Today, Saturday, November 8th, the Palace on Wheels rolled into Udaipur or the Lake City. You pronounce it Ooooodaipur. Each stop is totally different from the next. So amazing. Our guide was 72 and had been giving tours everyday for 52 years! We all loved Udaipur. It had a real Mediterranean feel. We were greeted with a dot on our head, which is a greeting as well as a practice of covering the "third eye" in the middle of the forehead. We also got our first marigold necklace which is another way to welcome. Udaipur is made up of 5 lakes, I believe, that are all manmade and filled only by rain water. If there is no rain, there are no lakes, they then call it the "Mud City".
Our guide then took us to a lush green area where a king had built 5 fountains for his daughters. It was lush and beautiful and reminded me of Fantasy Island!
Truly amazing how these people live…
Another contrast of India, the filth with a beautiful bougainvillea.
This little man was bathing and feeding the fish.
This man was washing his clothes and brushing his teeth.
Refreshing to see these beautiful lakes instead of dirt and dust.
Our guide then took us to a lush green area where a king had built 5 fountains for his daughters. It was lush and beautiful and reminded me of Fantasy Island!
Every time you take a picture with a local they want money! This lady was telling Craig he had to pay. It's a little annoying, but you get used to it. These ladies work in the gardens cleaning.
Next we went to an artist area where masters painted very intricate miniature paintings with camel eyelashes as their brushes! The beggars know where the tour busses go and they follow. Some are legit and others are controlled by the Mafia. It breaks your heart. We gave them food and snacks we had brought from home that we ended up not needing because the food was so good!
This guy was only in his 20s and he was already a master.
Since they can't use ivory anymore, they paint on camel bone. They grind it into a powder, then add resin, then make it flat to paint on. They do intricate fretwork around the edges.
Indian households hang this out each day to ward off evil. It is made of peppers and a lemon, I think.
Marigolds are strung everywhere for decoration.
More beggars waiting for is on our way out.
Next we toured the enormous City Palace. A royal family still lives inside. There are also several hotels within, as well. The inside was very ornately decorated.
This is called a "Peacock Arch" They are everywhere in India.
I'm trying to figure out how to get one at our house!
Entrance to the Palace
View of Udaipur from the palace
Lots of Indian men have these long curled mustaches…they are very proud of them!
Loved these blue and white tiles
This amazing peacock was intricately inlayed
The blue here is inlayed glass!
Tiny arched doorway
The Palace on Wheels does it right, they took us for a lovely lunch at at hotel in the palace.
The palace in Udaipur sits on Lake Pichola. There are several floating hotels, one of which is called Lake Palace, or Jag Niwas, was in the James Bond movie Octapussy. We rode a little boat around this lake and stopped on an island, Jag Mandir, for tea.
Jag Niwas, hotel from Octapussy. You can still stay there today.
Looking back at the palace
The Oberoi in Udaipur sits on the bank of the Pichola.
The boat we took
Our tour guide…been doing this for 52 years. He knew his stuff!
Ladies washing clothes at a hotel
Children bathing
Jag Mandir where we stopped for tea. You can rent this island for events.
Sorry for this long post. Udaipur ended up being one of our favorite spots. I have thousands more photos, believe it or not! Tomorrow we wake up in the dessert!
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