Around the World in 365 days: Udaipur, India 04.05

We arrived at 6am in Udaipur and were immediately surrounded by prospective drivers. We walked with our eyes straight ahead, talking to no-one until we got to the pre-paid autorickshaw booth. Unfortunately, we ended up with one the drivers who had been following us from the station. These ones are not just in it for the fare, they want more business from you. They demand to know what time you want to be picked up for sightseeing, and tell you they will wait outside your hotel for you. We simply told him, we wouldn't need his services, and he sat for a while looking confused out the front of the hotel, until he finally got the hint and left.

We saw a brochure for the hotel, and the pushy travel agent told us that we would get rooms with views of the lake, as shown in the pictures. He said that we just had to ask for rooms on the second floor. Well, it turned out there was no second floor, and no view, unless you counted the view from the roof. They had tables and chairs on the flat rooftop, but the lakes were still very hard to see from there. We had breakfast on the roof, then gave in to our heat-induced sleepiness and went to bed.

Eventually we wandered out of the hotel, and tried to follow the receptionists directions to the old city centre. However the map he gave us had opposite directions to the ones he told us, so we got confused. We ended up walking in the wrong direction in the 40 degree heat, and found ourselves in the newer section of the town. Finally we took an autorickshaw to the right place, but everything we wanted to see was closed because it was Sunday and too late in the day.

Jain Temple
We familiarised ourselves with the area by walking around the old town and looking for little markets. Most were closed, but we found a big clock tower, which became a great reference point for finding our way around the town. We also came across a little private Jain temple. We came inside, and the priest told us about the temple and himself. He was of the Brahman caste, which is the highest caste. Most people of this caste are priests. We wandered around the temple, but we weren't allowed to take photos. He asked for a donation for the temple in exchange for our visit.

Impressions of Udaipur
Udaipur is a very interesting city. The old town which is centred around the lake, is essentially a beautiful place. There are palaces in the middle of the lake, and at night they glow with hundreds of lights. There are also palaces on the land and further up the mountain. The whole city is full of beautiful old buildings, big temples and colourful people. This is the Udaipur that you see when you get used to India and the dirt and filth lining the streets doesn't bother you anymore.

This beautiful city is the Udaipur we saw, but what you also see are cows and dogs roaming the street aimlessly, eating the food scraps and rubbish that people toss out their doors onto the pathways and streets. The result of having these animals wandering freely through the streets, and eating rubbish, is that the ground is covered with animal droppings and there is a putrid smell in the air. I can't imagine what quality of milk these cows produce for the locals, when there is no grass for them to eat, only rubbish.

Bagone-Ki-Haveli Performance
That evening we visited Bagone-Ki-Haveli, an Arts School, where a traditional Rajasthani dance performance is regularly held. We arrived early, so we were able to look at some of the art on display. A lot of it was abstract and very interesting. We also visited the rooftop where we had beautiful views of the two lake palaces.

We found seats on cushions on the floor, right at the front. The performances were thrilling! There were so many colourful costumes and themes to the dances. There were also musicians playing in the background. The dances started just as the sun was setting, so there was beautiful atmospheric light. The first dance was about the peacock, which is a much loved bird in India. The peacock dancer was accompanied by another beautiful dancer. This dancer was very graceful, probably the best dancer of the night.

One of the other dances involved a whole circle of women dancing. This one was very beautiful too. Each of the women had a dress in a different colour, and anklets with bells that tinkled as they moved their feet.

Our other favourite dance was one from Jaisalmer, the desert region in the west of Rajasthan. Women have to walk a long way to collect water in this region, so they have a dance where a woman carries 10 pots on her head and does all sorts of tricks while carrying them. She walks on glass, tap dances with a shallow dish etc. She started with one pot, then they kept adding more and more until she had 10. It was good this way, because you knew they weren't all attached together. It was a thrilling performance.

Scary Ride Home
After the performance, we wandered back along the streets toward our hotel, not completely sure of where we were going, seeing as we had gotten lost on the way. We we offered ridiculous prices by rickshaw drivers, so we chose to walk. As we walked, a man on a motorcycle offered us a lift. He said he wouldn't charge us, so we accepted. It might sound stupid to you, but the people in India, annoying as they are, are not very scary. Everyone wants something from you though, and we knew this. This guy worked at another hotel, and wanted to give us his business card. We felt safer once we knew his agenda too. He freaked us out though on the way, because he took a very roundabout way of getting to our hotel. He drove in what seemed to be the opposite direction and for a very long time. However he did drop us off at where the sign was pointing to our hotel. We thanked him and walked the rest of the way to the hotel. We now think he was trying to make us think that our hotel was very far away, and that his hotel, which he had pointed out a the beginning, was in a better location. All this aside, we got home safely!

Shopping in Udaipur
We didn't get much done on the first day, so we decided to plan our time and see everything! We wanted to see the Royal Palace, the Jagdish temple and also visit the palaces on the water. Loren was also keen to buy some appropriate clothes for India. Anything shorter than ankle length provokes stares from the locals. Hali, Loren's sister had visited India before and bought some lovely salwar kameez dresses while she was there, so Loren decided to buy one too. The salwar kameez in like a tunic dress with pants underneath and a scarf.

We finally found a salwar kameez shop in a narrow alleyway. The shelves are full of folded salwar kameez dresses that are already made, and more shelves are also filled with the beaded material for dresses that have not yet been made. We got the tailor to pull out lots of different dresses until finally we found one that we liked. It was a royal blue colour with a beaded bodice and short sleeves. The pants were slim and fitted with more beading around the ankles, and the scarf was a matching blue colour. The price was already attached, so we knew we were getting the local price. Loren was very happy!

At another more touristy shop, we found a long green skirt that would be good for the culture and the climate. The owner insisted that Loren try on a sari. It was a dark blue colour with some white sections, and he wrapped it around in the right way. It looked very cool! But saris are very big, and not the right size for our overstuffed bags.

Our next task was to find a store that sold adaptors for Indian power sockets. We asked about ten different people who pointed us in about ten different directions, saying 'oh about 15 shops in that direction'. Finally we found a little arcade where people had set up shops for repairing electrical goods. One guy said he had one, then searched through his drawer for about 10 minutes looking for it. It's not surprising it took so long, as his shop looked like a bomb had gone off inside it. There were wires and littles pieces and screws from every sort of appliance strewn around the benches and in every drawer, covering every surface. It was like a junkyard. Eventually he found it for us, and charged us only 25 rupees (about 50 cents).

Jagdish Temple
The next thing we found was the Jagdish Temple - apparently it was an Indo-Aryan temple. We took our shoes off at the entrance, and a boy started telling us about the temple. He lead us inside where we found a large group of women sitting on the floor. One woman was teaching the others about the Hindu religion. All the women listened intently, and at one point they started singing songs of praise. The gathering reminded Loren of ones from the Bible times, where women dressed similarly and people gathered around in temples to hear teachings.

Our guide told us that the women with shawls on their heads were married, and that the colour red symbolises blessing and luck. This is why women have red henna patterns painted on their hands, why they get married in red dresses, why people wear red dots on their foreheads and why married women wear a streak of red in the part of their hair.

He showed us around the outside courtyards of the temple, moving in a clockwise direction, as this is the correct way in Hindu temples. People visit the Ganesh statue first, because he brings wealth. We saw hundreds of figures carved on the outside of the temple. There were kama sutra carvings and carvings of cats, which was a surprise because Indians consider cats to be unlucky. Most cultures see black cats as unlucky, but for Indians, it is all cats. You see very few of them on the streets, because people release them into the forest far away.

Royal Palace

After the temple, we finally went to visit the Royal Palace. We hired an English speaking guide to take us around. He told us about the history of the palace and the materials used and what each room was used for. Apparently the palace still belongs to the 25th generation of the ancestor that built the palace. The building is carved into the rock that was there in the ground. The lake next to the palace is actually an artficial lake, and the locals are desperate for it to remain full, as it is a big part of their tourism. In drought, the lake can become empty, so people are now trying to conserve water.

Inside the wall around the palace the ground has some strange mounds or bumps in the concrete. Apparently these were built as pillows for the elephants that were kept there originally. The elephants lean against them as they lie down. They also had two levels near the palace with steps leading up to them. One level was for mounting horses, and the other level was for mounting elephants.

The courtyard also had a wall that was used for elephant fights. They would give alcohol to the elephants, who are normally placid animals, and they would become agressive. They locked trunks and pulled each other like a 'tug-of-war'. Whichever elephant became pressed up against the wall at the end, was the loser. Elephants were also given alcohol in battles, so opposing soldiers would attach trunks to their horses, to make them look like baby elephants, because that is one of the few things the elephants wouldn't attack.

Inside the palace, there were many rooms and courtyards. One courtyard was called the Peacock Courtyard because there were painting and mosaics of peacocks everywhere. There was also a Ruby Room, but apparently it had nothing to do with rubies. There was a lot of glass decorations in the palace. The Indians were very fond of Belgium glass, as they believed it would never fade.

The emperor who lived there at one point had 16 wives, so there were 16 windows built onto the front of the palace, so they could all watch the gatherings and ceremonies in front of the palace. A later emperor, became a paraplegic after a failed operation, so they built a lift for him. He built a false door next to the lift. He would take the lift and tell all his guests to take the stairs through that door. He found it hilarious when they couldn't open the door.

The palace is surrounded by balconies, towers and cuppolas, and there are beautiful views from there over the lake and the two palaces in the lake. One palace in the lake is the Summer Palace - this palace has been turned into a very expensive and exclusive hotel called the 'Lake Palace Hotel'. The other palace on the lake is the Pleasure Palace on Jagmandir Island, and this one can be visited by anyone. The palace on the mountain is the monsoon palace and is a great place to watch the sunset from.

Boat Ride on the Lake

After the tour of the palace, we took a boat ride around the lake. We didn't visit the Summer Palace, because you can only visit if you are staying there or eating there. The prices were exhorbitant, even for Westerners, and we had already eaten, so we decided to miss it. It was fun to see the city from the boat though, and to get closer to the Summer Palace, even if we couldn't go inside.

Pleasure Palace
We did get off at the Pleasure Palace though, it was very cool! There was a fountain in the centre of the courtyard and a huge, beautiful building behind the fountain.

Little bars along the outskirts of the courtyard offered pricy drinks and food, and the waiters wore traditional white pants and tunic with orange waist bands and turbans. The music playing was so relaxing, so we stayed for a while, soaking in the beauty and the sipping cold fruity drinks.