Udaipur - Day 1

I had the deepest and longest sleep I've had in ages last night, and woke up refreshed and ready to see the city. Breakfast was indeed banana porridge, and a delicious one at that for only $1! It's actually a problem for me that meals are so cheap here, as it means I'm tempted to try everything on the menu!

After breakfast, we went down to the restaurant's basement to book a cooking class with a friendly lady called Shashi who runs classes for small groups of tourists from her kitchen. When we walked in, three Scottish girls were in the middle of their lesson and insisted we sample some of their freshly cooked vegetable pakoras served with homemade coriander and mango chutneys, which were so good! I'm really excited about our lesson tomorrow night, and am already planning my next Indian-themed buffet dinner party. Shashi told us that we weren't allowed to eat lunch tomorrow so that we would come hungry, so I can just imagine the amount of food we're going to make.

From there, we headed into the nearby temple to look around. It was beautiful, but the experience was spoiled a bit by a very persistent man who proceeded to follow us while pointing out every aspect of the temple, despite us repeatedly telling him that we didn't want a guide. And what do you know...as we walked towards the exit, he demanded money for his efforts! Needless to say we didn't oblige.

Next stop was the city palace. It's huge, and feels even huger due to the fact that it's a a real rabbit-warren of a place with countless flights of narrow stone stairs leading from room to room. In the courtyard was a beautiful fountain, and every surface was covered with beautiful mosaics and hand paintings in every colour of the rainbow. I couldn't help wishing that I'd lived there in the time of the Maharajas - with its smooth warm stone floors and courtyards, stunning view and brightly decorated interior, it would have been a million times more liveable than the cold, damp and draughty royal castles of Europe.

We then went for a walk around the old town, Lal Ghat. There are lots of shops selling paintings, assorted brass and silver curios and lots of Indian hippie-style clothes like harem pants and long skirts that are sold at home at the Tree of Life for about fifty times the price. Tomorrow I'm going to buy some purple pants! They're light and look so comfy so I think I can sacrifice a bit of pack space for them.

Lunch was at the Lotus Cafe, a hole-in-the wall restaurant also in the old town. We sat on the upper floor - a little room covered with silk cushions. The waiter brought Philippa's thali (a mixed tasting plate with a couple of roti, servings of veggie curry and dahl, rice and yoghurt) and my channa masala (chickpea curry) and roti and placed them on the lazy susan on the floor in the centre of the room, and we ate them with our fingers while reclining on the cushions and playing a game of Uno. They also had the Game of Life and Connect Four! With a lassi and bottle of water, the total bill for us both was just $5.

We then went for a walk around the streets and the Tibetan market, and encountered about twenty cows and one elephant! The cows are holy and so have free reign over the town, and the moto-rickshaw drivers and motorbike riders just try and drive around them as best they can. They're really tame and you can walk right up to them. There is cow shit everywhere though! The whole town smells like the Royal Easter Show!
Back at the hotel, we went up to the rooftop for an hour or so to drink tea, read, and watch the sunset over the lake. I couldn't help thinking that just a few weeks ago I was studying, working and stressed - this couldn't be more different, I was so relaxed.

We're about to go and have dinner and smoke some shisha, and have an early night because tomorrow we're getting up early for an 8am yoga lesson on a rooftop overlooking the lake. At ten thirty, we're going on a rickshaw tour of the town and then it'll be time for our cooking lesson! It should be a fun day. I also want to get henna tattoos on my feet - lots of women have them here and they look so beautiful and exotic (don't worry Dad, they're just temporary).

Until next time,

E x

PS: Is anyone actually reading this? Comment, for goodness' sake!