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Continuing on to Udaipur, we visited Kumbhalgarh, a stunning fortress built by Rana Kumbha in 15th century. The fort has perimeter walls that extend 36 kilometres in length. Claimed to be the longest in the world after "The Great Wall of China". Over 360 temples are within the fort, 300 ancient Jain and the rest Hindu. The vista from the palace top typically extends tens of kilometers into the Aravalli Range.
After this was a long bus ride to Udaipur. Udaipur is famous for its lakes and Raj-era palaces. Most famous of these is the Lake Palace, (see photo) an island-palace where the white marble buildings (now a hotel) entirely cover a small island in Lake Pichola.
That evening we attended a Radjasthani Cultural show - at the Bagore-ki-Haveli Folk Museum on Gangaur Ghat. We were treated to traditional dances, fighting display, puppet show and a lady who could balance 9 water pails on her head while spinning around and walking on glass.
The hotel we stayed at was owned by our guide's family - surname - Singh Behera. His older brother Surevi 'Sonny' was a former test cricketer for India and is now a celebrity in India catering for the needs of royals and worldwide superstars alike. We were able to meet him at his house which adjoins the hotel and have Chai Masala tea while he told us how happy he was that England were beating Pakistan. No political agenda there then. The hotel was called Mahendra Prakash if you ever visit.
The next day we went exploring around the city and visited the City Palace. It is one of the largest royal palaces in India. Check the pic of the sign left by British rule.
That evening we experienced a huge downpour - our first taste of the monsoon first hand. The streets were flooded within minutes and the water level was up to our knees. We took a took 'TUK TUK' taxi to the middle of town and drove/sailed to an Indian cooking master class. Its called the Spice Box, and was a deliciously fun evening.
Note from Mary - "I never knew Serge could cook so well - now there is no excuse!"
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