Blogs from Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, Asia
May 14th 2012
Namaste! I am writing this while on the train to Udaipur from Delhi. The ride will last twelve hours so I figured I should make the most of this opportunity to write a blog post before I spend the next two days getting to know my new hometown. From the hotel, our driver helped us find the right platform and train car. We came prepared with a dinner packed by the hotel and I loaded my bag with ‘western’ snacks from a gas station (Lays sour cream and onion chips, sour skittles, skittles, Gatorade, and two kinds of Gobstoppers). We are riding in second class, which means there are two beds on each wall, three sets of beds per compartment and my favorite part; air conditioning! There are no rats thank god. The interns who went ... read more
March 27th 2012
Hello again! ok, Jodhpur- yes like the trousers, no I didn't buy any. Actually I didnt do alot in Jodhpur, met up with Natalie, walked around the town and went to the impressive-looking fort. There are alot of forts in this region. I didnt feel too well and to be honest didn't have the usual interest i would when looking around a place. Started to perk up late afternoon though and ended up going to a resturant/bar with Natalie and a couple of guys from the Jaisalmer safari. I didnt drink (feeling sick at this point) but did end up getting up for a dance. Fun times. They even played the Macarena :-s. The following day was tiring- a 6 1/2 hour bus journey to Udaipur. I finally really actually needed my shewee! And the bus ... read more
March 23rd 2012
Friday 23 March 2012. Our guide today was called Shurveer and he proudly told us that he was from the Warrior Caste and that in Hindi his name meant "Brave Loins" (yes loins not lions!). M was quite impressed with the name. We still had Mr Barun our driver - and will do until Agra. Our first stop was Jagdish Temple (yes another temple!). This temple is one of Udaipur's most popular shrines. It was built in 1652 and is dedicated to Lord Jagannath (one of the Vishnu manifestations). The outer walls and towering shikhara (sort of columns attached to the outside of the building) are heavily carved with figures and dancing nymphs. The sanctuary contains a black stone image of Jagannath which was covered in flowers. Each corner of the temple also contained a shrine ... read more
March 22nd 2012
Thursday 22 March 2012. We were collected at 9.30 am and taken to the domestic terminal of Mumbai Airport. On the way we passed the biggest slum in the world and made famous by the movie Slumdog Millionaire. The slums line the perimeter of the airport and stretch away into the distance as far as the eye can see. Checkin at Air India was no problem. Security was also no problem but more tight than even the UK. No liquids allowed (to be expectetd) but there were separate security queues for women and men. The women's queue was hidden behind a screen. The women's queue moved much faster than the men as Indian society is still very much male dominated and less women were travelling. Everything was scanned and then everyone had to stand on a ... read more
March 14th 2012
08.00 hours Monday 12 March After a long day yesterday, today is just chill and rest around Udaipur before I leave very early tomorrow morning. I go to the travel man who booked my car and sort my train tickets for tomorrow. The first train will take from Udaipur to Chittorgarh. In the afternoon I will take another train To Bundi. Chittorgarh is 2.5 hours away and Bundi is 3 hours from Chittorgarh. With a big fort to see in Chittorgarh it will be a long day. I decide to get some stamps and my rough guide tells me there is a post office not far down the road by the lake. I wander up and down the road but cannot find the place. I bump into Ray Mears who tells me he’s been looking for ... read more
March 12th 2012
22:00 Hours Friday March 09 The bus drops me off in Udaipur, but who knows where, not me. Again I throw my trust to at a rick driver who whizzes through the night to find the Kesar Palace hotel. He stops and parks the rick and tells me to get out. I take my bags and follow him down the dusty and fume filled street. We turn right up a smelly alleyway, I stop and check, there is a hotel sign painted on the wall, we are in the right place. Up the alleyway past a couple of other guesthouses and into the Kesar. I pay the driver 70 rups - a quid good business. The manager takes me up to room 302 on the third floor to show me the room and get my approval. ... read more
March 12th 2012
08.00 Hours Saturday 10 March After a disturbed nights sleep through barking dogs, loud music and the ultra loud call to prayer from the Jagdish temple just up the road it’s out into the streets of Udaipur . But not after a further one hour shower to remove some of the Holi colour. Then a head and face shave. It’s theCityPalacetour first after some snaps down near LakePicholaand of course a shot of The Lake Palace (of Octopussy fame). The City Palace tour is a bit hectic as the place is packed with Indians as they are still on holiday from Holi, so it is a very slow going as at every turn there are queues of what seems like 50/60 people waiting. It takes 2.5 hours to get round and as I exit the Palace ... read more
March 9th 2012
Udaipur wurde uns von vielen Travellern, die wir auf dem Weg getroffen haben als schönste Stadt ihrer Tour angepriesen, entsprechend hoch sind die Erwartungen als wir nach 6 Stunden Fahrt im- hatte ich es schon erwähnt immernoch unklimatisierten- Auto dort gegen 20 Uhr ankommen. Nach der Erfahrung in Pushkar, dort hatten wir unser Zimmer mit allerlei Getier (Riesenspinnen, Riesen-Schaben, Eidechsen und am unangenehmsten: etwas kleines springendes- ein Floh???) geteilt, hatten wir beschlossen wieder in ein etwas teuereres Hotel zu investieren. Also checken wir im Pichola Haveli direkt in der Altstadt am wunderschönen Pichola See und dem Gantaur Ghat ein. Hier haben wir ein riesen Zimmer, ein Dachterrassenrestaurant und super Service sowie zum ersten Mal in Indien: Frühstück inklusive. Rundum happy. Das Abendessen auf der Dachterrasse unseres Haveli verspricht schon einiges, denn die... read more
March 5th 2012
The young Indian sitting opposite me, smartly dressed in suit and tie, was reading The Bible. The older man to my right, with very dark skin and stubble to match, was dressed in a grubby t-shirt and jeans and was noisily sipping a Costa Coffee latte. The woman to my left, dressed all in black, her eyes the only thing visible, was speaking sternly to a little boy in a bright yellow, quilted jacket who was squatting cross-legged at her feet. Just a few metres away was a glittering array of quality stores. Milling around this ultra-modern, air-conditioned arena were hundreds of people of every shape, size and nationality. We were all in the somewhat incongruous surroundings of the new Indira Gandhi Airport at Delhi. I’d walked to this comfortable seating area along mile after mile ... read more
February 22nd 2012
22 février 2012, Bundi et Udaipur On a quitté la brousse en début d’après-midi, en train en direction de Kota, d’où nous avons pris un bus local pour Bundi. Dans le train, nous étions aux premières loges pour voir la campagne défiler, mais qui à ce temps-ci de l’année est plutôt sèche. Les habitations sont pour la majorité en murs de terre avec un toit de paille, de forme carrée ou circulaire. Les gens sont si maigres… Semblerait-il que 75% de la population indienne qui vit sous le seuil de la pauvreté (soit moins de 1$ par jour) vit en campagne. Je n’ai pas de misère à le croire… Arrivés à Kota, on s’entend avec un chauffeur de Rick-Shaw pour qu’il nous amène à la gare de bus pour 40 roupies. Il prend un ami en ... read more
