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Published: August 17th 2011
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Day 1 - Still aboard the bus, we woke around 6am to the sight of spectacular lush green mountain scenery. Arriving in Udaipur (the chosen set for the bond film Octopussy), we jumped off the bus and into a rickshaw where we were taken by our driver to the lovely hotel Lakeshore. After checking out the room which we were more than happy with (a spacious room ornately decorated with a balconette window perfect for yoga practice), we headed to the rooftop restaurant for coffee and breakfast which was overlooking the river with locals bathing and washing in the ghats. After breakfast we then headed across the river and wandered around the town indulging in a spot of retail therapy, picking up some great bargains and also having some items of clothing tailored to fit. The rest of the day was spent familiarising ourselves with the old city and getting lost in the countless bazaars. Tired from the days activities we headed to a rooftop restaurant for some delicious food, bottled beer and magnificent views across the lake. It was then back to the hotel where we laid about on comfy floor cushions drinking chai and watching the sunset. Once again
feeling hungry, it was time for another delicious curry. Curious about the food preparation and ingredients, we were also invited into the kitchen for some tips and tasting. Exhausted from the huge meal it was off to bed to prepare for the next days exploration.
Day 2 - Waking from our slumber to discover that ants had feasted on hayley's feet during the night, we headed to the rooftop for coffee and breakfast before heading out to explore the city palace and museum which turned out to be really long and quite tiring. Leaving the palace grounds, we went in search of an ATM, along the way coming across a bollywood movie being shot in the middle of the street
- 'surreal but nice', although the fake blood was pretty unconvincing to say the least, not to mention the actor could not keep a straight face given such a serious role to play! We then headed to an internet cafe to publish our first blog entry of the trip .... this didn't go too well as the cafe did not appear to be the fastest in town (thanks again lonely planet!). After the unsuccessful blog session, we headed to
the highest rooftop restaurant in town where we snapped some amazing sunset shots and ate more delicious food. Leaving the restaurant we enquired about the price of a room in the building. Discovering it was half the price of our current lodgings we decided to return the next morning. It was then back to hotel lakeshore for tea and toast before bed.
Day 3 - Waking around 8:30am we packed up our belongings, checked out and headed for Hotel Lakeview, our new base to be. Opening the room windows, we were delighted to discover the temple was located just metres away. We were also greeted by the sight of playful monkeys, effortlessly swinging and leaping between the trees, munching on fruit, not to mention teasing and chasing the birds in the treetops. After checking in we climbed to the roof for coffee and breakfast before heading to another internet cafe for a second, more successful attempt at the blog. We then went to the bar opposite where we were able to pick up free wifi as we drank beer from coffee mugs (in an attempt to conceal the illegal alchohol). As dinnertime peaked we made our way to the
lotus cafe where we indulged in a delightful chicken cury dinner and game of connect 4 (oh the joy of childhood games!). Following dinner we headed back to our rooftop for some beer and moon bathing before heading to bed.
Day 4 - After the usual breakfast of coffee and eggs, we headed inside the Jagdish temple ... the temple was small but beautifully carved with figures of horses, elephants and humans protruding from the outer walls, along with hundreds of chipmunks scurrying about the temple grounds. Following the temple, we headed to the lakeside ghats where we observed the locals going about washing clothes, selling goods and playing traditional music on odd-looking/sounding instruments. We then headed inside the much smaller lakeside museum which proved to be much more interesting, with unusual local art, world famous monuments sculpted from polystyrene, along with multiple turbans that were freely available to try on ... needless to say we jumped at the opportunity! Feeling peckish we headed to the french bakery to indulge in yet more ginger tea and omelettes. We then returned to the internet cafe for another spot of blogging and a skype phone call home. As hours passed and
dinner time loomed we found ourselves at the ever so popular Hotel Udar Newas. Heading up the roof we were immediately greeted by another backpacking couple Andy and Gill who invited us to come and join them at their table. The remainder of the night was then spent drinking kingfisher beer, swapping travel strories and laughing the night away, not to mention indulging in the delicious dish tomato stuffed with cheese, potatoes and seasonal veg. Around 12pm feeling extremely tired, we swapped contact details, said our goodbyes and headed for bed.
Day 5 - Deciding it was finally time to leave this beautiful city, we packed up, checked out and headed to our favourite internet cafe to purchase our bus tickets to Johdpur. We then took a rickshaw to the local bus station to catch our 1:30pm bus which was to be a 7hour journey. We soon discovered the sleeping compartment was at the very back of the bus which combined with the terrible roads was to make for a very uncomfortable journey. Neverthless the view out of the window was very comforting as we drove out of the hills and into the desert witnessing the sun set over
the dunes.
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