miércoles, 6 de noviembre de 2013

Trip to Udaipur

Hi!


As I told you in the last post (quite long ago), today I am going to tell you about my trip to Udaipur, in Rajasthan. I have many other topics related to everyday life, but I want to show you the places I go to, so they will have to wait. 

From the bus we could see how the water was up to the knees.
We took a bus on Friday evening. This was not easy, as the monsoon was starting… so, at 9 in the evening, we were in the middle of the street, with puddles at least 10 cm deep in some 15 minutes, and rickshaw drivers telling us to find another way to move around, as they were going nowhere with that rain… Finally we found one to take us there, and then the rain stopped, as always… Of course, the bus was late, and from the inside we could see people with water up to their knees and bikes with the wheels practically covered. We think it wasn’t raining for much longer than 20 minutes.

Close-up of the palace.
We arrived at Udaipur at 5 in the morning. The hotel opened at 6, so we found a place to sit down and see the sunrise over lake Pichola, an artificial lake created in 1362. After that, we had a quick nap at the hotel and started the visit. First, we went to the city palace. Inside, we could see the Maharana palace and his wife’s. Up there, the views over the lake were impressive.

One of the rooms of the Palace.
Owl post office...

In the palace.
Picture taken from one of the rooftops.
After climbing for a while, we got to the first floor, where there is a garden.
 It is not a typo; the palace is on a mountain!
The city from a small red window in the palace.
Lake Palace, an old palace, now a 5 star hotel. Only guests can get in.


An elepahant (symbol of good luck) on my nail. 
You can even see the subtle golden line on the cover.
After having lunch on a roof (there are many restaurants like that, because the views of the city are amazing), we were walked around and did some shopping. Clothes here are so nice… baggy trousers, skirts, kurtis… Moreover, an artist drew and elephant on my nail, with so many details. It was an interesting afternoon.


The city.
Rajasthani dance with fire on their heads.
Before sunset, we went to a Rajasthani dance show. If I’m not mistaken, there were five types. In one, the girls were dancing with fire bowls on their heads. In another one, three women had 13 small cymbals around their body and they were dancing and playing while sitting. This was one of our favourite dances, because it was a mixture of musical instrument, dance and juggling. In the third type, several girls were dancing and turning with traditional colourful clothes. There was also a puppet show dancing with the music. Finally, a woman would dance with some pots on her head, from 2 or 3 up to 11! If you want, there are videos of it in youtube, you just have to look for Bagore ki Haveli (the place where we were) and the word “dance”, although it would be better to come and see it, of course! ;)
Dancers with traditional dresses.
Traditional Rajasthani dance with 11 pots on her head!
Next day, we took a boat at 10 in the morning to go around the lake and to Jag Mandir, an island where we visited the gardens and enjoyed the calmness. Back in the city, we visited a Hindu temple and Bagore ki Haveli. Havelis are traditional mansions in India and Pakistan, and this one has been restored as a museum, with some rooms for exhibitions and others showing how this houses used to be.
One side of the palace from the lake.
In Jag Mandir island, with carved elepahnts and gardens in the background.
Jagdish temple, a hindu temple.
A room in Bagore ki Haveli with a puppet exhibition.
Turbans in Bagore ki Haveli.
Soaked after 5 minutes under the rain.
To finish the day, before going back to Ahmedabad, we visited another lake, a bit to the north, called Fateh Sagar. To go to the island in the centre, we took a small boat, and then, suddenly, it started raining cats and dogs the moment we set fot on the island! It lasted for some 5 to 10 minutes and we were under a shelter, but we ended up soaked. Anyway, as it is not cold, it is not so bad. The only problem is protecting the camera, mobile phone, passport, etc., and having it inside a backpack or purse is not enough… It was really fun, though.






That’s all about that trip. It was at the beginning of the monsoon, as I was telling you, and now it is already over! I hope I will have some more time to write in the coming weeks… It is just that I am a bit busy, but I don’t forget about it!

Ghats, stairs in lakes or rivers, are used both for hindu religious rites and for washing or swimming.
Here they were having a lot of fun.

Women washing in a ghat in lake Pichola.

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