December 17, 2011 - Udaipur

It's luxurious to be able to stay at the same hotel for more than one night.  Today we get to tour Udaipur and return to our hotel, so there's no packing and unpacking today.

The breakfast is a bit noisy with all of the teenagers showing up.  Luckily, we arrived before them, so we got our food before the invasion.

Baba, our driver, in a conversation about health care, notes that the province of Rajasthan promises free ambulance service to all citizens within five minutes of a phone call.

We go on a tour of the town palace.  The maharana was quite a special guy, housing each of his 1600 wives in a separate room, and entertaining each one in his private quarters once every five years.  Perhaps because of her despair of waiting so long to see her beloved husband, one of the wives was said to have taken poison on a balcony one sad night.  Such is the history of the palace where portions of "Octopussy" was filmed.  Who is to say whether Bond or the maharana was the greater man?  Das, our 70-year old guide, is quite good at pointing out the peculiarities of the palace and showing me good vantage points for photos.  After our tour of the palace and its grandiose rooms, bee-hive hung outer walls, sun plaque, fine horses, elephant parking pads, mirror rooms, waiting hall swings for opium-smoking ladies of one-in-five-year nights, and pictures of water polo playing elephants we talk to a store owner who tries to convince me that suits can only be tailored well in New Delhi or his own store rather than Ludhiana after bragging that he, too, has appeared in a movie: "Drift".  Checking this out to possibly sign up for it on my Netflix streaming, I suspect that of the four listed films of that name, this is one about fly-fishing in various locales including India.  He finally relents his diatribe against tailoring in cities unfamiliar with tourist physiques when Lindy points out that we could hardly refuse the generosity and wisdom of our textile-business host in arranging for a custom-fit suit in his own city.  We escape that shop without purchase, but pick up a nice tie-dye scarf in another shop stop on the way out of the palace.  (The maharana continues to earn money through palace tour fees and ownership of several tourist attractions, including multiple hotels.)

The garden of the maidens provides a nice bit of green and water.

We drive around Lake Pichola, enjoying the views, but don't take a ride on the water until a less-traveled but overcrowded putt-putt takes us out to Nehru island in Fatehpur lake.  Unfortunately, Lindy has another encounter with a less-than-satisfactory public facility, and we return after a picturesque walk on the island to a pleasant afternoon lunch.  The restaurant has changed its hours since Lonely Planet listed it, and the kitchen closes at 3:00.  The waiter regrettably informs us that dessert is unavailable before offering me an espresso coffee.  I accept, but then he smacks his head and apologizes for that, too, being unavailable.  He leaves to get our check, but returns with my coffee anyway, and a subsequent bill.  As we leave, another couple is being seated for ... dining?

Jagdish Temple was dedicated to Vishnu in 1651. It is well carved, quite interesting, and the non-guide "practicing his English" gives us a little tour, encouraging us (unsuccessfully) to visit his local art studio on the way back. He does point out a worn area of a piece of marble near the entrance to the temple that has been used as a charm for aching backs.  Following his instructions, Lindy rubs her lower back, which has been troubling her a bit, seven times from left to right.  This should bring the attention of Vishnu to her plight and ease her discomfort. We pick up our shoes from the shoe guard who wants a tip (despite the lack of shoe guards and theft at any other temple) and take the waiting tuk-tuk back to our driver.

On the way back to our hotel, Baba stops to pick up his family.  His wife has been wanting to meet us.  When we arrive at the hotel, there is a chance for a little photo opportunity.  The children are shy, but the wife is happy to see us.  They are a beautiful looking family.  The baby girl keeps stealing a glance at her hard-working father.


At the hotel, we watch the evening's performance of an exotic dancer showing her ability to balance seven bowls on her head while dancing on the edges of scimitars and stomping on broken glass.