Jaipur to Delhi

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Jaipur
The pink city. The Amber Palace and Fort are both high in the hills. The palace was very busy with lots of painted Elephants in the courtyard. One of the security officers showed us to some of the more remote parts of the palace which given the warren of tunnels and passageways we would not have found on our own, including the balcony reserved for Delegates and Nobles (now home to some rather large monkeys). The guy did not ask for money for his services but we thought that this rare kindness should be rewarded. The Amber fort next to the palace is very barren but does have some lovely views of the valley and boasts the largest cannon in the world. The Palace of Winds is also very beautiful to look at from the outside although they were doing some maintenance as we have come to India in the low season. The City Palace and Observatory are quite bland compared to the other sites which are interesting to see. That evening we were fortunate to see a wedding procession outside of the hotel. Jaipur is famous for it’s three day expensive weddings. There was a brass band with family and friends dancing in a circle surrounded by people holding lights in the shape of wedding cakes. The groom was dressed in white on a decorated horse. It was great to see. All topped by a feast of Indian food from room service.

Pushkar
Green Park Resort. We stopped here to break up the drive to Udaipur. A beautiful hotel set in a small village with an outdoor pool-very much appreciate in the Rajastani heat. The village is known for its numerous Temples and Ghats surrounding the lake which was lovely and tranquil. The mountainous views are a perfect setting for relaxation, and the hospitality was very good.

Udaipur
Set for Bond film Octopussy
The first hotel they showed us was a building site and so we demanded they find us an alternative hotel. We settled on the hotel Lake Pichola with a four poster bed- a huge window seat with mattress and cushions and a lovely view across the lake- home of the Lake Palace. That evening we dinned in our room watching people swimming in the lake and watching hundreds of huge Bats as they came out to feast on the bugs that were hovering above the lake. The City Palace was a real treasure and thoroughly enjoyable. The museum is the best that we have seen and gives you a real sense of how they once lived. Plus you also gat the best views of the Lake Palace from here, so worth the extra money to take your camera with you. Be warned however that finding your way back out through the maze of streets may take a few attempts especially when there are hundreds of people outside celebrating some festival. We also visited some gardens and the Indian equivalent of the Black Country museum - a little contrived though.

Andy unfortunately did succumb to Delhi Belly (in a quite spectacular way) and was sick for several days so we broke up our journey back to Delhi with another night in Jaipur.

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