Udaipur 2 - Emilia

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Udaipur - 30th July 2006 - Emilia

So we have now been in Udaipur four days and very happy they have been too. After our visit to the animal hospital on day 2, the next day we went to the much famed Monsoon Palace built high up on the hills above Udaipur. It looks magnificent from the town, especially when flood lit at night, but like so much of India's heritage when you get close up you realise it has been left to go to ruin. It was never actually lived in and so has always been derelict. However, the place is literally falling apart, it is very, very sad as I am sure with restoration it could be beautiful.

The afternoon was spent at the City Palace which I found to be just a confusing myriad of interconnected rooms with nothing fresco or inlay-wise that really took my breath away. The Palace at Jaipur was infinitely more beautiful, better designed and better maintained. It did not help that we didn't have a guide going around it and I had a huge attack of itchy heat and couldn't stop scratching and wincing, so I was a little preoccupied. One thing that was incredible was that they had 5th and 6th century sculptures of women in soft black rock, just the age of them was impressive. Yet, bizarrely enough these and the other slightly older ones were just exhibited totally exposed so anyone could touch them and grafitti on them as some cultured morons had. If these were English they'd be in vacuum temperate sealed cases as they should have been.

Anyway, yesterday we spent the day at the animal hospital. Much as I love animals I have never been a big animal charity person, always thinking there are more deserving human causes. However, after my visit I positively wanted to shower finance on this set up. They are a hospital for sick ownerless animals, a retirement refuge for animals that can no longer manage on their own, as well as running a spaying and neutering programme for the street dogs.

As we arrived we were greeted by the most sweet assembly of dogs you can imagine. Two of the dogs, George and Go-Girl could no longer use their back legs and waddled towards us happily, other dogs had three legs, another a birth defect which meant all her legs were bent out of shape. It was enough to soften even the hardest heart and I really did think thank God these people are here, the idea of any of them having to cope on the streets is too awful.

There are about 17,000 street dogs in Udaipur and since its inception the vets have spayed and neutered about 5,500, this not only increases the longevity of the dogs but keeps the population under control. The expected life span of an unneutered dog is 15 months. They go out in their van each afternoon and collect about 10-12 dogs. Then the next day they are all operated on. Each dog has a 'v' taken out of its ear, to act as a tag, so the charity knows they have had the op so they don't bring them in again. After recovering a couple of days the dogs are re released where they were picked up. Rob did his bit and was allowed to help with the operations doing useful things with forceps and the like. It was lovely that he got to play 'vet' for the day.

The hospital bit was very moving and I just thanked God for the members of the public who care enough to call the emergency line when they see an animal in trouble. Some dogs had mange, others had huge cuts or sores from road accidents or fights. The dogs come in with very infected wounds often infested with maggots. They are kept in kennels and treated until they are well enough to go out on the street again. I must say the kennels weren't very nice, but the dogs are fed and walked and receive medical care and that' s the main thing.

Today I did my own bit for the good. I saw an ox on the street where we have coffee every morning at Edelweiss whose horns were growing forwards. Her right horn had grown down until it was impinging on the cornea and she couldn't shut her eye. I immediately called the help line and explained the situation. I chatted with a rickshaw wallah who had also been meaning to call them and was worried about her. Anyway, I have been worrying all day that they wouldn't come or that they'd come and not be able to find her because she'd have wandered off. Happily, I just went to the street where she ambles around and saw the rickshaw driver, Sunny, who said that the ambulance came and took her to a quiet road and cut her horns right down. I cannot tell you how relieved I am. I actually wanted to stay an extra day in Udaipur so I could make sure she was taken care of, if we had to leave before they got to her then I took Sunny's number so I could phone him and make sure he kept chasing them to come. I was very, very concerned about the poor cow.

It has been a very animal-loving time in Udaipur. Apart from the hospital there is a bitch outside our hotel who has just given birth to a litter of 6 puppies who are about a month old. They are there all day everyday while they get big enough to go out further a field. The mother comes each day to feed them. When they are not suckling they lie sleeping in a heap of small furry bodies. They are very sweet and it is awful that no one is giving them homes but they only have a life on the street to look forward to. When I think of princess Hippo........oh well.

Udaipur is famous, most recently, principally for its starring role in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy. In it the baddie lives in the Monsoon Palace. As a result of this, almost every hotel here has signs up boasting that it will be showing 'Octopussy movie tonight at 7.30pm'. It is quite awesome to think that these hotels have been showing the video everynight for the past 17 years. Anyway last night, Rob and I did the joining in thing and went to see it. We sat high on a terrace overlooking Udaipur and watched, gripped. It is amazing how an old James Bond can seem like edge of your seat block buster stuff when it's the only film available in the city and you are watching it in a romantic outdoor setting. As with all James Bond's I had absolutely no clue what was going on only that there were goodies (JB), baddies and a woman in the middle of it all. As Rob said you don't need to know anything else to enjoy a James Bond. Just as well really.

Anyway we leave the day after tomorrow. Tonight we are going for our highlight.....dinner at the Lake Palace, now a hotel which is situated in the middle of Lake Pichola and only accessible by boat. It better be good as they are charging enough, but to be honest I think the atmosphere will be enough in itself. It is Rob's treat to me, bless.

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