The Udaipur Octopussy Connection
Trip Start
Mar 07, 2007
1
10
50
Trip End
Aug 14, 2007
Udaipur, India
Sunday, March 25, 2007
....Udaipur may also sound familiar for another reason... it was the location of the 1983 James Bond flick, "Octopussy." By my humble estimation, the best of the Roger Moore era. I highly suggest renting the DVD if you have not already seen it, if not for the Udaipur shots, at least for the classic lines... among them-
James Bond: [looking at the tattoo on Magda's back] What is that?
Magda: That's my little octopussy
City Palace
. In speaking with locals I learned that the lake was completely dry from 1997 to 2005 and only recently has it reached full capacity (about 5-8 meters) deep.
If there is a place to see in Rajasthan, Udaipur is it (Chad & Colleen take note). The town is packed with temples, palaces, and havelis (traditionally and colorfully decorated houses). As luck would have it I arrived on the second day of the three day long Mewar Festival (see pics). Never before have I seen such colors! The sight of the ornately dressed girls and women, with the backdrop of the lake palace, chanting, and sounds of drums was a 'Truly Indian' sight. From what I understand it is to celebrate the coming of springs, thank the gods, and is run almost exclusively be the women of the town at the Lal Ghat (stairs on edge of lake).
As for lodging, well I lucked out here people. At my first stop, Lal Ghat Guest House, I found my best lodging of the trip. For 350 Rs ($9), I booked a room with white marble walls, a white marble floor and bed base (all carved), with a queen size bed which was right on the lake! I literally could have fished from my window and one of my fellow lodgers actually did! Speaking of lodgers, there were some very interesting ones as the Lal Ghat
Lake Palace
. I think that anyone who travels extensively, will relate that one gains just as much joy, if not more, from those you meet 'on the circuit,' as the places you visit. Each day I imagine that I meet 6-10 people and those are just the ones whose names I get! Over the course of a week that's 40-50 people! Well, back to the Lal Ghat. The hotel was set up in such a way that the rooms (three floors, with one dormitory) surrounded a central courtyard wherein a long table sat. The entry way to the hotel was also large, having a small bookstore and internet café. Along the lake there were two balconies that lay directly on the lake.... Ideal for relaxing, discussing cricket (hot topic right now, apparently India lost both of it's games, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka respectively and is out!), Israeli politics, and why The Netherlands voted against the European Union Constitution. My 40 or so fellow borders consisted of a large Israeli contingent (I'd assume just out of the army), five or six Dutch (two who have great travel blogs, which I can pass along), a large number of young British couples, two Irish (in a severe state of Guinness withdrawal.... ("Ayy....'Dis Kingfisher Bier is not so good, but I dink I'll have a nudder') a smattering of other Europeans, a Mexican gal, three Canadians (very proud people they are, their nationality will always be declared within minutes of meeting them and they can often be identified by their maple leaf patches), and one fellow American gal (23, from NYC, but went to Northwestern..
Lake Palace at Night
. and how she hated it.... I had to bite my tongue at first!). Well as you might imagine, with so many things to do I spent the first half of most days seeing sights, taking cooking classes (I only lasted 1 hr.... before the instructor refunded my money and exiled me), and bargaining with vendors on overpriced goods. In bargaining I've come to realize two things: 1) One's counter offer should always be 1/3 of the vendor's initial asking price,
2) Israeli's are supremely talented at bargaining/negotiating (maybe that's why the state has survived for so long),
3) What ever you paid, you were still ripped off... someone else back at the hotel (likely an Israeli) got it for cheaper.
The latter part of my days I spent reading Paul Theroux's The Great Railway Bazaar, eating the local cuising (chicken curry laid me up for a night, but aside from that I've been good), watching 'Octopussy' nightly at 7pm (shown at every rooftop restaurant), and discussing politics and travel. Through the discussions I've been relieved to find that most of our fellow beings realize that each nation is composed of individuals and I have yet to encounter one person who has indiscriminately attacked me simply for being an American. This is not to say that others have not given curt responses to my introductions and walked away, I guess they can tell from the accent
Mewar Festival #1
!....Thus, I've spent two nights and three great days in this fine town. I'd sincerely like to spend more, but my roving, impatient American spirit drives me to move again. I'm thinking Pushkar (known for camels of all things...and btw it is yet another holy city w/o meat, eggs, and alcohol) and then Delhi.
Best-
ps - there are excellent saris, scarves ($3-5), sarongs, silks, jewelry, paintings, etc... if anyone is interested let me know and I can take take some pics and get prices... and if you like purchase.
