Panna Vilas Palace Udaipur

... bazaar provided another great moment. As we walked past a shop displaying hundreds of traditional shoes, a man cried out to us to come in and buy. Looking at Liz’s feet he squealed “ Hey Lady come and buy my sandals, best quality and we can even make big sandals for big feet!”

Udaipur was the first place where the rat population was not content to remain hidden at night, I guess due to the lake but we saw these creatures on a regular ...

... lunch, and i proceeded to get lost in the city's streets.
i finally found my way back to the hotel in time for a little more food, then, exhausted, i went to bed.
the next day took us up to jodhpur fort; not as long a walk as jaipur, but with similar views over the city. the inside was a little more involved, with a museum, a jain temple and a cafe, not to mention an 18-inch high wall round the top edge of the fort, the only thing between you and a healthy 200ft drop. an ...

... museum.

After we had seen the museum we went for a wander in the little streets. We bought some cool lampshades and then we came across this lovely little shop full of miniature paintings. The artist lady was there doing some of her paintings and so we sat with her and chatted for a while and chose some paintings to buy. They were beautiful and really cheap and she is one of the nicest people we have met so far.

Tonight ...

... carry loads of dirt on their heads, widening the shoulder of the highway, one bucketful at a time. We see no tractors involved in this work, nor any mechanical tools-just the women and their buckets. Rompal says that they are paid extra in Rajasthan because the temperatures are so high. Extra pay means they receive around 150 rupees per day ($3.00). In other parts of India they are paid only 80 rupees or less. On the news some people ...

... to get closer to it. Non-guests to the Lake Palace hotel aren't allowed on the land for any reason. Kate and I realized that, given the lake's low water level, we might be able to walk over. But fearing the imposing guards we saw from a boat tour of the lake we took, we've decided against the planned scaling of the walls (also, apparently Nicole Kidman is there, and we wouldn't want the first time we meet to be while we're being dragged off.) In the ...

... stuffy internet booth nearby. I was still trying to solve internet-based problems with our Cambodian visas. While I checked my mail, the clerk and his friend were watching a bootleg DVD of "Slumdog Millionaire", which hadn't been officially released on DVD anywhere in the world yet. "Do you want me to make you a copy?" asked the clerk. "No thanks, I already have one," I said, which was true, but I didn't bother to explain that my copy was legitimate.

... for its bus connectivity (other than palace on wheels.. !! ). I found an amazing bus ticket booking website in India. / [http://www.travelyaari.com/ Travelyaari]/. I booked most of my tickets through them. They didnt have service to jodhpur from udaipur (grr!!) but had jodhpur to ahmedabad. Good service, on time buses! India surely is becoming traveler friendly!

... aka - Saheliyon Ki Bara) which is filled with fountains, lotus pools, and marble scupltures. Afterwards, we took a rickshaw out to Shiplgram, a small center showcasing Rajasthani villages, its people, folk dances, and their handicrafts. A good way to get a better grasp of the local village populations. For sunset, we headed up the largest mountain in the area to the Monsoon Palace, which sits atop of the mountain overlooking ...

... tattoes of Hindu symbols. But I am trying, really trying, to be open minded about everything. Or, at the very least, to be open minded about open-mindedness. I will try the yoga again, and will even seek out a course on meditation, to which I will apply myself fully. All I ask of you, my readers, is this - if I return with a dot on my forehead, not a stitch of western clothing in my bag, and a look of smug condescension plastered on my face, beat me to a bloody pulp.

...