After a solid 11 hours of sleep, we woke up feeling a little better but not hundreds, and managed to stomach some gem toast (toast with jam) from room service (no restaurant here...). We wanted a shower but the stupid hotel shower only ran cold (d'oh!) so we "bathed" Indian style - using a plastic stool, bucket and jug... Mr Narender picked us up at 9:00 and we started the drive to Udaipur. The road to Udaipur is mostly tree-lined and pot-holed, making it a slow but very pleasant journey!
We stopped about halfway at Ranakpur to see some amazing Jain temples. This was not on the itinerary, but it was a place I had read about, and was quite excited when Mr Narender suggested we stop and have a look. It was also our first opportunity to actually go into a Jain temple. The Jains are all about non-violence to all living creatures, and the devout ones even wear a cover over their mouths, to prevent inadvertently swallowing any live organisms.
This particular temple (Adinath) was built in the 15th century, and is one of the five most important places for the Jain. There is no charge for entry, just Rs50 for the camera. The entire temple is carved out of the same white marble that was used for the Taj Mahal. It has four sides and four entrances, and is generally quite huge, we spent at least half an hour exploring the nooks and crannies, going up and down stairs across different levels. The temple has 1444 pillars (!) and every single one, and every single wall and every dome is carved extremely intricately and beautifully! Apparently the carvers used to get paid in gold, based on the weight of the marble shavings they produced.
After this, the drive became really lovely, as we drove along a narrow winding road, through jungle countryside up into the mountains. We made a stop for lunch at a slightly random, but relaxed spot, where we helped ourselves to an Indian style buffet. We then finished the drive to Udaipur, arriving after 16:00. From first impressions, Udaipur didn't look all that different from any of the other crazy cities we had visited, and I worried that it would not live up to its romantic, relaxed reputation...
We arrived at the hotel Mahima Palace, and I was really disappointed! The place was strange, and actually quite unfinished. They showed us to a dark little room, which I complained about. Udaipur is the lake city, and I wanted a lake view! They took us to a room on the top floor, with a slight view of the wrong lake (Fateh Sagar), and we accepted it, what choice did we have. The room was basic, with crap wooden tables and plastic chairs... Very upsetting when the place I had agreed upon with the tour company was a heritage haveli with a view of lake Pichola!
When the driver wanted us to go to a restaurant practically right next door, I nearly lost it. I was starting to feel like we had no choice at all in the whole holiday, the tour company/driver/guide chose where we stayed, ate, shopped... This was not how I was used to going on holiday! I do feel that there are a lot of advantages of having booked through a tour company, but it also has its downside. Also the fact that we had been sick meant we had eaten a lot in the hotels, rather than adventuring as we normally would... Plus it was Christmas eve and I wanted it to be a bit special!!
So we insisted that Mr Narender take us to the restaurant we wanted (selected from the guidebook), which he reluctantly did, complaining that the old city was too narrow to drive in easily... Well I was so glad that we had put our foot down! We ended up having the most magical night of the whole tour so far... He couldn't find the place, so we asked him to drop us in the old city and we agreed we would take a tuk tuk back to the hotel. We had a walk through the streets and immediately felt different from the rest of India - these streets were clean! And lined with beautiful little shops, more touristy but so much nicer! And hardly anyone hassled us!
A friendly bookshop owner (there are a lot of bookshops in Udaipur) showed us the way to the hotel where we wanted to eat, and we found it easily. It was called Jagat Niwas, and this is the kind of place I will stay if I ever come back to Udaipur! The hotel is absolutely beautiful, with a large courtyard in the middle and varying stairs leading up several levels, eventually leading to two levels of restaurants on the rooftop, overlooking the lake Pichola. We were lucky to get a table, as it was pretty much fully booked!
From our table on the edge of the rooftop, we could see the twinkling lights of two beautiful 'floating' palaces, right in the middle of the lake - the Jag Mandir, and Jag Niwas (lake palace). The latter is now one of the most famous and romantic hotels in the world, and my grandparents had stayed there many, many years ago. We could also see the beautifully lit ramparts of what looked like another palace, the city palace I assume... All around the buildings were lit up and the atmosphere was magical. Someone was lighting Chinese lanterns on the other side of the lake, and we watched them slowly rise into the sky. Halfway through dinner, fireworks also started going off!
We dined on delicious chicken tikka, stuffed parantha, mutton sagwala (spinach), naan, beers and sticky sweet gulab jamun for dessert. Considering the fantastic setting, the bill came to a very reasonable Rs1400, around R200! Our bargaining skills failed us on the tuk tuk driver, and we ended up paying Rs100 for the short tuk tuk ride back, but at least the guy knew the place, we we got our first tuk take ride for the trip under our belts.
It being Chirstmas eve, we were thinking a lot about our families, who we would normally be celebrating with around about now... We miss you guys so much, and are thinking of you lots! Merry Christmas everyone! Xxx
- Nix
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Location:Udaipur, India
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