Hadoti Palace Bundi

... very rarely), Mrs. Shivam didn't believe Gregory at all. She made her point by exclaiming to Gregory (about me): "He very less drink!" Everybody new exactly what she was talking about and I don't think anyone could have expressed it more charmingly.

Another highlight of our stay in Bundi was meeting (yet another) group of India-traveling Frenchies, this time a very nice trio (brother, sister and cousin) who have spent most of their ...

... years ago and the owners have done a wonderful job of renovating this old haveli. At 800 rupees a night for a completely modern, comfortable room, it is easily the overall best value place I have stayed in on this trip. In fact, and this is something that I have very very rarely said in my life: With this amount of comfort for this price, I almost feel like I'm cheating the hotel. It kind of makes up for the ripoff hotel that I stayed in with Tony in ...

... and suddenly the ruined palace was quiet and we were the only people there that is until we went outside and up the pathway towards the other side of the palace where again we met the group of kids and all those that had missed their candid camera moment before made up for it again.. even the teachers wanted photos of us with them.. it was mayhem but brilliant at the same time..


The palace is an amazing place, really eery and each level has a different feel, it was ...

Namaste!

We arrived in Bundi at a decent time, 2 pm as opposed to 10pm in Jaipur, and took a tuktuk to our family run guesthouse, the Lake View Paying Guest House. The people were very friendly. We were going to ask for a cheap room, but when we saw the 400 rupees room (5 quid), with wall paintings and view over the lake, we took it immediately.

We explored the town a little in the afternoon, but it was very, very hot. In the evening we found a rooftop cafe ...

... with us. It was like a coffin - albeit a coffin with curtains. As we set off I was convinced that I would not sleep. To my surprise, the road out of Udaipur was good. Two lane freeway and all. Maybe the ride wouldn't be so bad after all. Tara promptly fell asleep as I lay there staring out the coffin window. The freeway didn't last - I knew it was too good to be true. The only saviour was that we couldn't see out of the front. India's bus drivers ...

... to the tourism trade for an extra income. I'm loving this place, at dusk the large Langur monkeys are in full activity as they return to their trees for nightfall. And as I relax on the terrace watching the sunset I soon realise that I am occupying part of the launch pad for the monkeys as they wearingly pass within a couple of feet of me before springing themselves into the tree whilst avoiding the barking dogs below. In the morning things are peaceful, I sit having ...

The blue-painted shoe box town of Bundi was the last place on our tour of the Rajasthan region. We are leaving today to catch a train to Mumbai and onward as soon as we can to Ajanta. The last 2 weeks have taken in the tourist traps of Agra, Jaipur, Jodphur, Pushkar, Udaipur and Bundi and has been quite full on.

Our first stop was Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal, and after the peace and tranquility of Rishikesh somewhere inside we were both a little upset to ...

... Somehow they got me into the dancing - me. Dance. Really. I thought the rest of the group would be with me but for some reason they could not move for laughing. This lasted for about 5 minutes and the older men asked me to leave as I was disrupting the procession, holding it up. Overall Bundi was a great experience. Far to short a time was spent here, and I would love to come back for 2 or 3 days.

... se odrázelo od tisíců zrcátek a tím se komnata zateplila, mně to přislo jako geniální nápad. Prohlídka byla bezvadná a výhledy z paláce úzasné. Jen musím nasemu průvodci podotknout jednu věc: já, jako zena jsem pro něj vůbec neexistovala. Třeba jsem fotila, on pokračoval dál v prohlídce a ve výkladu Massimovi. Massimo fotil, průvodce se ani nehnul, natoz promluvit a něco mi vysvětlit. Rozesmála mě dalsí věc ...

... partially translated by the ever-growing crowd who had appeared from nowhere to watch my haircut. Once he'd finished my hair (by then there was very little left to cut!) he started on an un-requested shave, which was particularly scary as he was then telling me about his criminal past (I think!). Just when I thought I was in the clear and he'd finished shaving, he started all over again! I've never been so clean shaven in my life ...