Along the way and despite the discomforts of those first three nights bush camping we managed to take in some sights. Ellora and Ajanta caves are a must see, although expect to have the skin flayed from your flesh by the sun whilst there. These are a very impressive collection of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain temples quarried out of solid rock in the manner of Petra. Perhaps not quite as impressive as Petra, but still well worth a look, especially the main temple at Ellora which really is quite spectacular.
Nevertheless, the camping took its toll and arrival at Udaipur, a campsite (of sorts) and the possibility of a shower was a massive relief. To top it there was also the possibility of use of a swimming pool for the first time on the trip; a real taste of luxury.
Udaipur (as far as I could tell) is mainly known for the Lake Palace. A beautiful white Palace (now a hotel) which sits out in one of the lakes that surround the city and recently had its fame revitalised by its use in the closing scene of Octopussy. As a result, like Indiana Jones in Petra, Ocopussy naturally forms something of a theme around Udaipur and nightly showings of arguably the worst James Bond film EVER produced can be found at many locations around the city. Somehow I managed to restrain myself.
Another feature of the James Bond mania is that the rickshaw drivers all seem to fancy themselves as the main man and traveling around the narrow streets of the city thus is something of a life and death experience (maybe in retrospect this is not restricted to Udaipur). Our own group managed to hire three such rickshaw 007 wannabes and screaming around the labyrinth of streets in a convoy of three wheeled tin-cans couldn't help but put me in mind of a marginally less cool version of the Italian Job. A mini adventure indeed. If only Michael had chosen Reliant Robins!
We spent a very pleasant two and a half days in Udaipur. There is a lot to see including many temples and palaces, the City Palace is a must-see experience as is the Monsoon Palace that sits high on top of a nearby mountain. There is also the opportunity for some great food in very nice and well appointed restaurants and the opportunity to watch some traditional dance displays. In our case this turned out to be fat women stomping around with pots on their heads, but the idea was nice.
Nevertheless, the camping took its toll and arrival at Udaipur, a campsite (of sorts) and the possibility of a shower was a massive relief. To top it there was also the possibility of use of a swimming pool for the first time on the trip; a real taste of luxury.
Udaipur (as far as I could tell) is mainly known for the Lake Palace. A beautiful white Palace (now a hotel) which sits out in one of the lakes that surround the city and recently had its fame revitalised by its use in the closing scene of Octopussy. As a result, like Indiana Jones in Petra, Ocopussy naturally forms something of a theme around Udaipur and nightly showings of arguably the worst James Bond film EVER produced can be found at many locations around the city. Somehow I managed to restrain myself.
Another feature of the James Bond mania is that the rickshaw drivers all seem to fancy themselves as the main man and traveling around the narrow streets of the city thus is something of a life and death experience (maybe in retrospect this is not restricted to Udaipur). Our own group managed to hire three such rickshaw 007 wannabes and screaming around the labyrinth of streets in a convoy of three wheeled tin-cans couldn't help but put me in mind of a marginally less cool version of the Italian Job. A mini adventure indeed. If only Michael had chosen Reliant Robins!
We spent a very pleasant two and a half days in Udaipur. There is a lot to see including many temples and palaces, the City Palace is a must-see experience as is the Monsoon Palace that sits high on top of a nearby mountain. There is also the opportunity for some great food in very nice and well appointed restaurants and the opportunity to watch some traditional dance displays. In our case this turned out to be fat women stomping around with pots on their heads, but the idea was nice.
posted by Al at 11:55 pm
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