Blogs from Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, Asia - page 2

After Jaipur, I got up at the crack of dawn again (well before the dawn really, if was still dark out!) And took my very first Uber to the train station. This was alot smaller than Delhi but somehow much harder to navigate. After 20 mins of searching, I finally found my train hidden awayl on a platform far down the tracks from the main station. How bizarre! Thinking it was another 5ish hours journey, I was a little shocked to realise it was actually over 7! But the 7 hours flew by: there was no food or chai on this journey but there were lots of green grassland, hills and people tending to the land by hand. Back-breaking work in this heat I imagine! I arrived in Udaipur in the early afternoon and took a ... read more

Woolly says – We had arrived in Udaipur to lovely twinkly lights and a Harry Potter Themed hostel, an excellent start in my book. Waking fully refreshed and having taken in the views from the roof top terrace at our accommodation, before hunting down some breakfast I was ready for anything. Udaipur is also known as the "City of Lakes," and is in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the historic capital of the kingdom of Mewar and was founded in 1553 by Maharana Udai Singh of the Sisodia clan of Rajput, when he shifted his capital from the city of Chittorgarh to Udaipur, after Chittorgarh was besieged by Akbar. It remained as the capital city until 1818 when it became a British princely state before the Mewar province became a part of Rajasthan when ... read more

We were up early for a 6am start on our walk up the 753 steps to the top of Elephant Rock, unfortunately someone forgot to tell our guide. One of the waiters was co-opted and off we went, with him in this lovely white uniform and 9m of turban. Thanks to the quick pace he set, we got to the top in time to watch the sunrise. Rajasthan is surprisingly green and has quite a few lakes, albeit many are man made. The view was stunning and the light was beautiful. There is a large elephant statue on the top of the hill and a small temple. While the guide was showing me the temple, the local holy man came chanting up the hill which was rather magical - or mystical. We had a cup of ... read more

The train gently rocks us all the way to Udaipur sending the pair of us to sleep, the only disturbance in the night was the very occasional scream of the little boy sleeping opposite us. He would wake with a start and let out a loud high pitched wail, being disorientated and not knowing where he was. Shenton says every time the boy did this, he awoke with a frightening start, thinking the world was coming to an end. Also we both had strange dreams during the night, the journey was a journey of exact opposites, bliss and disturbance, this we realise seems to be a recurring theme for the two of us here in India.We arrive safe and sound at Udaipur, on time at just after 7am. We picked the hotel in Udaipur for its ... read more

Geo: 24.5823, 73.6882We had another rough entry into India...remember our lost luggage back in December? It was a marathon trip from Phuket to Udaipur - 45 hours of travel. Why? We bought discount tickets resulting in a trip spanning 19 hours with 4 different flights. Then we were delayed on the 3rd flight so missed a connection and had to wait 24 hours until the same flight the next day. After a night in a scuzzy New Delhi hotel, we were exhausted once we finally arrived in Udaipur. My Post Concussion Syndrome symptoms were flared up with my head buzzing like a radioactive ball. The only thing that fixes it is rest and I shouldn't have read but intermittent reading was my emotional cure. There is nothing better than escaping into a good book (The Nightingale ... read more