And I finally overcame the inertia and embarked upon the most unplanned trip ever. Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur form an inverted triangle with Udaipur being the inverted tip. Jaisalmer is skewed. I tossed a coin at 7 in the evening and decided in favour of Udaipur over Jodhpur for the first day.
The late decision found me one last seat in the night sleeper from Jaipur to Udaipur. The bumpy ride began Ajmer onwards as the road became narrower – I felt that my back would give in again, thankfully it didn’t. Meanwhile, I sipped hot tea at every stop to fight the chill of the strong air conditioner in the bus. Honestly, I am not used to working air conditioners in buses, an unregulated, full-blown one is far-fetched.
Reaching Udaipur at 8 in the morning, I rushed to the public conveniences, eased myself, short and long, and then started evaluating my options. “Travel Cheap” was the mantra. 250 bucks and the autorickshaw was ready to take me around the city to all good spots. Considering the fact that I had received a quote for 21,000 Rs for the three cities (include Jaisalmer), I was more than just happy.
The day started with a visit to the Verma Gardens that have been neatly carved on a hill overlooking Lake Pichola. Not expecting a hiking experience of any degree during this trip, I found the walk to the top of the hill quite a pleasant surprise. The views of the Pichola, Lake Palace, City Palace, Sajjangarh Fort and the town itself were breathtaking. Having spent about an hour at the top amidst nice cool breeze, I decided to head back and make a move to the City Palace, prime attraction of Udaipur.
The late decision found me one last seat in the night sleeper from Jaipur to Udaipur. The bumpy ride began Ajmer onwards as the road became narrower – I felt that my back would give in again, thankfully it didn’t. Meanwhile, I sipped hot tea at every stop to fight the chill of the strong air conditioner in the bus. Honestly, I am not used to working air conditioners in buses, an unregulated, full-blown one is far-fetched.
Reaching Udaipur at 8 in the morning, I rushed to the public conveniences, eased myself, short and long, and then started evaluating my options. “Travel Cheap” was the mantra. 250 bucks and the autorickshaw was ready to take me around the city to all good spots. Considering the fact that I had received a quote for 21,000 Rs for the three cities (include Jaisalmer), I was more than just happy.
The day started with a visit to the Verma Gardens that have been neatly carved on a hill overlooking Lake Pichola. Not expecting a hiking experience of any degree during this trip, I found the walk to the top of the hill quite a pleasant surprise. The views of the Pichola, Lake Palace, City Palace, Sajjangarh Fort and the town itself were breathtaking. Having spent about an hour at the top amidst nice cool breeze, I decided to head back and make a move to the City Palace, prime attraction of Udaipur.
City Palace, Udaipur, is considered to be one of the largest palaces in the world, second only to the one at Mysore. It took about 400 years for 8 generations of rulers of Mewar to bring about what it is today. A guide worth 100 bucks was instrumental in letting me know the nitty-gritties of the palace, the ones that I readily forgot. However, by the end of the tour, I had been face to face with Maharana Pratap’s armoury and weapons, exquisite frescos, flawless carvings and minute colored mirror-work. It all took me about 8 kms on foot inside the palace (atleast the guide chose to believe so).
By now, the heat had taken a heavy toll on me and I wanted to avoid further walks. A few more touristic points like the Maharana Pratap’s Memorial, the Zoological Park, Saheliyon Ki Baari and I was more than exhausted. I ate my lunch at a small stall at the Memorial (greasily and spicily cooked Bhaturas with Cholaas) at around 1400 hrs and started wondering as to what to do next.I had a ticket to the next town (Jodhpur) at 2000 hrs and I had way too much time to kill. That’s when a bit of solitude did set in and I started weighing my options to keep the monster away. I decided on the Sajjangarh Fort till late noon, Island gardens in the evening and then catch the bus to Jodhpur at 2000 hrs. An extra 100 bucks and we decided to drag the auto up the steep incline towards the Sajjangarh fort. It was a small monsoon getaway for the monarchy, offering imposing views of the city, the greenery around and strong cool breeze. The place rests in complete solitude and it seemed to be the perfect locale to pen down the account for the day. I sat in the front verandah and wrote all this in a diary as occasional tourists passed by, giving queer looks. After a heavy brownie at the renovated café, I headed back down towards the town. After having gone to all the famous places in the town, I adjudged the Verma Gardens to be the best place to spend the evening. I headed towards the hilltop again for a sunset view before heading for the boatride in the lake. I reached the top while the sun was still 30 degrees above the horizon and I was almost sure that the mist would ruin the sunset. Still I chose to wait!
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