Hotel India International Udaipur

Udaipur was the next city on my itinerary, reached by bus from Pushkar. The bus ride was a serious experience - one of those ones that doesn't quite kill you, thus must make you somehow stronger. I don't know that I felt any stronger afterwards, but I did feel like my left arm was covered in a stranger's vomit... Somehow two tickets had been sold for each of the seats on our bus (oh, India!) so there was a great deal of yelling and screaming and jockeying for bus seats ...

... light up during the night. The present Maharana has his private quarters in the palace grounds while the main area of the palace with its different mahals is now showcased as a museum. The style and architecture is similar to contemporary palaces of that era and most rooms are adorned with beautiful glass and mirror inlay work, some ...

... quan no ruinos. Es una India en estat mes salvatge, sense les comoditats que te visitar el Rajastan a on sempre hi ha quelcom orientat al turista, on encara es possible apreciar el dia a dia del pais, i meravellar-se al veure com malgrat el caos que envolta qualsevol tasca, tot acaba per funcionar. Pero tambe es una visita que demana pagar un peatge forca elevat, ja que al no haver-hi gaires turistes has d'acabar fent com fa la poblacio local, i aixo ...

... for westerners. In another way, being in the touristy Udaipur made me feel less like a traveler and more like a resident. I couldn't believe what the other westerners were wearing! Slobby, unflattering, unfitting, revealling, hippy clothes that pay no attention to Indian culture ot customs. I can see why travelers could get unwanted negative attention in India, if they were dressed in that fashion. <br><br>Udiapur's narrow, winding streets and tall heveli-style ...

... 2 fresh mangoes and a melon from the street vendor's cart. Resting in my room afterwards, I thought about what Mam had said in an email - "Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun - and you aren't any one of those!" I thought it wise then to spend the time between 11.00 and 15.00 indoors from now on. The next few days passed without incident, and again I took simple pleasure in immersing myself as best as I could in the local scene - walking small ...

... and I have to say that I am much happier coming to hospital in Udaipur this time than last time, since my visit is stress free!! Deepak has arranged for me to visit some really spectacular sights including the Monsoon Palace (see the views in the photos!), and some of the little-visited lakes outside the city, where the bird life is just amazing. You all know me and my birds ...

... Jodhpur in a motel that would have looked at home on the Central Coast. It also was in this town that our love affair with Indian cuisine came to an abrupt end. Faced with sampling something from the tandoor at Jodhpur's finest restaurant or choosing something off the alternate menu, we opted for fried rice and a green salad. Then, we are almost ashamed to admit, the next night we had our tour leader translate the entire menu for the local Pizza Hut and ...

... 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 ...

Hello from Udaipur, India! It's so romantic and very "Venice like" with the exception of a lot of things now that I think about it, so basically it's a city on water. But the most interesting thing is that it's only on water when there is a good monsoon, otherwise they run camels and trucks into the desert. It's been dried for 5 years and the water has just returned. I can't imagine it without the lake. Although it would be funny to see all these "Lakefront ...