On arrival into our hotel, we checked into the old place. It feels like 100 years ago it was a luxury palace hotel for the British, probably hunting. Now? Its feeling a bit run down but full of character. Rather nice place actually. Seems to be about the only place in town, probably as its a good stopping point on the way from A to B.

This girl met us out the front of the place and was more than willing to chat. Everytime we asked, she came out with a different name, seemingly enjoying verbally sparring with the tourists.

The town, small, cute and rural. Cows and animals have right of way.

Some of my favourite Indian pics came from the town, it was just so nice with friendly people.

The kids especially were fun. Not demanding money or things like kids in bigger cities, just much more fun and cheeky.

More interesting was the “shopping”. Being a small local village, there are no supermarkets, shopping centers or the like. Most produce seemed to be sold on street carts, with most of it looking extremely fresh and delicious. The fish however……Nowhere near the ocean and we didn’t see any big rivers.

The night? Well, the restaurant “buffet” wasn’t the best, but sitting in the courtyard, playing cards, drinking beverages looking at this sunset? Amazing.

The city is built on and around Lake Pichola and contains a vast number of royal palaces. If you can remember the James Bond movie, Octopussy, you will remember part of this city. Much of it was filmed in the Lake Palace (now a hotel) and in the Monsoon Palace. While we didn’t get time to visit the Monsoon Palace, we could see it on top of a mountain just out of town.

When we arrived into Udaipur it was a challenge to get to our hotel. We were stuck in traffic for quite a while and only once we got close to our hotel did we find out that a large tree had fallen, taken out a wall and brought the power lines down, right out the front of our hotel. This also meant no electricity for a few hours. It’s India, no big deal.

We initially went out to see some traditional Rajasthani dances. A short(ish) performance showcasing a range of different dances. Quite interesting.

The next morning we headed over to quite possibly one of the most amazing palaces in India, the City Palace of Udaipur. This is the largest royal palace in Rajashtan and stunningly beautiful.

Entering through the gateway in the street we came into a large courtyard, still with parking spots for elephants, now used by cars.

Like most such places it has been partly turned into a museum. The guard was rather proud of his moustache and happily posed for photos.

More pics from within the City Palace

The next day we ventured out onto the lake for a cruise. The centrepiece of Udaipur, it gives great views of all the famous sights as well as superb photo-ops.

Our boat dropped us at one of the floating hotels, so we could wander, take pics and pay exorbitant prices for drinks. The option was there for dinner but not at those prices.

Sunset came quickly with us still on the lake.