Udaipur: Venice of the East

I’m picked up at 930 for my last car journey of the trip, thank god. It’s a 3 hour drive to Ranakpur Temple, where we make a stop. They’re very strict with visiting rules here, including one which prohibits women on their periods from entering. Not entirely sure how they police that one! The temple is really impressive, especially the detailed carvings. Constructed in the 15th century, it took 50 years to build. I’ve never seen anything like it.

It’s then another 2 hours until Udaipur. My driver is a little on the chatty side, and every time I start to drift off he wakes me by pointing out cotton fields and the like. He also regales me with a lovely story about a Thai woman who was gang raped and shot in the shoulder in Udaipur, urging me to be careful. Thanks for that mate. I’d like to state that at no point have I felt unsafe here. Harassed, fucked off, uncomfortable…yes. Daily. But unsafe, never.

I arrive at my hotel around 4pm and check into my room which has a huge balcony and an amazing view of the lake. The trend continues, as despite being here all of 5 minutes, Udaipur is my new favourite. It’s known as the Venice of the East, due to its many lakes. It almost feels like a different country entirely. I watch the sunset over Lake Pichola on the roof terrace with a cold beer before heading for dinner. 


The vibe here is notably more relaxed than everywhere else I’ve been. It’s far more pedestrian friendly for a start. You can walk freely in the narrow streets without fear of losing a toe to passing motorbikes and tuk tuks. Although you’re questioned and stared at, they take no for an answer and don’t persist. The people here seem to pray 24/7. The temples are rammed full of people, no matter what time of day. My mum struggles to get me to church on Christmas Day never mind 3 times a day every day! You can’t walk down the street here without hearing the chime of bells or the bang of drums from the temples. There’s also this song they play on repeat from the speakers, which has “it’s a small world” vibes and is annoying as fuck. Oftentimes you can hear it belting out from various temples at the same time, and totally out of sync. 

Dinner is at Khamma Ghani which, like most of the restaurants here, is romantically lit with views over the lake. I order a large gin, and at the recommendation of the manager, the mewari murg dunghaar. It’s a smoked chicken dish made using a Rajasthani technique called dhungar (which involves smoking food over hot charcoal that's been drizzled with ghee). I’m in curry heaven!!
The next morning I’m en route to a cafe when I slip on dog shit (could be cow or goat shit to be fair, who knows) and my arse hits the floor. Minter. It’s all over my feet, hands and skirt, so it’s back home for another shower and a quick change. I eat a delicious breakfast at Cafe Jheel, eggs kejriwal, which is fried eggs topped with cheese and chilis. I then spend the next few hours on a walking tour of the city. I have to be honest, it bores me slightly, and the highlight for me is near the end where we stop at a homemade crisp stall. I’m sure my face notably changes from my disinterest at the clay pot making to my excited “ooooh crisps” face. I buy two bags, one flavoured with mint and the other chili. 

I head for lunch to Yummy Yoga, a vegetarian rooftop restaurant. I get chatting to the only other person there, Reg. He was born in Iran but lives in Sweden. He spends 6 months of the year living in a village 40km from Udaipur where he has studio. My lunch is actually delicious, my favourite part being the dessert which is coarsely ground wheat, crushed and cooked with ghee and sugar (like everything else here). It has a strong taste of cardamom and is ridiculously good. It basically tastes like the biscuit base of a cheesecake. 

After lunch I visit the city palace. The tour guide from this morning told me to allow 2 hours for my visit. I finish it in 30 minutes. If you’re not particularly into suits of armour, weapons and paintings, then don’t waste your time. 

That evening I head to the Bagore Ki Haveli, which is a typical rajasthan folk dance show.  The performance is actually really entertaining, which helps take my mind of the pain of sitting crossed legged on the floor for over an hour. The puppet master in particular is super talented and amusing. 
After the show I head to Harigarh restaurant for dinner. I’m seated at one of the beds overlooking the lake, which is cute, albeit slightly impractical for eating. I order the desi murg curry, as I’ve already tried all of the other dishes the manager recommends me. After every dish he suggests to me, he kisses his fingers like an Italian chef. The curry is probably the spiciest I’ve had yet, and tastes very strongly of garlic, which I certainly don’t have a problem with. It’s mad how many different curries there are here. I’ve never seen or heard of half of the things on the menu! I’m not even slightly getting sick of it yet. At this stage in Mexico, I was reaching my limit with tacos, but that’s not happening here. Yet.