06.03.09

We arrived at 7am and managed t o get a rickshaw from a pre-paid stand which was good as the prices were fixed- so we weren't ripped off for gettin to our hotel. Although we had only worn our backpacks for about half an hour in total it was already a burden-so it was nice to be able to put them down! We were both starting to questio whether we really had needed to bring so many clothes! Udaipur was extremely quiet and green comapred to the other towns we had been to! There was very little traffic and few horns could be heard in the streets, which was really nice. It is a town set in the hills with a huge lake to he sid eo f it- very picturesque! We even fed monkeys out of our bedroom window!

In the afternoon we decided to have alook around the town after our friendly hotel owner gave us a map and highlighted the places to go. We walked towards the lake and acquired a friend as we walked- he was one of the ugliest, mangiest dogs we had seen. He didn't have much fur and his bottom teeth were always sticking out- we decided to call him Fang. For some reason he took a shine to us and followed us all the way on our 25minute walk. we didn't really like him to begin with, but he never got too close or growled at us. He stopped when we stopped and walked when we walked, so eventually we developed a bit of a bond! Finally we go to t he lake but there was a gang of other dogs there , who were defending their puppies and kept on barking and growling at him. We decided we wanted to go on the cable car up to the sunset point overlooking the lake, on top of one of the surrounding hills- so we had t leave Fang behind- as he couldn't get past the other dogs! The view form the top of the hill was beautiful! We met another English traveller up there and had a chat whilst watching the sun set over the hills. We decided to go for dinner with him and braved a Thali ( a selection of different veg curries) after having only eaten pizza in Agra! It was nice though- and my stomach seemed to accept the spiciness-which was good!

07.03.09

Today we went into the town again and did a bit more shopping. In one fo the clothes shops we were asked if we would like to try on a sari and thought it might be a once in lifetime chance -so took it! I am surprised by how much material the Indian women can wear in such heat! All of the sari materials were so beautiful thgouh! It is strange thta in a country which has so much dust , dirt and squalor the clothes are completely the opposite and can be so beautiful and intricately designed! We decided to each get somethign made for us out of sari materail that we could wear- i opted for a new top and Rhiannon for a dress. They were under 5pounds and made to measure- so really a very good bargain! We also managed to buy some beautiful notebooks covered in sari material- which in England would hve cost at least 5pounds, but here they cost nly 50p each! We found a french bakery for lunch and had a toasted sandwich!:D Unfortunately whilst walking around we had a few bad experirences with the local cows- including one weeing on Rhi and another horning my leg as i walked by! It was a consensus from then that cows definitely are not sacred!

We decided to go on a boat ride form Udaipur's city palace out to Jagmandir , a very posh hotel situated on an island in the middle of the lake. There were a lot of dragonflies and wading birds in the water as we were on the boat. Jagmandir had some realy nice gardens, but other than that there wasn't actually much there to see, only nice views of the white lake palace acrosss the water which is also in the middle of the lake. When we got back to shore we decided to go home for a bit , before going out to a traditional Rajasthani music and dance show that we had heard about in town. Rhiannon started to teach me a bit of spanish, ready for south America and we headed back into town!

The ticket to the show was under a pound and theree were some very unusual dances including; two women dancing with pots of fire balanced on t heir heads and another woman dancing with 9 pots on her head-whilst standing on broken glass!....the nine pots is apparantly how many pots some of the women could carry in the olden days when they had to walk far for water, the broken glass.....is proabably added for effect! After the entertainment we went to one of Udaipur's many rooftop restaurnts for dinner overlooking the lake and then headed home, stopping to look at some beautiful wall hangings on the way and deciding we would buy some- as these were also very cheap!!:D

08.09.03

Today we had a final relaxing day in Udaipur doing a bit more souvenir shopping and diary writing. Whilst walking aroundte small winding lanes we saw an elephant painted with bright colours in the street, which we could stroke! It was very surreal! Just before going home Rhiannon saw Fang one last time to say goodbye!