd seen adorning many of the Rajasthan palaces we'd visited and the various efforts of local artists being sold in the bazaars. We had a tour of the great city Palace with a fantastic guide and we also got out onto the lake in a
"shikara" boat for a serene round trip via the Lake Palace. The Lake named Pichola, dominates the city and it's hard to imagine the scene when it dries up like it has many times in the past for long periods - it wouldn't be the same ...And when in Udaipur it is ubiquitous to watch Octopussy played on a big TV atop one of the many restaurants in the city. It's hard to avoid, it plays everywhere, every night!
With home and the end of the trip drawing nearer, our thoughts were switching to what we'd do when we returned. With the prospect of getting jobs and working again (and weddings to attend) we decided to take the opportunity to get ourselves
Miniature Painting
T's Peacock come on nicelyfitted with a couple of made to measure suits for our return. We spent a few sessions being measured, trying on intermediate attempts and getting adjustments made, before we left satisfied with our wonderful creations. Happy that come interviews we'll look the part, now just the small matter of talking the talk!
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Arvind
non-member comment
The cutest cuople!!
Hi, I saw pics of your blog. I found the cutest couple on earth. Also the pics are tooooooo good. May you live happily and with all love all your life.