Udaipur

Udaipur is the prettiest Indian city we’ve visited yet. The city is built around five lakes (all manmade by past rulers). There are dozens of rooftop restaurants offering views of the main lake, including the two palaces built out on the water. One of these palaces featured in the 1983 James Bond film “Octopussy” and many of the city’s restaurants advertise nightly screening of the film. The poor staff! We particularly liked the huge billboards with sassy misspellings: “Octopussay”.

We’re still enjoying wandering around markets in India, and it’s true what you hear about the colours of Rajasthan - the bright saris and turbins really are incredible. Apparently the colour, style and manner of wearing this clothing indicates a lot about the occasion as well as the wearer. In this patriarchal society, there is even a specific colour combination reserved for women who have borne a son.

We didn’t end up doing as much as we’d expected to in our five days in Udaipur. Our good luck with our health came to an end, as Sal ended up getting sick. However, it came at a good time since we had longer than we needed in Udaipur and a really nice guesthouse in which to rest and recover. The guesthouse had a HUGE Great Dane called Oscar

By the last day Sal had gotten well enough for us to take a cooking class - a good thing too since it was her birthday! The class was great - in about four hours we learnt how to make different curries, chutneys and breads. It was the kind of cooking we like too - using techniques and ingredients that are simple yet very tasty. We’ll have to throw an Indian dinner party when we get back home.

Once again, the people here have been so friendly - always keen to talk to us about New Zealand, ask what we think of India and tell us about their lives. We’re so glad to have come to Udaipur. While it still has its busy streets, there are also areas that are really nice to walk around - something we’ve come to appreciate while in India! We’re not expecting too many peaceful spots at our next destination: Jaipur, an urban metropolis of seven-million people.

Written by Craig Drayton and Sally Robertson