Udaipur; the city of lakes, monsoon palace and bathing ghats.

So I’ll admit that the first few days of our India trip had not wowed me as I’d hoped, when I visited Thailand last year I was told by many that I wouldn’t enjoy Bangkok but I fell in love with it. I thought/hoped the same would be true for Mumbai, but without the roaring sex trade, the sleazy bars that never closed and the bright lights on every corner, it didn’t cause me much intrigue and I was looking forward to leaving to quieter retreat. 

So we flew to Udaipur, the city of lakes, it is dominated by Lake Pichola, enshrined with bathing ghats and flurried with peaceful boat trips. The surrounding landscape is mountainous and green, in the middle of the lake is the hotel City Palace, which is a white, colonial indian architectural mix.

Twice a day the call to prayer dirges out across the city, ethereal and melancholy. After an hour we sat in our room after checking in to our hostel I was in love, I said to Rob, this is one of those places that will leave a stamp on my soul, I was sat out the window, legs swinging over the patchwork rooftops and watched a thick maroon sunset set across the city, a parade of the most enormous bats attended the call and danced across the setting landscape.

Our hostel, Nukkad guesthouse, is stunning. Traditional artwork adorns the walls, with long winding house plants hanging from top to bottom, the rooms full of multicoloured glass panels giving the whole place a mystical but homely stain. Ran by Raju and his family, the 6^th generation homestead has so much soul. In minutes I had met his grandchildren, son, daughter and mother. It boasts a rooftop restaurant, with 8am daily yoga classes. My jam.

 

We arrived at 5pm, after a light dinner of lovely home cooked food we headed off to bed with lighter hearts and fuller tummies.

We had a quiet next day, starting with an 8am rooftop yoga class; gathering our bearings. We watched local women doing laundry in the bathing ghats, drank fresh fruit juices and located neccessities like ATM’s and gathered information regarding must see sites in Udaipur. We found a small beautiful hindu temple dedicated to Lakshmi and Ganesh, we were blessed, for the 3rd time now in India and gave belly rubs to holy cows living in the temple grounds.

After sampling again the homecooked cuisine in our hostels restaurant, we settled down for a unfortunately sleepless night, an indian night never rests, and serenades of moped horns and the cries of babies permiated the dense heat.