The 335 citations on India’s Wikipedia page are just one (thoroughly researched) way of saying that there’s a lot going on in that neck of the woods. When my husband Francis and I visited in December 2009, we used our three weeks to get a taste of different regions—Delhi and the north, west and south—without racing around too much and turning it into a whirlwind-slash-logistical-cluster$%&# (it can really go either way in India). And largely because we fell in love with the idea of sleeping like maharajas in a grand lakeside haveli, Udaipur is where we stayed once we arrived in Rajasthan.
Guidebooks call Udaipur the “Venice of the East,” and while water does feature prominently in the city’s charm, I wouldn’t even attempt to pigeonhole all that comprises Udaipur. Seven days? Please, take seven months. And I hope you like the word, “wow,” because you’re going to say it a lot if you visit.
Thank you to Francis for sharing some of his photos with me. Now, here are some ideas for things to see or do during your visit.
Let’s start with the obvious. You can visit palaces. You can even stay in palaces, although Lake Palace will empty your wallet of about $500 a night. (We stayed at Amet Haveli, and it was plenty luxe and still very affordable.)
You can have breakfast with friends.
You can get your pants hemmed for 20 cents.
You can walk the skinny streets and try not to get squished by cars or elephants.
You can go swimming (but not on pool cleaning day).
You can… <snort…giggle…teehee>…
You can take easy excursions to Shilpgram (the festival is in December) or Eklingji (it was built in 734 A.D.).
You can take a cooking class with a former national swimming champion (and his cute-as-pie daughter), after the three of you ride to his house on a very small motorbike.
Or, you can sit lakeside and just be.
Wherever you are, enjoy!
Magical moments, captured beautifully. This is also practically helpful for the would-be traveller. Making sense of India is a challenge indeed, but you have both overcome it, with wonderful experiences packed in! Thank you!
Thank you, Christina. I found India to be a far more hospitable environment than I would have thought.
Love your sense of humor and joy of life and all around you! Congrats on getting people interested in your book! <3 Jodi
Thank you, Jodi. 🙂 Love being on this journey of life with you!
Wow! Yep, I like that word. Three weeks is pretty impressive. So far, I’ve only been lucky enough to get a couple of weeks for big vacations, but whenever I get to Australia, I know I’ll need a big ol’ hunk of time to do it justice.
But now that you’re a free agent, your time belongs to you again! So dream big, my friend. 🙂
I loved Udaipur – and it’s also possible to take a boat across the lake and sing the James Bond theme, very loudly – one of the films was set here. Okay, so it’s childish, but it was fun!
Oh, I’m so glad you brought up the James Bond bit! Yes, Octopussy was filmed there and can be viewed in any number of restaurants during supper.
Thank you for bringing back memories of our first trip to India in 2001, including the Blow Horn sign. Our second trip was very different. There’s so much variety in India.
Hi Miriam, so nice to meet you here. Have you posted about your India trips? What kind of differences did you experience with regards to your two trips?
I saw on your site that you live in Jerusalem — one of my favorite cities. I’ve been to Israel four times but am LONG overdue for a visit.
Nice to meet you too, Laura. No, I haven’t posted about the India trips. They were in my pre-blogging days. The second trip was to Nagaland and Assam. Nagaland is very different from the places tourists usual visit.
Do look me up when you’re next in Jerusalem.
How fantastic, that would be such an interesting part of India to visit. Did you get there by train? I know what you mean about pre-blogging days — I have lots of places traveled that I’ve never written about — but there’s no statute of limitations on stories! I don’t think many tourists see that part of India so you’d actually be doing us a great service by writing about it. And thank you for the invite when I’m visiting Jerusalem; the same for you if you venture to the Pacific Northwest.
We flew there. One big difference was that there was no begging on the streets, and people seemed content with what they had. Thanks for the invite.
Awesome photos. Udaipur is an amazing place. Recently my father was overthere. Thank you for Sharing India’s city.I hope you enjoyed our nation’s culture, we have very different cultures. I hope you will visit again to the India.
Thank you for your kind words, Sakib! The variety of cultures is truly amazing. I definitely hope to go back.
Wonderful! I just visited through your eyes, words, & pics, Laura.
Thank you, Aniruddha! Have you ever been to the Rajasthan region? It’s one place I’d love to revisit to also see Jaipur, Jodphur, etc.
You are welcome, Laura. No. I haven’t traveled to Rajasthan as yet, but I wish I could. You are welcome again. I & my family might join you. 🙂
🙂