Tuesday 11th February 2020 - to Udaipur

We had to say farewell to Mount Abu this morning and I have to say I was sad to leave. Apart from Ranthambore this has been a holiday of cities, noise, hustle and bustle, and although both Ranthambore and Mount Abu had elements of this I have to say, being in the mountains and being able to walk there is what I love. Coupled with Charlie’s entertaining guiding made for a very good 2 days. If anyone reading this is wanting to visit Mount Abu, and I would highly recommend it, then look at Charlie’s blog and then look him up!

Mount Abu Treks

So it’s back to the city today. Udaipur. The final place on this stage of our journey. Tomorrow we say farewell to the HF group as they return to the UK and we have 24 hours to do whatever we want before moving on.

The journey took about 4 hours, nearly an hour of that being the winding roads down the mountain. Once we were on the good roads it was fine. And it was fine! Good road surfaces, no roadworks, not much traffic, nothing to report! We stopped once for a break. We had been warned that there was little choice on this road, and the place did cause a little consternation among some, but it was ok. Loos 3/10 though!

The hotel we were staying at in Udaipur was unknown to Jonnet. It is wedding season here, and despite previous bookings, hotels will often cancel them to make room for a wedding and it’s many guests. This is the second change of accommodation we have had, and this place is out of town and very big. We arrived a day after a wedding and all the guests were leaving, but all the decorations still there. Maybe there is another wedding party arriving!

We have a little bungalow on the hillside, with a small balcony and another outdoor shower.

Temperatures are warmer here now that we are out of the mountains so we may have time to make use of both!

We had lunch as soon as we arrived. For the Borneo lot who are reading this you may be amused to know that noodles were given to us as they thought we might not be able to cope with the spicing of the curries that were also on offer. 🤦‍♀️ We then went to our accommodation where we had 20 minutes before heading out again. Not one to waste time I quickly washed out a few bits and hung them on the line provided in the indoor shower. No having to make do with coat hangers, door handles and my very useful travel clothes line here!

Udaipur was named after its founder Rana Udai Singh about 1559. This was after he encountered a hermit/holy man when he was out hunting one day, who advised him where he should build his Palace. It is built around 7 man made lakes and is known as the City of Lakes. It is surrounded by the Aravalli Hills making it a delightful location.

We were taken to the City Palace by our guide. It is a huge structure, now containing 2 hotels, the Royal residence and also the area we were in which took us through much of where the Maharanas and the wives used to live. In places very ornate and giving excellent views over the city and surrounding area.

At the end of the tour we had 30minutes to wander in the local market. Big decision. Dare I try and buy anything? Of course as soon as you start to look the staff come up to you and ply you with even more choice and price cuts. I’d seen pashminas at various places at around £20.00 but wasn’t paying that much! The second shop I stopped at had some nice ones at £9.00 but he immediately offered £8.50. I decided to go into the shop and look at others and see what I could do. I set my top limit at £5.00 and when asked what I would pay said £4.50. He laughed and came down to £7.00, then £6.00 and as I walked out of the door he said £5.00. I bought it! Now I have no idea if I have a bargain but I have learnt that I probably could have gone lower and it has also been suggested that there may be more power in buying 2 or 3 together. Whatever the case I paid less than at home and I have a nice pashmina, although whether I keep it or give it as a gift to some lucky person, who knows!!

The plan was to go somewhere in the minibus for a cup of tea or coffee before dinner, so off we set. The problem was that the road we needed to go down was blocked off by the police so directions were given as to how to approach it via a different route. The next problem was that that route was also blocked off by the Police. Poor Ravi was highly frustrated as he had to turn back.

Now Ravi comes from Delhi, but he has driven us hundreds of miles this last 10 days, navigating complex and frenetically busy cities, country roads, non existent diversions, all without satnav as far as I am aware, and rarely has he made an error. From where I have been sat my impression is that road signage is also poor so how he has known the way I do not know. Well done Ravi! And he has been gracious, helpful and charming to us at all times.

Having driven round Udaipur for an hour, which was pleasant as we were often on the lakesides we gave up and went back to the hotel for dinner!