Finally, our how else would I express myself? We are in an extremly beautiful town, amazing architecture and so much to explore! Also we are away from all the constant traffic jams, pollution and noise in Mumbai. Fortunately, our fear of melting away in the sun, was exaggerated, we could handle the 35 degrees pretty, the dry air and the breeze made everything so much better.
Hence the more liveable weather most of us felt that a need of change to an AC room was necessary, the night had been really hot. Some of us had crazy dreams (like fever dreams), woke several times a night, and fell asleep again in our own cozy sweat puddles. Me and Maari were lucky getting a room with beautifully shaped windows with a great view.
Breakfast consisted of for most of the group were enjoying the fact that we could eat porridge and banana, just like a home:) After the breakfast it was time to head of for the first major site for the day, The city palace. The place was just amazing, so well kept, you could just imagine being a royalty walking around on the courtyard in your most beautiful sari. The reason to why the place was so well kept was that the Mewar families last maharana (emperor) lived there until the 1970s and after this it was given to the state as a part of India’s cultural heritage. Wikipedia this man and you will see that he attended the Swedish princesses wedding last summer.
View from Udaipur City Palace
Beautiful garden area of the palace
Inside the city place you could see the queen’s dressing room, the last maharana’s all different costumes and several mirror rooms. After being lost in the palace for myself for half an hour, I found the group and we had some well deserved lunch. We did some shopping, the cities shops offering some great handmade leather products as wells as miniature art and home decorations. Plus, all the “regular” backpacker things.
Back in the hotel for a siesta, I decided to take on some dirty laundry. I hanged it on the curtain rod and after a while my favorite dress flew out the window and landed on another roof top. The dress was on the middle of a roof, which looked like a pile of crushed terracotta pots, it would have been dangerous to walk out there. It was just for me to wait and hope that someone brave at the hotel could fix it the next day.
Fredrik photographing the group before a boat ride around the lake
Before we went for dinner we went on a touristy little boat ride in the great lake. On the trip we had to wear silly big orange life vest, that didn’t have straps. I guess it was just for the looks. We had a great dinner on a rooftop restaurant just by the lake and we watched the palaces and houses lighting up. It all looked like a scene from a romantic movie.
We all very happy, pleased, well and less sweaty after our first day in Udaipur!
/Felicia