Anyway, Pushkar wasn't really anything special, although the hotel was pretty cool. We headed to Udaipur, which is where James Bond's 'Octopussy' was shot. They really play off this, with cafes and restaurants in the town having nightly showings at 7pm! Udaipur is very chilled, and we were hassled a lot less here than usual (hence it becoming a firm favourite)! Our first day in, we went to a shop owned by the driver's friend. He was so taken by us he offered us Indian tea and lush coconut biscuits. We checked out a textile shop too - we're getting really good at not caving to the guilt trips they give us. There is this preconception here that all Westerners are rich, I suppose we are by their standards, but we have eight more weeks ahead of us - and neither the money or inclination to buy something from everywhere we go!!
We visited the City Palace, which didn't really stick in the mind to be honest - bar the glass peacocks, it's pretty much like all the other palaces we've seen. After this we took a boat trip on Lake Pichola to Jag Mandir, taking in the ghats along the way. The ghats are sections of steps alongside the water edge, and at any time of the day you can see young boys jumping in, waving and smiling at the tourists, and streams of colourful Indian ladies washing clothes. That in itself is a sight more beautiful than all the temples in India.
After that we headed to Sahelion-Ki-Bari, "the gardens of the maids of honour," full of lush greenery, flowers and musical fountains. Very pretty - even if the water was slightly smelly. We then went to an artist school and met the master artist - who showed us his wares. They use a brush fashioned from squirrel hair, and wholly natural paints derived from flowers, carbon and other such materials.
To round off the day, we went onwards and (literally) upwards to Sajjangarh, "the Monsoon Palace." We didn't really get a chance to look around as we're a bit Temple-d out at the moment. Instead we sat there on top of the mountain to watch the sun set. Now I'd love to start waxing lyrical, quoting Keats, Tennyson, Byron about how romantic it was - but in all honesty, it looked like a massive fluorescent orange beach ball. Spot the romantic! :o)
We saw our first Indian wedding - not sure what specific religion it was - but it was FANTASTIC! All colour and light, a lot more fun than our English weddings!
On our way out of Utaipur we stopped off at Ranakpur to visit a Jain temple. If it's the ladies time of month you're not allowed in! We had to put on a nasty cream dressrobe to cover up our shoulders. The worst thing about temples is you're not allowed to wear shoes in them, then when you walk out - the baking hot sun has heated the marble to a temperature that you could fry an egg on. Think what it did to our feet.
We're now in Jodhpur, the "Blue City" - visited Meherangarh Fort (best part was the views of the Blue City), Jaswant Thanda, and Umaid Bhawan Palace (where the current Maharaja lives), but I won't bore you with too many details. Our hotel is a total and utter freak show - the Addams family wouldn't look out of place here! In the reception, there is a huge stuffed tiger - a real one! There's a stuffed cat on the sofa. The house is full of all sorts of British china and knick knacks - I think it dates back to when the English occupied India - and they haven't renovated it since. Really looking forward to leaving tomorrow, it majorly freaks me out and the A/C keeps going off!
If any of you ever head to Jodhpur - visit the Omelette Shop by the Clocktower (north). Don't be put off by the appearance - we had a delicious omelette with chillies, tomato and onion served between 4 slices of eggy bread with tomato sauce. And it only cost 20 rupees, which is about 25p! Delicious - probably one of the best things I've ever eaten!
We're majorly missing the English food now though - Lydia and I have been regularly tormenting ourselves bringing up all the food we miss. Roast dinners and fry ups for Lydia, for me - tuna mayonnaise sandwiches, and jacket potatoes with cheese and pickle... I can't wait to come back and have a cold Granny Smith straight from the fridge.
I hope you're all keeping well and healthy, missing you all.
Caroline xx
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