Hotel Hill Lake Udaipur

... in town. The discarded sign advertising this lay forlornly on a pile of rubble below us whilst the one on Lake View was hoisted high for everyone to see.

Udaipur is definitely a place to chill out a bit - much less hassle than any of the other tourist towns we had recently been to. We spent most of the afternoon drinking ice cold pepsi in one of the cafes on the other side of the lake watching the boats and the women ...

... old world charm and rich cultural heritage. Apparently the ad gurus were looking for exotic locations for their shoot and they got their locale right but not the attire!

Other places of interest include the Jagmandir, an island palace located on Lake Pichola. A flower decked ferry takes you to the steps of this unique party venue ...

... Es el que te sortir del circuit turistic.

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I decide to get out of the traditional tourist circuit and visit the Shekhawati region that lays between Jaipur and Bikaner. It is one of the entry points to the Thar desert, and given its location, the villages in the region benefitted from the caravan trade to / from Jaipur and Delhi, and today it is still possible to visit the rich and lavishly decorated residences, here called ...

Glorious Udaipur, but not quite the same as last time, since the level of water in the lake is considerably lower than last time, and as yet, there are no health problems!! I am staying with Deepak and Meetu and they are the most kind and gracious hosts. It was Deepak who looked after Vivian when he was unwell here last November - hence our friendship. Their house is right next to the ...

... was telling the truth or not (we erred on the side of believing him after he produced photo evidence of a recent transaction with devout Buddhist and India regular Richard Gere), we both fell in love with the rug and simply had to have it. Of course, finding space to fit it in our already bulging backpacks was another story entirely. We also purchased some locally made perfumes from a strange man with an unusually long fingernail. We spent two nights ...

... was there..we gave this leader a little shock as jokingly told the girls of our table his room number to which we pretended Brian was our father...you should have seen his face! During dinner octopussy - the james bond movie filmed in the area...30 years ago...they are still not over it!Food took FOREVER to turn up..and when it finally did tamsins was so disgusting that she couldnt eat it..the owner noticed the meal hadnt been eaten didnt charge for it and insisted on a desert ...

... own kitchen when I return so you can look forward (or not!) to being guinea pigs as I practise my palak paneer and aloo paratha.



Udaipur, apparently, has just been voted one of the most beautiful cities in the world and I heartily agree with the judgement. It's Rajasthan at its romantic best: a land of shimmering lakes, hazy wooded hills, whitewashed havelis and the cupolas and balconies of old palaces. The City Palace holds a ...

... Lakeview hotels" etc. without a lake to the town. The Indian hotel names are funny around here...we're next to the "Hotel Yes, Please." and "Hotel So Clean." "Hotel No Hassle" didn't quite hold to it's name in the last town. James Bond's Octopussy was filmed here, and the town won't let you forget it. Every restaurant plays the movie at 7 p.m., and the tuk-tuk (little auto-rickshaw) drivers get a big kick out of calling David 007 and saying their ...