Sargam Sadan Udaipur

... on with the homeopathic tablets and not to worry. However for full peace of mind he suggested a blood test. It was then that the cost of the fast track service came to weigh heavier. Previously poor Ady had also had to have a blood, urine and chest x-ray in Jaipur for a total cost 400 rupees. We were now being asked to pay 2100 just for a blood test. "That’s robbery!" I said to the receptionist, “That’s the price” was the intimated ...

... 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 ...

... marking the original city boundaries, and made our way towards the palace. on the way, we stumbled across another tourist attraction, known as jantar mantar. this was a large courtyard where the previous maharaja had built some massive, strange-looking structures whose purposes ranged from reading the time to astrological predictions. the largest one was about fifty feet tall, and could tell the time accurate to two seconds.
the palace contained a courtyard used by the ...

... but instead went to the government museum. Exhibits included some motheaten stuffed animals, with labels like "tiger in standing pose", a vast array of weaponry, and some portraits of local ranas and maharanas from the year dot. After the museum we went to buy tickets for the traditional dance concert in the evening, which is held at a haveli, an old style villa with inner courtyards. There was also a museum there, so we had a look round. Some of the rooms are being restored to their ...

... I wasn't that big of a fan of the city and I wasn't the only one. We went to the fort and that was pretty good but it was just so damn hot and everything seemed to be a hassle. A lot of the restaurants weren't open because it's the off season, so it was hard to find food at times. It was the first time we had met up with fellow travelers so that was nice. We met a Dutch guy and two Americans. There was also Bernie, a Brit who we had met in ...

... that had been recommended by our waitress. Not a touristy area, just where the locals go to buy shoes and clothes. This area, although suffering from fast and loud traffic, is at least clean and the shops are easy to find and enter. We find some sandals and a few other items that we had been looking for in the hour allotted for shopping. Before moving on we arranged with Rampal to return tomorrow. Next stop was the ...

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 ...

... 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 ...

For the next week we wpent our time in a vllage aboust 2 hours north of udaipur. Our days consisted of doing farm work, and rebuilding an old wall around their community center. It was an incredible experience which i will detail at another time.

... He patiently explained that the 20 odd adults they did have were all poached out, the last one around a year ago. However, he assured us that there is still plenty to see in the park besides tigers. They even have Jaguars...but the chances of seeing them are pretty small. The difficulty is that the park encompasses a few small villages and it is very difficult to distinguish between poachers and villagers ...