We were awakened by the possibly the loudest crack of thunder the human ear has ever heard up in our mountainous retreat. The storm passed over quickly but we had to change our morning's itinerary in its wake as the rains had flooded roads which led to a fort which we were scheduled to see. Hey ho, we had already seen gazillions of forts so we weren't too distraught.
Only 75 kilometres today to reach Udaipur so we arrived early, slung our bags into our room and headed for the Monsoon Palace which was built high on the hills overlooking the city to watch the Monsoon clouds move in. It was also used in James Bond's Octopussy, as were half the buildings in town a fact which the locals don't let you forget for more than 10 seconds at a time. As we were racing up the hills our car's engine decided to explode ,so we pulled over and Dave and I continued on foot, leaving Kanaram to sort out our ailing vehicle.
The palace itself was no longer a beauty, but the views over the 'Lake City' and its surrounding countryside were impressive.
We eventually rejoined Kanaram at the bottom of the hill where he'd managed to cool the car down and we limped back into town, stopping to take a photograph of the Lake Palace on the way. Do you know it was used in the film 'Octopussy', blah blah blah.
While Kanaram went to find a mechanic who could fix the car, we took a boat ride on Lake Pichola which was pleasant enough; the most interesting sight being our first glimpses of a 'ghat', which are a series of steps leading down to water. These ghats are used for worship, washing and for the kids, a good place to jump into the cooling, if somewhat filthy water. We were lucky to be able to take this boat ride, as apparently just 15 days ago the lake was dry and it is only the recent downpours that have filled her up.
After lunch we wandered the streets of Udaipur, getting lost in the maze like alleyways and coming into close quarters with 2 fighting bulls; just your average day on the streets of India!
The next morning we revelled in a slightly later start, as we were staying put in Udaipur for the day. We made a visit to the Ornamental gardens, which were immaculately kept and crammed full of water features and fountains.
Despite our enchanting surroundings Dave still managed to be the main attraction for the visiting Indians and had to stop several times for the now customary photographs with the 'big, bald, white man'. I really don't know how he's going to cope going when we arrive back in the UK and people don't stare in wonder anymore.
We then got Kanaram to drop us off near to the Jagdish Temple in the centre of town, which is a large Hindu temple. An older Indian gentleman showed us round, pointing out the various gods which adorn the nooks and crannies of the building and testing us on the Hindu knowledge that we've picked up so far.
Amazingly he really did just want to practice his English, which is a common ruse in these parts; he was due to fly to Birmingham in the following days for an art exhibition at the NEC, what a lucky chap!! We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the lanes and ghats of Udaipur and finally giving into the beggar who exclaimed 'Look I've got no legs'; there really isn't anything you can do other than hand over your spare rupees when faced with a situation like that.
Later on in the evening we revisited the Jagdish Temple, as our earlier guide had told us that this is the time that it really comes to life. There were hundreds of people singing, chanting and paying their respects to the Hindu gods, an electric atmosphere and an almighty squeeze in the streets as people attempted to reach the place of worship for their nightly prayers. Truly Incredible India!
Only 75 kilometres today to reach Udaipur so we arrived early, slung our bags into our room and headed for the Monsoon Palace which was built high on the hills overlooking the city to watch the Monsoon clouds move in. It was also used in James Bond's Octopussy, as were half the buildings in town a fact which the locals don't let you forget for more than 10 seconds at a time. As we were racing up the hills our car's engine decided to explode ,so we pulled over and Dave and I continued on foot, leaving Kanaram to sort out our ailing vehicle.
The palace itself was no longer a beauty, but the views over the 'Lake City' and its surrounding countryside were impressive.
We eventually rejoined Kanaram at the bottom of the hill where he'd managed to cool the car down and we limped back into town, stopping to take a photograph of the Lake Palace on the way. Do you know it was used in the film 'Octopussy', blah blah blah.
While Kanaram went to find a mechanic who could fix the car, we took a boat ride on Lake Pichola which was pleasant enough; the most interesting sight being our first glimpses of a 'ghat', which are a series of steps leading down to water. These ghats are used for worship, washing and for the kids, a good place to jump into the cooling, if somewhat filthy water. We were lucky to be able to take this boat ride, as apparently just 15 days ago the lake was dry and it is only the recent downpours that have filled her up.
After lunch we wandered the streets of Udaipur, getting lost in the maze like alleyways and coming into close quarters with 2 fighting bulls; just your average day on the streets of India!
The next morning we revelled in a slightly later start, as we were staying put in Udaipur for the day. We made a visit to the Ornamental gardens, which were immaculately kept and crammed full of water features and fountains.
Despite our enchanting surroundings Dave still managed to be the main attraction for the visiting Indians and had to stop several times for the now customary photographs with the 'big, bald, white man'. I really don't know how he's going to cope going when we arrive back in the UK and people don't stare in wonder anymore.
We then got Kanaram to drop us off near to the Jagdish Temple in the centre of town, which is a large Hindu temple. An older Indian gentleman showed us round, pointing out the various gods which adorn the nooks and crannies of the building and testing us on the Hindu knowledge that we've picked up so far.
Amazingly he really did just want to practice his English, which is a common ruse in these parts; he was due to fly to Birmingham in the following days for an art exhibition at the NEC, what a lucky chap!! We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the lanes and ghats of Udaipur and finally giving into the beggar who exclaimed 'Look I've got no legs'; there really isn't anything you can do other than hand over your spare rupees when faced with a situation like that.
Later on in the evening we revisited the Jagdish Temple, as our earlier guide had told us that this is the time that it really comes to life. There were hundreds of people singing, chanting and paying their respects to the Hindu gods, an electric atmosphere and an almighty squeeze in the streets as people attempted to reach the place of worship for their nightly prayers. Truly Incredible India!
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