Rajasthan - Jodhpur to Udaipur

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After our 6 day camel trek brought us to Jodhpur. It was nice to be back in civilisation. Jodhpur, with it's fantastic Fort. The so-called 'Blue City'. I really enjoyed it here although we stayed in four different rooms on our four separate nights there (dogs, loud prayers) it is a great city and certainly puts Jaipur to the sword in terms of general friendliness and ambiance. We did some shopping here, wandered the streets, tried to get a look at Sean Bean who was filming an episode of Sharpe in the Fort and ate some great omlettes. What more can you ask for?

After Jodhpur we passed through the wonderfully carved Jain Temple at Ranakpur and spent a great Christmas in romantic Udaipur. With it's Lake Palace, cultural programmes and Octopussy links (it was the first film I ever saw in the cinema!) there was plenty to do and see. We were extremely lucky that Rajasthan had just enjoyed a good monsoon, and after several years of drought which had seen Lake Pichola empty, the Lake Palcae was surrounded by water once again. We were also fortunate that there was a huge festival of dance at the Shilpgram Craft Village (it sounds awful but isn't) where we managed to see famous artisans from all over India dancing, doing acrobatics, puppetry and playing wonderful music. And no camel noises to speak of anywhere! My memory of Udaipur will always incorporate the awful fear generated by the Christmas fireworks display organised by our hotel. After one injury and two people with burns to their clothing we decided to scarper. We found out later that this was normal and that they would often fire fireworks at friends in neighbouring hotels. Oh, the cameraderie!

Next stop Gujurat. Ta Ta Rajasthan!

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Comments

[The Travel Camel]

A beautiful photo - love the use of light and shade.