Day 18 – A flight to Udaipur

It’s fortuitous that we didn’t have anything really planned for today because we were feeling a little lazy. We woke up late, had breakfast and then headed back to Janpath market. We were going with boys time, and I was curious to see how we would be treated by vendors. They still came up to us, but did not seem to pester us as much as they did the first time, when we were just a group of girls. Jane and I did a good job of continuing to ignore the pesky people, whereas Mic and Grayson would egg them on and get them going. One of Mic’s tricks is to tell someone that he doesn’t have any money, but that Grayson is rich and he would love to see whatever unattractive thing the gentleman is selling. Ha ha, Mic, really funny!

This day was more of a wasted day, as we were supposed to catch a flight to Udaipur at 4:30. After lunch, we waited for our car to pick us up, went to the airport, and waited for our flight. It was a little late, so we didn’t get into Udaipur until around 7:00.

Udaipur is a very pretty town in Rajasthan. It has much less garbage than Delhi, but also fewer people. Udaipur has only 250 000 people, relatively small in comparison to other Indian cities. We had a very special dinner planned at Lake Palace Hotel. This hotel is completely surrounded by water….most of the time. A few weeks ago, there was no water, but recently the monsoon rains have caused the water level to rise. At the Lake Palace Hotel, only residents of the hotel are permitted to eat at the restaurant. Our travel advisor, Sujata, made special arrangements for us to eat there.

We were taken to the hotel by boat and then were treated royally. White glove service by the waiters, comfy couches to sit on, and personal plate service added to the special feeling surrounding us. We dined until we could eat no more.

The food was splendid, and, strangely enough, the wine was not that expensive. I don’t understand it. Everywhere else, the food has been inexpensive, but the wine has been exorbitant (well, exorbitant for India). We boated back to the mainland and back to our hotel, the Trident.

The Trident hotel is also beautiful. It has extensive grounds that include a swimming pool, lounge area, grassy and garden areas and a golf course. We may be able to wander about there on Friday after our half-day tour.

A crocodile and me

City Palace – well, part of it

Jain temple – very ornate!

Advertisement