udaipur- the lake city

We sat around Margao station in the late afternoon waiting for our train to Mumbai at 6:20. The main express train an hour earlier that we wanted to get was fully booked and it seemed like this later train was one that put on during high demand to cope. We found our carriage which was filthy and smelled of wee, it looked like it may have been left in a rail yard for a while with the windows open as it was in poor shape. Nevermind - not much we could do at this point. The sleeper carriages are split up into sections such that 6 people can occupy a section and there are three bunks on each side of the partition wall. Thankfully there was only one guy travelling in our section so there was enough space. We played cards for a while before chaining our bags underneath the seat and trying to get some sleep. I didn't sleep too bad but Stacey had a rough night.

Approaching Mumbai the train slowed as it cruised through the outer city, with slums lining the railway tracks and several people squatting at the side of the tracks doing their business. Good morning! We had two hours until our next connection but the train was an hour late into Mumbai CST station. We got off and looked around for the notice board to find the platform for our next train. Unable to find any mention of it, we asked at the enquiries counter and our hearts sank when we were told that our train left from Mumbai Central - a completely different station on the other side of town! With 45 minutes until it departed, we ran to get a taxi and told him to drive fast. 25 mins later we made it, found the platform and collapsed with hearts pounding. We had made it. The taxi had cost over the odds but if we missed this train, we would have been completely screwed as we had another connection in Ahmedabad and there wasn't another train until the next day. Nice of the booking agent to mention that the trains left from different places. Out here some people have been really helpful but some have almost been deliberately obstructive. Nevermind. Lesson learned and we won't make that mistake again.

The next train was cleaner and smelled less but the sun was pounding down and the carriage was hot. With a 9 hour journey between the two cities, we exhausted our water supply a couple of hours short of Ahmedabad. Thankfully Indian trains are full of people selling things: food, coffee, tea, books, toys...and water. We were saved.

We pulled into Ahmedabad at 8pm and our last connection wasn't until 11pm. The city was red hot and we were sticky and dirty from the travel so far. We bought some samosas as a snack and found somewhere to change T-shirts and clean up, which was refreshing for about 15minutes before the stifling heat made us feel as grimy as before. When we eventually got on the train, we were so tired that we just put the bunks up and fell asleep. 2 nights, three trains and 36 hours later after leaving Goa, we arrived in Udaipur, Rajasthan - our final destination, home of the lake palaces and the second largest palace complex in India.

Rather than book accommodation, we decided just to head to the hotel we'd chosen and try our luck at bartering for a room. We wandered in and ask to see a double room, were lead upstairs to a spacious room with a hot shower (the first we've seen since arriving, normally its just cold water), asked the price (350rs, a bargain anyway) and said it was too expensive. He then suggested 300rs instead so of course we accepted.

We got cleaned up and headed for the palace- an impressive structure sitting next to the lake side. The palace has been in the hands of one of the longest running dynasties in the world and the various heads of family have added to it over time. We spent a good couple of hours wandering around admiring the stonework, art and glass work: very impressive and worth the entrance fee.

That evening we had dinner on the rooftop restaurant of our hotel overlooking the lake. This seems to be a popular thing here with a many of the hotels are old period buildings and are 5 or 6 stories high. We then went out to watch 'Octapussy' - this classic Bond film was partly filmed here and many of the backpacker cafes show the film each night. We sat with a beer listening to Bond's one liners, a favourite being when he tipped a rickshaw driver with his 200,000rs casino winnings then saying “that should keep you in curry for a while”. Very PC.

The next day we took a boat ride around the two lake palaces to get a close up view. These impressive structures are now hotels with room starting from £260 a night which isn't too bad, but was still a bit out of our price range. Maybe next time.

It was around 35 degrees and the heat was starting to get to us so we went back to relax. The hotel has another terrace about half way up with lots of cane furniture and sun beds looking out over the lake and the city so we sat and watched the world go by for a while. Best of all, two tortoises live on the terrace- one abound the size of the palm of your hand and the other the size of a football. The two curious creatures kept coming over to play.

That evening we went out to a cafe recommended by the guide book. It was tiny with only two tables and was run by an couple in their sixties. We were a bit apprehensive when we went it but were glad we stayed as the food was absolutely fantastic- some of the best we've had so far.. That evening we played cards on the roof watching the palaces all lit up at night. A relaxing way to spend our last few hours before our early start the next day to catch a bus to Jodhpur.

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