Just right in Udaipur the Goldilocks city

If I had to recommend a city for the first time visitor to India, Udaipur is it. Still very much India, but cleaner, less pushy, less crowded and pretty - we loved it. Mind you the hotel helped, seen in Octopussy and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel you can only get there by boats which run 24 hours a day

Very pretty inside too

We had three nights there and three rooftop restaurants and just like Goldilocks, in terms of the experience, one was not enough, one was too much and one was just right.

Not enough (first night)

Wonderful view but not enough attention to hygiene, Delhi met belly the following day.

Too much (second night), way over the top

Just right (third night). Great walk there with amazing shops, good food, not pretentious:

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I’ll let Sue talk about the sights we saw.  We loved the fairytale city of Udaipur.

Wonderful, wonderful Udaipur!  While I have loved every city we have visited, it was a welcome contrast to be surrounded by mountains, with no fog, and without having to wade through rubbish on the streets everywhere we went. Udaipur is a holiday and wedding destination for many Indian people and it is easy to see why.  The city was founded in 1559 and is built around two lakes, with many beautiful palaces and temples. Our guide-book describes it as ‘The Venice of the East’.   

 

We visited the City Palace, and our guide provided a fascinating overview of the various inhabitants up to the present day.  The palace has been added to over the centuries and it is huge.  Difficult to capture its’ beauty in just a few photographs, but here goes.   

 

 

Cages for the carrier pigeons!

View of the Octopussy hotel from the palace:

The vacant chair described in the website below:

The peacock is the national bird of India.  I did not know that.

Beautiful mosaics everywhere:

I found a website with interesting facts about the palace that picked up on many of the things that caught my attention (elephant fights, the story of the vacant chair) It also includes some great photos.   

https://udaipurbeats.com/interesting-facts-about-city-palace-udaipur-you-must-know-prior-visit/ 

Norm was underwhelmed by the Crystal Gallery, but I was charmed by the public display of gifts from dignitaries from many countries and even found a photo of the Queen Mum!  

 

We also visited two Hindu temples about twelve miles outside Udaipur – one no longer in use as some of the faces of the gods had been damaged in attempts to destroy the temple – apparently, this means it cannot be used for worship. I found it a useful place to pause, reflect and pray though.   

The second temple was in the middle of a village – very much a part of day-to-day life. I was struck by the commitment of the worshippers, who wait in line to go in and pray.  No photos allowed. 

 

While the traffic is much lighter in Udaipur, I did see the most people on a single motorbike so far – a man, woman, two children and a baby, none wearing helmets, nothing apparently to hang on to, going at about 30 mph.  Why do I find that so difficult?  It seems pretty normal here.  On the other hand, I barely notice the cows in the middle of the street now.  We had an early start this morning, and driving out of the city, I was struck by the number of groups of people huddling around fires at the side of the street to keep warm on the still chilly mornings.  Can’t imagine that happening in Rochester MN.  The adventure continues.