In the sets of Octopussy

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They say Udaipur is the most romantic city in India. Well, romantics is an illusion that's only in your mind, says Dalai Lama. Then again, he is a monk who has been living in celibacy for his whole life. 😊 No matter what, Udaipur is a very pleasant and beautiful city with many lakeside palaces and mansions. The city palace, the lake palace and the monsoon palace all are quite unique and beautiful places. Being by a lake is all about Udaipur, all the important places and most of the restaurants are by the lake and that's where all the tourists are.

The Bond movie Octopussy was partly filmed here and no one allows you to forget that. They show Octopussy in most of the restaurants every night. It's not a bad movie but enough is enough.

We stayed in Udaipur for four days. Visited the city palace and monsoon palace, did some shopping, had meals by the lake and suffered from food poisoning. Udaipur is known for its miniature paintings and skilled wood carvings. There are lots of shops selling all sort of handicrafts for tourists. Or you could take a miniature painting course and do it yourself, though not with our skills 😊 It takes 10 years from a talented painter to learn all the techniques.

Go to India and it will change your life

That's what some people say. We didn't believe it so we came here to see it out. It certainly hasn't changed our lives but it sure has given us some perspective on life. Most of the people in India are poor, in government jobs the monthly salaries start from 5000 rupies (100 euros) and those are considered well paid and desired jobs. Most of the people earn much less than that. Some people have to work 12-14 hours a day 7 days a week. Vacation is a luxury that most of the people can't afford. And still the people are happy with their lives.

You see homeless people sleeping by the roads everywhere. You see people born with a handicap. So many people all around you struggling to survive the day to day life, but still they do somehow. You try to understand that all, but still you don't. India is a world of its own that you have to see for yourself.

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Photos

Breakfast by the lake
The monsoon palace can be seen on top of a hill in the background

Enjoying the view and drinks
Nice and romantic evening in the Rainbow restaurant. The next day we had a romantic food poisoning.