India Day 14 - Udaipur

The sun was shining, breakfast was good, and we had a lot planned for today. At 8:30 after an ATM stop, we headed to the City Palace. This one was quite a bit more extensive than the one in Jaipur and KV left us with a very capable and easy-on-the-eye guide ;-)

These 2 fellows have been our driver and navigator since we left Delhi

There were wonderful views of one of the lakes from many vantage points in the palace. The island that is in the middle of the lake has a hotel and it only costs $1,000 USD to stay there for the night.

There was a room with a glass ceiling and floors, and much colourful glass and mirrors on the walls.

Everywhere you looked there were stunning arches, doorways, pillars, walls, and paintings - an artist's delight!

The outside of the palace is spectacular as well.

The admission costs go towards ongoing restoration work.

I wouldn't be too keen on climbing this scaffolding!

It was an extra 250 rupees for a camera fee but this time it was worth it.

It was very hot and sunny and when we stood in the outdoor courtyards throughout the palace, I tried to find shade. We went at a steady pace and I was glad when we went for lunch. There is a restaurant on the palace grounds and it was nicely shaded. Prices were high and I wasn't all that hungry so I ordered a lime soda, humus and pita bread followed by a dish of chocolate ice cream.

With taxes, it was 850 rupees. That is twice the cost that many of my meals have been here in India. C'est la vie!

Once outside the palace complex, we walked to Jagdish Temple where they were worshipping? I would have loved to take a video of the singing, dancing and colourful outfits but there were no photos allowed inside. The outside was like the temples of Kujaraho with hundreds of detailed carvings.

After that, we were given time in a long block of shops. Earlier, I had seen quite a few that sold nothing but journals and I was most anxious to have a better look. I found another small one for me and some for gifts. And I found a Coke Zero for only 30 rupees!

Then KV led us to another shop for a miniature painting demonstration. This area is known for amazing miniature art done on silk, wood, paper and camel bone. The camel bone is actually ground up into a powder then they add something (I forget what) to make it into a flattened piece. When you hold it up to the light, it is translucent. They used to paint on elephant ivory but that is now illegal.

The paint is made from powdered malachite, charcoal, conch shells and even cow urine. The heavier paint brush is made from camel eyelashes; the thinner brush is from the hairs of a squirrel's tail.

One of the artists offered to paint a picture on our fingernail. It only took about a minute and I got a beautiful peacock. The detail is quite amazing! I only wish it would last a very long time.

Another group member wanted to go back to the shopping area after that so we set off together browsing in this shop and that. She knew of a place where she thought I could get a miniature for a great price, and indeed she scored an amazing deal on a lovely little peacock. I wouldn't have purchased one otherwise so I was very happy.

After looking at a few more shops we grabbed a tuk-tuk back to the hotel. It had cooled off considerably and I enjoyed sitting on my patio with my iPad recording the events of the day.

At 5 it was time to go, in tuk-tuks once again, to the edge of Lake Pichola for a boat ride. It was supposed to be a sunset cruise but the weather didn't cooperate. It was a pleasant and serene way to spend an hour though.

Supper was at a lovely place on the edge of one of the lakes and I enjoyed chicken thal, naan (of course), and a glass of beer.

I like Udaipur very much. I think it is because here, there is less honking in busy traffic, the shopkeepers aren't as aggressive as Jaipur, and the 7 beautiful lakes give the city beauty and serenity.

India Day 13 - Jojowar & Udaipur

This morning a train safari was scheduled. We left at 9 am in two Chev jeeps. They looked like they could have been antiques but they were beautifully maintained. We drove out of Jojowar, through the town, and out onto a highway.

It was paved but narrow, and two big vehicles couldn't share the road without one or both going off-road a bit. We passed kids waiting for transportation and some walking to school.

After a while, we turned off that road and changed direction heading for some hills. It took about an hour to get to our first destination, a train station.

The train was 30 minutes late in arriving.

There were no assigned seats and we all got into one car. Four of us joined a family of 5: a woman with 2 children, her husband (sleeping on the luggage rack above her head), and her mother-in-law (sleeping on half of the bench across from her).

We took photos, showed photos and communicated as best we could. I think they understood a bit of English but I wasn't sure of how much. The terrain outside the window was interesting - lots of rocks, trees, a big valley and monkeys. The lady and her daughter had moved so I could sit by the window and take pictures. The monkeys gather where the train stops hoping to get food and garbage from the people.

At one brief stop I was intent on taking a picture of them when suddenly one leapt toward me into my open window. I reacted instantaneously, screaming and jumping to get away as quickly as possible. I have no idea what happened behind me because I was too busy leaping over people. I'm sure the scene would have made for a great video!

The jeep ride back to our hotel was about 10 - 15 minutes long. A lunch had been prepared for us and we ate outside on a patio under a canopy. After eating, we headed towards the city of Udaipur.

It's about a 4 hour drive without stops, but besides a coffee break, we made two very interesting photo stops. The first one was at a school with about 350 students.

It was a public school and we went into a grade 10 science classroom first. The boys were all wearing their street clothes while the girls had on uniforms. I was rather surprised to see only 5 girls compared to about 15 boys. The students shared a desk with 2 to 3 per desk and the girls were on the opposite sides of the room from the boys. 

We then went into a grade 1/2 classroom and everyone wore a blue uniform. Again, the girls and boys were separated and they were seated on the floor. Like any primary class at home, the walls were colorfully decorated with number charts, the alphabet and other learning aids.

We saw a grade 4 class seated just outside of  the building protected from the sun. They were also sitting on the floor and faced a portable chalkboard.

A school lunch is provided in order to encourage attendance.

The schoolyard was quite large, with brown dry dirt. We walked by another small group of students who were sitting in the shade of a large tree. They were in rows, separated by sex, and on their own with no teacher in sight.

The second interesting stop was watching a man harness up oxen to a set of gears. As the 2 animals walked round and round in a circle, a mechanism raised water up from a very deep stone-lined well. The water is used to irrigate the small piece of farmland.

We reached Udaipur at 7 pm.  It is a city of a million people and is known for its 7 man-made lakes. We are staying at the Hilltop Palace hotel and we were greeted at the door with white and yellow flower garlands.

There is a rooftop bar overlooking one of the lakes and from another direction we have a good view of the city. I was surprised how warm it still was at 8 pm. Tomorrow’s going to be a scorcher! Another lady and I shared a beer as well a delicious chicken dish, some lentils and naan. The service was quite slow and so was getting the bill. This process always seems to be a big production and I'm not sure why.

There is loud music playing outside again tonight. Last night in Jojowar it went on past midnight and I was able to drown it out by putting the ceiling fan on. I hope that works tonight.