One of the most romantic cities in the world
Trip Start
Dec 10, 2006
1
9
20
Trip End
Jan 07, 2007
Udaipur,
India
Thursday, December 21, 2006
This city is magical. As it is our honeymoon, we are no longer traveling "budget." We've booked a lake-side honeymoon suite here in Udaipur thanks to many of you who gifted us honeymoon expenses for our wedding. The room is absolutely gorgeous and we are convinced that we are staying at the nicest hotel here (Jagat Niwas - recommended in lonely planet and rough guide). Last night we dined in our hotel's terraced garden overlooking the lake while listening to live sitar music. We even splurged on a bit of beer (thanks Morgan and Steve!) in this otherwise relatively dry Indian state. Rajasthan is known for its lack of alcohol. After dinner we fell asleep on cushions that are neatly placed below the bay windows of our room, while we listened to the water lap against the wall of our hotel. Udaipur is known for it's role in the James Bond movie Octopussy, in case you want to see live footage of this city's magnificence.
Today we are feeling a lot better
Jag Mandir Island
. I am pretty much back to normal (just a bit weak) and Adam took Cipro so he is also on his way to full recovery. It is easy to recover in this tourist-friendly, relaxing city. Today we took a boat tour of lake Pichola and had a magnificent late lunch on Jag Mandir Island. It cost us 30$ US (triple the price we've been paying off the beaten track) but it was completely worth it as it was one of the most romantic lunches we've ever had. The Island was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal's design and was built for entertainment and pleasure in the late 1700's. Highly recommended. After our lunch we leisurely walked around the island. We had dinner at the Lake Palace Hotel restaurant one night (thanks Andy, Miriam and Emily!!!). It was wonderful to see the palace up close, as it stands on an island in the center of Lake Pichola and has marvelous grandeur. The palace charges high U.S./Eupropean prices and has been known to become "booked" if you are not dressed smartly enough. I had a salwar kameeze tailored just for this occasion - which was fun in and of itself, but probably not necessary since most people at the hotel were in western clothes.
Our reservation was at 9:00pm and we were asked to show up at the boat pier at 8:00pm, where a private boat took us to the lake palace. Since we've been eating only Indian food, we took this chance to enjoy fresh salad and pasta, which was pretty good. Really, the ambience was why we were there so we toured the hotel after we completed our dinner. A lovely night.
Comments
Non white Christmas
As you two basque in the sun and listen to sitar music we, in Wisconsin, are dashing about making certain that we and all those we know are enjoying the holidays. A line up of family and friends meet here and there to find Christmas Day with 2 single men (Frank & Dick) and one married man(Jerry Clarence)and ME! Funny!
We LOVE reading your journal. Expecting the unexpected and the usual stomach problems...ooooh, yuk, stay away from street vendors....That is equal to hot dogs in the states...I won't go into that!!!
Enjoy the wedding! Love hearing from you both. Love, momclaudia and dadjerry
Revisiting
I've devoured your photos, reread your blog and printed the journal for the computer challenged~~what a grand trip!! It looks beautiful! Eagerly awaiting future blog entries. Enjoy the wedding. Keep writing. LOVE, momclaudia
Not a matter of if, but when...
We eagerly watch for your next updates! Thanks for keeping us informed of all the adventures, both good and not so good! Alan got sick from eating street food when we were in Jamaica many years ago. It is probably a matter of the vendors hygiene, I think. Yuk! Glad you two are feeling much better now. Do you need to stay on the Cipro for a full 10 days as you would for other infections?
3-5 inches of snow predicted for later today--we should have a white Christmas after all! Love, Karen/mom
Re: Revisiting
thanks for reading our blog! it is such a connected feeling having you guys comment as we venture along.
Happy Holidays
While you guys are hopefully enjoying a romantic meal tonight, Matt and I are off to his parents' house for Christmas. If I don't have a chance to check back in the next couple days, Merry Christmas! I can't wait to hear how you spend it in India.
Love, Lara
Photos
I'm glad you guys are feeling better and that you had the meds to keep things in check. I really enjoy the photos so if you have a chance to send a few more over it would be great. I realize that it may be challenging given the computers at that end but thought I would mention it. Also your writing is wonderful, so after lawyering and software engineerering there is a career as a travel writer. How fun ....
Wanderlust!
Our neighbor, Bonnie McCormack, who previously traveled in India, is rushing over to view your photos and your writings.
The wanderlust is for Jerry Clarence and I. I got it bad and that ain't good! (Isn't that a song?!) Enjoy & keep those writings coming! Love, MomClaudia