The Romantic city of Udaipur

The beautiful, colorful dancers of Rajasthan.
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We left Delhi earlier than expected, saying farewell to Maya, Jesus & Vijay after nearly a month together. Aloke and Mithu saw us off to the airport as well. We decided to fly to Udaipur rather than take the overnight train just to make it easier.

Udaipur is often called the most romantic city in the state of Rajasthan. The city itself is not even 450 years old, established when Maharaja Singh II fled his fort in Chittorgarh after being attacked by the Mughals. It is quite young by India standards. It's a renaissance town, full of artisans, performers, and beautiful architecture. The clothes are bright, and turbans and saris abound. The city abuts Lake Pichola which adds to the romantic beauty of the city, with reflections of the architecture and lights.

A view of the Lake Palace from our hotel at night.
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Sadly for us, we were there for 5 nights, and took turns combatting "Delhi-Belly" for 4 of them. Fortunately, since we took turns, at least one of us had a chance to explore and shop. See Indira's entry "My auditory experience of Udaipur" for more details.

Still we had a chance to visit the beautiful and varied architecture of the city. We watched the sunset from Sajjan Garh (The Monsoon Palace), explored the Jagdish Hindu Temple with a large stone image of Vishnu as Jagannath, Lord of the Universe (please!). Sean & Avani also had a chance to see the City Palace (largest in Rajasthan), also built by Maharaja Singh II and added onto by many other maharajas. Most stunning were the mosaic peacocks, a favorite bird in Rajasthan.

Indira enjoys breakfast at our hotel with a view over the lake.
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We especially enjoyed shopping for the famous miniature paintings in the Rajput-Mughal style. We found a few nice pieces including a finely detailed replica of the peacock mosaic at the City Palace.