Udaipur ,the City of Lakes.

Today i am.sightseeing in Udaipur ,the city of lakes. All the lakes are connected and man made.Flooding is not an issue in the City
My driver and I collected the guide on the way to the Palace we were visiting.
Once again ,the guide was very informative and helpful. It is really interesting to hear the stories myths and beliefs that underpin a lot of the things I get to see ,in all different countries .To realise how these beliefs impact on people's behaviour and way of life
The guide explained that the current King lives at this Palace in a new part .We were visiting the museum part.
There was a line of the dynasty of all the kings right up to the current King.
The Coronation of the King occurs in a rather shabby chic courtyard....It is a stark contrast to the lavish Coronation of King Charle.
Again there were rooms where the females could see out of the windows without being seen by other people.,as at the Palace of Winds in Jaipur.
The guide told me the females weren't allowed outside, but there was a sun balcony.
At the entrance I climbed the steep steps that were used to get on the elephants
I didn't know that elephant fighting was a thing but there was model outside depicting it .
There was a display of armoury and a model horse that had an elephant trunk mask ..This had been successfully used in battle to confuse the enemy into thinking it was an elephant rather than a horse.
There were great views over the very crowded city and a court yard that is supposedly on the 4th floor was actually in this part of the Palace, only the 1st floor and had Been built round the trees
Also ,the original post office with boxes for the Carrier pigeons.
An ironic thing to see,given that Munir and I met in the post office.
A giant dish made out of one piece of marble was used to hold 100,000 gold and silver coins to give to the poor,by the King in time gone by .
I told the guide about our Monarch giving Maundy Thursday alms .
There is one room in the palace which is 100% decorated in glass and another room which has miniature paintings all round depicting events.
Im not quite sure why the guide decided to point out the one depicting the karma sutra ...but he was very delighted not many people know that this one is in the collection!🤣..but that he did!
We moved on to a display of musical instruments...which was much better and more interesting.!
Coming out of the Palace we went to the Hindu temple. Irrespective of it raining in Udaipur, its customary to remove shoes and walk in bare feet into the temple. So I paddled through the puddles into the temple where some people were singing.
Apparently they sing all day.My guide was Hindu so he said a prayer and then we came out.....with wet feet and a need to put my boots back on...I used the top end of my socks to dry my feet a bit, and then put them and my boots back on.
Our next stop was a boat trip to a Palace in the lake.
Big bonus of having the guide....he stood in the queue and I sat and waited till it was time to get on the boat...this was his idea .... felt odd ,but was grateful.
He saw me off on the boat and waited till I got back..
The boat trip was enjoyable despite the rain. The Palace in the lake is now a ruin and mostly a coffee shop and spa.Its a space used for weddings. In its time it was used by the King who ultimately built the Taj Mahal,but before he built that.
I then stood for about 25mins in the rain ...no coat so getting soaked..,waiting for a boat back to the mainland,where the guide met me.
Honestly didn't rate it,wasn't worth the wait or getting soaked for
We were supposed to go to the markets and a garden ,but I didn't need or want anything from the market, the rain was too bad to go to a garden and I was wet and cold ..
So an early finish to the sightseeing.
I returned to my room, made a brew and as I couldn't get warm jumped into bed and slept for 4hrs .till 7pm
I ordered room service food which came quickly and just enjoyed being in my lovely room
Its a beautiful hotel with a particularly amazing entrance foyer that has a traditional colonial feel but is ,in fact only 9yrs old .It has some very interesting Key pieces including a vintage car.
The hotel could arrange a trip in a vintage car,archery ,cycling and one other thing I cant remember, but the weather wasn't fit and I wasn't there long enough anyway .Read more