City of palaces
and lakes! Udaipur truly lives up to its name. I also had heard just stories of the place and always dreamt of visiting the place. As luck would have it, a few
public holidays aligned and I was getting 5 days off from work from 2nd
Oct-6th Oct, 2014. Udaipur wasn’t even my primary plan here. But, I
had prepared a rough itinerary just in case which actually proved handy.
Leaving by train on the night of 1st October was quite impossible because of the rush of
people headed of out of the city. I had almost given up on the travel plan. As
luck would have it, ticket for a train leaving Mumbai on the night of 2nd
October was available and I immediately booked it. Just a backpack was what I
required and fitted everything I need right in.
My
friends dropped me off to the station and it was a 11:25pm train leaving Bandra
Terminus; Udaipur Superfast Express. It is a 16.5 hour train journey to
Udaipur. Travelling alone has its own joys especially in an impromptu plan that
has a lot of room for last minute adjustments as per one’s own comforts.
Though, I had read up on quite a few blogs, a rough itinerary was in place, but
obviously kept room for experiencing something new or unique that came my way.
Breakfast at ‘Ratlam’ at 8:30am the next morning that comprised of a traditional
dish named ‘Poha’. It was a 20 minute train stop that gave me time to stretch
my legs a bit and have breakfast at the platform. This girl from China named
‘Vivian’ was travelling from Mumbai to Udaipur all alone herself. Quickly
making acquaintances, we both were travelling with just a rough idea of Udaipur
and nothing else. Running nearly 2 hours late at 2pm, the train made quick time
and entered Udaipur station, a minute earlier than the scheduled arrival time.
Commendable! Hats off to Indian Railways!
We straight away headed to the Gangour
Ghat/ Hanuman Ghat area by the lakeside to scout for places to stay for the
next 3 days. We found a decent place called ‘Surya Villa’ that’s located at Hanuman
Ghat. Its located at a distance of 100 meters from the lake. Lal Ghat, Gangour
Ghat and Hanuman Ghat are the main three places located at close proximity to
the lake. Lal Ghat and Gangour Ghat are on the same side whereas Hanuman Ghat
is located on the other side of the lake. Hanuman Ghat is a quieter area than
the other two in terms of the general hustle and bustle. Rooms at Surya Villa
costed Rs. 600/- a night, with no complimentary breakfast or WiFi. They have a
small restaurant that can serve basic breakfast and tea/ coffee. Just a couple
of rooms have hot water shower facility, whereas the rest have just cold water
shower only. Hot water shower rooms were booked out and only the other rooms
were available.
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| Lake Pichola with City Palace in background :) |
An
hour’s break and we were off to our first stop for the evening ‘Bagore Ki
Haveli’, a very old villa that houses a museum as well. Every evening they hold
a Rajasthani folk dance performance showcasing the various folk dances of
different communities of Rajasthan as well as a puppet show. This is an hour’s
show and there are 2 shows each evening once the museum shuts by 6pm. 7-8pm and
8-9pm. The ticket is priced reasonably at Rs. 60 for Indians and Rs. 160 for
international tourists. The seating arrangement is quite comfortable retaining
the traditional feel which is seating on the floor on a carpet. There are no
confirmed seats and it is advisable to reach the venue early to get good seats
to view the show. People sitting ahead invariably stand up to click pictures
and they don’t realize that they end up blocking the view of the people seated
behind them. We were late for the 7-8pm show and had to settle for the 8-9pm
show. We caught site of the ‘Dandiya’ dance and the immersion of ‘Durga Mata’
idol part of the ‘Dusshera’ festival taking place lake side. Dusshera festival
is a 10 day festival of the good reigning over evil. We had about 15 minutes
before we proceeded to catch sight of the folk dance and the puppet show and
this was a beautiful sight. Synchronized dancing to the beats and the clapping
of the sticks was a wonderful sight and music to the ears. The ‘Ghumar dance’ and the other dance
associated with the western and arid part of Rajasthan were very beautiful.
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| Dandiya on banks of Lake Pichola |
We
befriended two other girls from China; Tracy and Cherry who were travelling across
India themselves. The puppet show was a different feel and an added joy of
watching some string artistry at work. Post show, we then proceeded to
‘Millets of Mewar’ a quiet little place located in Hanuman Ghat area for
dinner. This place might be a little hard to locate considering very few locals
have heard of it. Located in the 2nd floor of a building, it has a
two sections; one that has a sheesha feel with low cot seating and the other
being the normal chair seating restaurant. The quantity of food is quite good and the price
isn’t expensive as well. One thing of Udaipur is the city shuts by 11pm. Last
dinner order would be taken by 10-10:15pm and the guests are requested politely to
vacate by 11pm. Other than a few medical stores that are open for maybe an hour
more, the whole city is quiet with just the beautifully lit city palace lights
and one’s own thoughts walking the alleys.
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| Cherry, Vivian and Tracy :) |
The second day, the four of us had breakfast at
‘Namaste Cafe’, a French bakery. The strong whiff of freshly baked breads and
buns cannot be missed as one passes by this place. A basic breakfast spread of
burgers, puffs and raisins were available as well. We then proceeded towards
visiting ‘Shilpgram’, a place that showcases lifestyles and dance forms of
various tribes of the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. This place
is located at a distance of 8kms from the lake and a return rickshaw fare was
bargained at Rs. 150. The museum inside Shilpgram was shut when we arrived, but
the person opened it up for us. The museum showcased the various utensils used
for cooking, weaponry for hunting, their cultures, the food that gets
cultivated, as well as pictures of their attire that is associated with each
different tribe. The museum was very dusty and was not being maintained at all.
Some of the musical instruments lie broken against a wall. Inspite of taking an
entry fee of Rs. 120 at the gate, one wonders the proper utilization of funds,
if the main museum itself is not maintained. The area inside the venue also
needs maintenance with some portions having thick overgrowth of plants and no
proper directional placards kept for the visitor to find his way inside.
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| Shilpgram Museum |
Returning back at 2pm, we caught lunch at ‘Doctor’s Café’, a quaint little café
whose speciality is serving pizza cooked on woodfire. We strolled the bylanes
watching the locals strut their wares comprising of beautiful paintings,
handicrafts, pottery with intricate works and a lot of tattoo artists. Evening
time, we strolled by the nearest bazaar located at 3-4kms away to catch sight
of the holiday bustle and all of us did pick up some souvenirs for back home.
Heading back was always going to be a pain with Dusshera festival celebrated
here till 12 days! Idol processions blaring loud music blockage of lanes, we
decided to walk it back to the hotel, than get stuck in traffic. The lanes are
very narrow to begin with and are two way lanes on top of that; festival
processions just add to the traffic. We bid adieu to Tracy and Cherry who left
towards Jodhpur by the night bus. But, they recommended us to have dinner at
‘Dream Heaven’ which has a rooftop restaurant overlooking the lake. The sight
was very beautiful with the entire city lit with more prominence to ‘City
Palace’, ‘Bagore ki Haveli’ and the lights of the lake add to the feel of the
place. Electricity used to go off in the entire area for about half hour each
night between 9-10pm.
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| Street paintings |
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| Dusshera idol procession :) |
The next morning, we decided on having breakfast again
at ‘Dream Heaven’ though it was quite uncomfortable this time due to the heat
inspite of the curtains placed. Moving out quickly, we visited the City palace
and took a boat ride round the lake by which one can get good shots of ‘Palace
on the lake’ which is now a hotel run by the Taj Group. The hotel premises is
welcome only to guests having a reservation at the hotel, so that was the
closest we could get. The boat then dropped us off at the ‘Jag Mandir’ which is
another lake garden palace unlike the name and not a temple that houses a
couple of restaurants and a very beautiful garden. The boat then dropped us
back at the City palace docks where we proceeded to visit the museum. Being a Sunday,
the crowd was at its peak with two different schools giving their tiny tots a
visit of the palace. The Museum is very beautifully maintained with the royal
family still housed in one section of the palace that is not accessible to any
of the tourists. A lot of artifacts of the royal family were on display such as
the weaponry, pictures of the royal family, the royal army. Guided tours as
well as audio tours are available, but we just strolled around soaking in the
sights of the carvings, intricate glass designs famous to the era of colonial
rule and the windows giving one some neat sights of the lake on the one side
and the city on the other. Wrapping up the museum walk, we visited this lake
side restaurant ‘Jasmine Restaurant’.
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| City Palace |
Being a lakeside restaurant with some
light music for company, it was a glad break away from the heat and the bustle
of palace crowds. On arrival, we realized that it is also recommended by Lonely
Planet. The kids nearby kept us entertained by doing dives into the lake to beat
the afternoon heat.
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| Palace on lake (Now a hotel run by Taj group) |
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| Boat ride around the lake |
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| Jag Mandir |
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| Gun collection of the King :) |
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| More guns |
We wanted to shift to a new place for our last day since
the owner of this place started creating issues after promising us a better
room for that day. We bumped into a Spanish couple who suggested the place they
were put up in Gangour Ghat. 'Udai Haveli Guest House', a quiet little guest
house that had cheaper options though the ones with attached bathroom were
booked out, decided on a room with the common bathroom on the outside. Rs. 250
for a room was quite a steal. We wanted to visit the ‘Monsoon Palace’ that is
situated atop a hill. This palace as the name suggests was built for the royal
family primarily for their retreat during the monsoon season. Located at 12kms
from the city, the approach road to the palace is through a wildlife reserve.
Hence, only private vehicles with a permit or government approved vehicles are
allowed to enter. Hiring a car from the town all the way to the palace and back
was being quoted at Rs. 450 which was quite steep considering there were just
the two of us. We then bargained with a rickshaw to drop us off at the reserve
gates for Rs. 100. From the gate, Rajasthan government has their own approved
vehicles that ferry up passengers for a cost of Rs. 90 per head and a Rs. 20
charge as entry charges to the reserve. We just about made it to catch sight of
the sunset. A very beautiful sunset view on the one side and the city’s view on
the other side is a beautiful combination. Hanging around, we waited for the
city lights to illuminate the entire city and the view was one of the most
beautiful I have come across. Lot of people had exited the palace once the sun
set, but this view isn’t to be missed upon.
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| Mommy and baby langur :) |
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| Monsoon Palace :) |
We then proceeded back to the
reserve gates in the government car and got a rickshaw that dropped us back to
the city again for Rs. 100. This palace also came to fame with it housing the
villain in the 007 flick ‘Octopussy’ that starred Roger Moore as the fictional
MI6 agent; James Bond, that also starred Kabir Bedi and Vijay Amritraj. One, a
seasoned Indian actor and the other a seasoned Indian tennis player
respectively playing substantial roles in this movie. This flick has definitely
put Udaipur on the global map, such that there are atleast 5-6 cafes that
showcase this movie for free for the movie enthusiasts each evening starting
7-7:30pm. We caught dinner back at ‘Dream Heaven’ just for the sights and the
food being really good and decently priced.
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| Rolls Royce Phantom II mfg year 1934 (Used in the 007 movie 'Octopussy') |
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| Notice the change in the colour of logo as they have moved from the red logo to the black logo |
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| Cadillac mfg yr 1938 |
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| Buick Super mfg yr 1946 |
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| The King's favourite carriage drawn by 6 horses! |
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| Modern Garage convertible mfg year 1946 |
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| Another view of the convertible :) |
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| Standard Herald convertible mfg year 1961 |
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| Rolls Royce mfg year 1924 winner of Pebble Beach Tour D'Elegance |
The
next morning, being my last day, had breakfast at the guesthouse itself that
comprises a basic breakfast menu of Maggi noodles, bread, eggs and tea/ coffee
all priced decently. We then proceeded on a 4kms walk to visit the
King’s vintage car museum that houses the yesteryear Mercedes’, Cadillac's’,
Buick's’, Rolls Royce's’, Modern Garages’, Standard Heralds’ and his private horse
carriages. The ticket to this was Rs. 250 just to view the cars and Rs. 400 if
one wants to have an authentic Rajasthani lunch on the inside. We opted for the
former without lunch. The cars are still in working condition with an inhouse
garage and fuel station and they do take out the cars once every fortnight for a
spin within the complex. The black 'Rolls Royce Phantom II' was used in
the ‘Octopussy’ movie as well. One particular horse carriage; the king's
favourite used to be drawn by 6 horses. We spent an hour inside the car museum
and then visited the ‘Sajjan Niwas Bagh’, a garden right opposite the museum to
bite some time and relax in the quiet neighbourhood. Its a very beautiful garden. Definitely would require atleast couple of hours, if not more to cover the entire garden. There is a toy
train that also makes a pass through it. We then walked back and caught lunch at ‘Little
Prince Restaurant’ by the lakeside. This restaurant is right beside ‘Jasmine
restaurant’. I personally liked the food here than Jasmine restaurant. We then
walked the streets for some last minute souvenir shopping before my final
packup. Bid adieu to Vivian and wished her luck on her future travels before I headed
to the bus stand from where I caught my bus back to Mumbai leaving Monday
evening.
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| The toy train at Sajjan Niwas garden :) |
An
impromptu trip; made a lot of friends and discovered this beautiful city. A
holiday well spent away from home. I would recommend this city as a must visit
to anyone who likes to dwell into history and the sights. Time literally stops
and one does not realize how time passes by.
P.S: All pics taken through Moto E mobile camera.
Costing:
Bandra Terminus to Udaipur Rs. 1,250 (3AC)
Rickshaw from station to hotel Rs. 60
Entry fee to Bagore ki Haveli Rs. 60
Camera charge at Bagore ki Haveli Rs. 50
City Palace boat ride Rs. 430
City Palace museum Rs. 115
Breakfast, lunch and dinner on an average per day Rs. 300-350
Maharaja's Car Museum Rs. 250 (With lunch inclusive Rs. 400)
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