Journey to Rajasthan-Udaipur!

First pics.-road to Udaipur; views of Udaipur palaces; last two pics Ranakpur temple.
















We are in Mount Abu, and seen the Dilwara temples twice; don't reach there before 12 noon, this is a complex of Jain temples where daily worship requires that the complex is opened to the public around noon time. Cameras are not allowed, be particular that your camera details are noted with brand details and some model number etc. as some friends of mine ran into problems, and stress, when the wrong camera was handed back to them on leaving; some amount of argument and angry words were necessary to get their own camera!!

Some amount of relief on leaving Mount Abu on the third day, early morning, tired of eating out in restaurants in the market, the same fare of Rajasthani or Gujarati thalis. After the second and third time you begin to suspect the choices in the thali are just a little variation on the previous meal selection.

The drive down to the plains, winding along steep and dangerous curves, stopped at a broad curve in the road, behind another vehicle whose occupants were out feeding monkeys! I looked for some bananas we had packed, and offered these to our swinging denizens- they were quite gentle and did not grab the fruits.

On the approaches to Udaipur, the flat plain, dotted with bushes, cacti and bare trees, gave way to hills also dotted with bush and thorny trees, the road winding through gaps in the hills.

It seems the new sentinels of Indian cities, of considerable tourist interest, are the local city guides; they are there, waiting, at every road junction that leads into the city. With an identity card hanging loosely from their shirt collar, they will flag down your vehicle, wave the plastic wrapped card, and offer to be your guide. If you agree, they will hop into the front seat next to the driver and start off by suggesting the hotel you should stay in.

We stayed in Udaipur for three days, picking the second day to visit Ranakpur temple, these Jain temples, like the Dilwara temples (see post below) are marvellous work of intricate marble work, very beautiful.

Evening of the first day we went off to view lake Pichola, with the awesome complex of the
City Palace on its bank and the dreamlike Lake Palace floating in the lake; the view of the hills on the far side of the lake, facing west, is at its best at sunset. Glad we went there the first day, the experience so awesome and beautiful, so returning here for a second and third time a must!

The City Palace is a huge complex of old and new structures, some older buildings serve as museums, the edifice and the interior rooms preserved in the old rajput styles. The newer buildings serve as hotels and private residences of the royal families, and there is a huge garage within the southern wing that houses the superb collection of Rolls and other vintage cars!!! we managed to get in and view those magnificent machines..........lucky maharajas!

The Lake Palace, a one time palace for romantic seclusion for the Maharajas, now a hotel, is out of bounds unless you have checked in as passenger; so us common folk managed to get to the jetty to view this dream- (the jetty also out of bounds, because it is actually part of the private entrance to the City Palace hotels- the entrance to the older museum wings is on the northern side of the palaces.)

see my post here for more details and pictures......
link
and second link.