Alka Hotel Udaipur

... better feeling about Udaipur than we did about Jaipur. After a bit of small talk, our taxi drive presented us with a brochure for a hotel that was not mentioned in our guidebook. Normally I am very skeptical about such offers as the driver will of course get a commission - to be paid out of our own pocket. Tony, however, convinced me that we should give it a look - because what is important is how much we like the hotel and how good a value it represents to us ...

... with the eccentric Krishna in his cool little shop. Also, myself and Murph took a brillian 4 hour cooking class with brilliant Shashi under the sunrise restaraunt. This was a great lesson. Not just on Indian food but also on the crazy treatment of women in the society and the caste system. well worth doing if you are here. We are both looking forward to wowing our friends and family with our new cooking skills. <br><br>No time in Udaipur would be ...

... boat ride on this lake as part of our tour, but I would say that this ride will not happen. In the middle of the lake is the very expensive Lake Palace Hotel. I can see that someone has dredged a small channel to the hotel so that they can bring their guest in by boat. The hotel is expensive and probably suffering from the drought, like the rest of the area. We arrive at the hotel and check in to the beautiful Trident Hotel. Our room is ...

... the most beautiful pink nightie to enter the temple (see pics). I think she looks like Wendy from Peter Pan! She was NOT happy, especially when loads of other women entered after her with hardly any clothes on! But it made us laugh, and the temple was amazing. It was made of marble, and had beautiful carved columns, with natural light seeping through from the roof, and a tree growing in the middle of it. Very serene.

... and went into a shop which displayed all kinds of handmade, embroidered notebooks and diaries and albums. They were stunning. As usual we acted like we could take them or leave them, and when the guy asked what sort of colour we'd like, we idly mentioned we might like a nice, rich, dark red one, acting like we'd never thought about it before and like rich, dark red hadn't been on our mind since before the holiday even. The guy then ...

... arches and marble rooftops. The sky was a luminous blue, and under it was the most seductive lake I've ever seen. I wanted to jump in immediately (but then quickly realised that unless I wanted gangrine this probably wasn't a good idea). It mirrored the architecture and surrounding mountainside back at us giving the idea of a fairytale underworld (to someone looking through the eyes of a 6 year old) Then, we saw the palaces surrounded by water in the middle ...

... In Udaipur we watch a fun fun display of dancing at the West Zone Cultural Centre and attend a cooking class where we make khadi paneer, vegetable cutlets (so good), chai, and malai kofta (better in Australia! Can I say that without seeming lame??), eyes shooting out at the amount of oil he pours into the khadi (Indian wok) and verily stuffing our faces as he piles our plates high with biryani, and also take a trip through the stunning imperial city ...

... weddings finished the sound of James Bond car chases echoed throughout the hotels. This is the other claim to Udaipur's fame as Octopussy was filmed there. There is little chance of forgetting this as Rita Coolidge's theme song rang out around the town.<br><br><br>21st November<br> <br><br>Not sure about the all time high as we wasted an hour looking for a working cash machine. Eventually we were back outside the city palace ...

... he phones Swarti (the teacher) who comes to meet you, takes you back to her house, she shows you the kitchen and some testimonials and if you like what you see you go through menus, agree food and a price and off we go! This afternoon we are going to be cooking veg biryani, veg curry, paratha, channa masala, chapati and veg curry. We are now in EIDLEWEISS having a little snack beforehand 2 Americanos - DK had apple ...