Mewar Inn Udaipur

... Rajasthani singer and one dancer who appeared to have double-jointed hips ;)

As we boarded the boat one last time to begin our trip back to Odisha, our butler telephoned from his home to wish us a safe journey. The call was one last reminder of the service we experienced at Lake Palace, and probably means we will be returning so we can again feel like royalty. After all, it's not called the Land of the Maharanas for nothing.

... ghat where people are publicly cremated on the steps of the ganges. It is a very holy place for Indian people so a lot of people are brought straight here just a few hours after they die to have a special ceremony and then have the ashes spread into the water, apparently a lot of old people come here just before they expect to die. A guy that’s family ran the ghat told me all about how it works. This was only the small one but there is a bigger one further down which runs 24/7 ...

... the quarters of the last pre-Independence rana, Bhopal Singh; the Mor Chowk, originally built in 1620, but decked with glass-mosaic peacocks in 1874 by Rana Sajjan Singh, who was fond of crystals; the Zenana Mahal, with apartments for different princesses; and the galleries displaying local paintings. Some of these paintings are important ...

... to later events.) We climbed back in the car and wound to one of those incredibly touristy little cafes that make the sum total of their money by being the only place with clean bathrooms between two tourist destinations, which is where I took one, lone bite of paneer with spinach. Kate holds strong that heat had more to do with what happened later, but eating cottage cheese in tropical climates can hardly be encouraged, and only after that bite did I ...

We took a night bus to Udaipur (20 hours). India is a big country and the buses are very slow. Brad experienced the worst bathroom of his life when the bus stopped mid-way to Udaipur. The "bathroom" was just a concrete pad in an alleyway and was used by many bus travellers each day. There was a pig wandering through the bathroom from the neighboring village when Brad was there. Udaipur is known as the white city, because most of the buildings are white. It ...

... still a great little city, relatively quiet (by Indian standards anyway). The level of poverty throughout the country is something that you begin to get used to which is awful as you begin to inadvertently dismiss it. There are so many children and adults begging you feel bad not giving them much or anything, but there is only so much you can do and you wonder where it actually goes to. It certainly puts into perspective what you have at home.

... pulling more off the shelves. Eventually we got to the price, and after him exclaiming that the price was too low and the quality was the very best you could get, we got up and left. A few steps later, the guy runs out after us. 'Ok ok, three for £25. Best price. Best quality pashminas.' We went back with him and left, very happy tourists indeed! Al and I walked back to the hotel and made a fuss of the cows on the bridge, posing with ...

... feast, which we then got to eat - hooray! As it transpires, all curries have almost exactly the same base - a paste of garlic, chili, ginger and onion, and then salt, chili powder and coriander powder. By adding some extras or alternating the proportions, the curry can be tweaked. There you go. I just saved you 500 rupees! Yesterday evening, we went to a restaurant to watch 'Octopussy', which is played nightly throughout Udaipur. I ...