Udaipur, last stop in Rajastan. Well, almost, after this I am joining Eduardo up to Jaipur where I'll be taking a night train to Haridwar. And from there on to Rishikesh and Uttarkashi... Ashram here I come!
As far as Udaipur is concerned: it's probably the most touristy place in Rajastan so far. It reminds me a little bit of Essaouira in Morocco: the shops and restaurants are just a little less shabby and sometimes even have designer furniture (!! discovered a batch of AWESOME vintage stairs on the roof top terrace of Maxim's near the temple, and they had NO IDEA what I was talking about. Sometimes I get really looked at as if I came from Mars or something) and occasionally they play Western music, which of course diminishes the authenticity but it feels more like home. Anyway, the City palace was breath taking and the lake is gorgeous. I took a boat tour just before sunset and it was well worth the 200 rupies. AND I met Dina, my new Israeli friend, which made the boat ride even more fun. Dina, if you read this: so glad we met!! You're totally welcome in Bruges if you ever make it!!
After the boat tour there was a dancing performance in the Bahore ki Haveli, a nice villa with an inside garden, with beautifully dressed women doing their traditional dances. Pics follow.
And after that I attended some singing and dancing in the biggest temple in town. There was a huge crowd in the temple for the festival, which goes on for a month. Akshay, the Indian guide who gave us the tour of the palace, told us to go and participate. And I liked it. Even though I am no Hindu and I obviously am an outsider, I felt welcome. The services in the temple are so different from what we are used to in the West. People are chatting, children playing, there's live music and clapping and chanting... and still it feels as sacred as it gets. People do their pooja (thx for the correction Deeksha!), the Brahmans perform their rituals. And I just sat and joined the singing. Afterwards I met Dina and we went for a beer at Maxim's. And we were so engaged in our conversation that we lost track of time and apparently after eleven there's no one in the streets anymore, not even a riksha. So we walked to the hotel where I'm staying, realizing there were basically only cows, stray dogs and wrong guys with scooters on the street, telling us 'we go fuck you'. Very entertaining but not really reassuring. And when we got at the hotel the door was closed, so I had to wake up poor Athar, the driver, to ask him to open the door. He must love the irresponsible redhead like crazy by now ;) Dina got driven to her hostel by one of the hotel guys, on his scooter. She survived, we had breakfast together this morning.
This afternoon Edu and I went for a swim in a fancy palace hotel, felt wonderfully refreshing but ever since I feel queezy and I have turista... it was gonna happen eventually so there we are... yay.
After this I'll see Akshay for dinner. The third Indian I meet so far who I can relate to and have a decent conversation with. Probably no coincidence he has a degree in arts and history and lived in Sydney for a while. And he's very easy on the eyes ;)
So I bid you farewell sweet reader. Stay tuned!
Love and godspeed,
Tinie
As far as Udaipur is concerned: it's probably the most touristy place in Rajastan so far. It reminds me a little bit of Essaouira in Morocco: the shops and restaurants are just a little less shabby and sometimes even have designer furniture (!! discovered a batch of AWESOME vintage stairs on the roof top terrace of Maxim's near the temple, and they had NO IDEA what I was talking about. Sometimes I get really looked at as if I came from Mars or something) and occasionally they play Western music, which of course diminishes the authenticity but it feels more like home. Anyway, the City palace was breath taking and the lake is gorgeous. I took a boat tour just before sunset and it was well worth the 200 rupies. AND I met Dina, my new Israeli friend, which made the boat ride even more fun. Dina, if you read this: so glad we met!! You're totally welcome in Bruges if you ever make it!!
After the boat tour there was a dancing performance in the Bahore ki Haveli, a nice villa with an inside garden, with beautifully dressed women doing their traditional dances. Pics follow.
And after that I attended some singing and dancing in the biggest temple in town. There was a huge crowd in the temple for the festival, which goes on for a month. Akshay, the Indian guide who gave us the tour of the palace, told us to go and participate. And I liked it. Even though I am no Hindu and I obviously am an outsider, I felt welcome. The services in the temple are so different from what we are used to in the West. People are chatting, children playing, there's live music and clapping and chanting... and still it feels as sacred as it gets. People do their pooja (thx for the correction Deeksha!), the Brahmans perform their rituals. And I just sat and joined the singing. Afterwards I met Dina and we went for a beer at Maxim's. And we were so engaged in our conversation that we lost track of time and apparently after eleven there's no one in the streets anymore, not even a riksha. So we walked to the hotel where I'm staying, realizing there were basically only cows, stray dogs and wrong guys with scooters on the street, telling us 'we go fuck you'. Very entertaining but not really reassuring. And when we got at the hotel the door was closed, so I had to wake up poor Athar, the driver, to ask him to open the door. He must love the irresponsible redhead like crazy by now ;) Dina got driven to her hostel by one of the hotel guys, on his scooter. She survived, we had breakfast together this morning.
This afternoon Edu and I went for a swim in a fancy palace hotel, felt wonderfully refreshing but ever since I feel queezy and I have turista... it was gonna happen eventually so there we are... yay.
After this I'll see Akshay for dinner. The third Indian I meet so far who I can relate to and have a decent conversation with. Probably no coincidence he has a degree in arts and history and lived in Sydney for a while. And he's very easy on the eyes ;)
So I bid you farewell sweet reader. Stay tuned!
Love and godspeed,
Tinie
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