Jodhpur to Udaipur

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On the way to Udaipur we had a rest day at Ranakpur as the journey was too long for one day and guess what there is to see in Ranakpur - you guessed it - temples. I feel bad saying it but we are definitely getting templed out which is a shame as each one is very beautiful and different. Once again in true backpacker style the hotel at Ranakpur was very nice, I could definitely get used to room service and swimming pools that’s for sure.
For the James Bond fans out there Udaipur is where the movie Octopussy was filmed all those years ago when sky blue safari suits were in fashion - go on Roger.
The most popular tourist attractions are of course the beautiful lake palace and the city palace - as well as the odd temple of course… The lake palace looks amazing, apparently for the last 3 years or so the lake has been dry and you were able to walk out to the lake but fortunately for us this year the rains fell and we were able to take a boat tour around the lake - which was about as close as we were going to get to it - we did try and make dinner reservations but surprise surprise it was fully booked - I'm sure James Bond never had this trouble…
As for our next hotel we were once again pretty spoilt and after a quick word we were moved from a normal room with no view to a room on the top floor with amazing views of the lake and a massive balcony - I'm not sure it gets much better…
Also as Udaipur is a pretty big tourist attraction there is a lot of noise and traffic (including elephants), not to mention quite a few shops which Suzanne found to be most enjoyable. Another tourist attraction is the botanical gardens although I have to say I think we were both a little disappointed so much so that Suzanne tried to hide amongst some pesky kids - and she nearly got away with it.
Overall we were impressed with Udaipur and I think we both would have liked to spend longer there but unfortunately there is still so much more to see on this roller coaster of a trip - off we go to Pushkar

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