Who'll come visit next ?
Karina left yesterday - we have spent 3 delightful weeks together and we have been around and about quite a lot as well inside as outside Udaipur.
We went for a two-day trip to the remote 16° century fort of Kumbhalgarh surrounded by a 38 km long wall. We climbed up and down and visited 3 of the 87 temples inside the walls.
On the way back we spent the afternoon in the Jain Temple of Ranakpur and we were lucky enough to find accommodation at the monestary. The basic rooms were a bit too basic but we succeeded to "upgrade" to the VIP guesthouse where we had real beds and own bathroom. The mattresses were stonehard, we didn't dare using the blankets and the bathroom had raw cement walls, a hole in one corner and a tap and a bucket in the other, but we had it to ourselves !
Jaisamand Lake was another of our excursion destinations (1 day). It is the biggest artificial lake in Asia (8 x 14 Kms). In Lake Picchola of Udaipur there is only mud left, but the Jaisamand Lake is still almost full. There is a delightful but expensive resort which can only be reached by boat (20' ride). The entire island is a game resort.
The ride up to the lake was most pleasant - the Aravali Hills are brown and dry but the farmland is extendedly irrigated and the fields are green. The villages do not give the impression of being poor.
A pipeline of 48 Kms supplies Udaipur with water but still it seems that the local population is restricted to a water supply of only a couple of hours every second day. For the rest water is to be fetched at the street pumps. Hotels are supplied 24 hrs a day.
The last week of Karina's and the first week of Danielle's stay was booked for our big "desert trip" which took us through Jodhpur to Bikaner. 1 mio people living there in sand, dust and dirt. Frightfully polluted, buzzing with both flies and people this is the last city before the Tsar Desert which is the natural border to Pakistan. Lots and lots of BSF's (Border Security Force) but no tension and apparently no trouble overhead.
Too much to tell in just now but a 100% successful trip.
I must go to the rooftop terrace to watch the mega fireworks given at the City Palace on the occasion of the 25° Maharana Mewar Foundation Award which takes place over the entire weekend. They forgot to invite me !!
Tuesday morning 8 March, Danielle and I will travel East. We will spend the night in Bundi and on the way I hope to find a Shiva temple to see how the "Sheetala Ashtami Festival" is being celebrated. People from Udaipur will celebrate the Shiva temple in Eklingji (where we were today). They'll be around 300.000 to walk the 25 kms on Monday night.
I hear that Europe is covered in ice and snow. Here days are now both longer and hotter and the nights are pleasant with just a touch of fresh air.
We are longing for rain. There are dramatic thunderstorms but nothing happens, yet ...
Back on Saturday, 12 March -
We went for a two-day trip to the remote 16° century fort of Kumbhalgarh surrounded by a 38 km long wall. We climbed up and down and visited 3 of the 87 temples inside the walls.
On the way back we spent the afternoon in the Jain Temple of Ranakpur and we were lucky enough to find accommodation at the monestary. The basic rooms were a bit too basic but we succeeded to "upgrade" to the VIP guesthouse where we had real beds and own bathroom. The mattresses were stonehard, we didn't dare using the blankets and the bathroom had raw cement walls, a hole in one corner and a tap and a bucket in the other, but we had it to ourselves !
Jaisamand Lake was another of our excursion destinations (1 day). It is the biggest artificial lake in Asia (8 x 14 Kms). In Lake Picchola of Udaipur there is only mud left, but the Jaisamand Lake is still almost full. There is a delightful but expensive resort which can only be reached by boat (20' ride). The entire island is a game resort.
The ride up to the lake was most pleasant - the Aravali Hills are brown and dry but the farmland is extendedly irrigated and the fields are green. The villages do not give the impression of being poor.
A pipeline of 48 Kms supplies Udaipur with water but still it seems that the local population is restricted to a water supply of only a couple of hours every second day. For the rest water is to be fetched at the street pumps. Hotels are supplied 24 hrs a day.
The last week of Karina's and the first week of Danielle's stay was booked for our big "desert trip" which took us through Jodhpur to Bikaner. 1 mio people living there in sand, dust and dirt. Frightfully polluted, buzzing with both flies and people this is the last city before the Tsar Desert which is the natural border to Pakistan. Lots and lots of BSF's (Border Security Force) but no tension and apparently no trouble overhead.
Too much to tell in just now but a 100% successful trip.
I must go to the rooftop terrace to watch the mega fireworks given at the City Palace on the occasion of the 25° Maharana Mewar Foundation Award which takes place over the entire weekend. They forgot to invite me !!
Tuesday morning 8 March, Danielle and I will travel East. We will spend the night in Bundi and on the way I hope to find a Shiva temple to see how the "Sheetala Ashtami Festival" is being celebrated. People from Udaipur will celebrate the Shiva temple in Eklingji (where we were today). They'll be around 300.000 to walk the 25 kms on Monday night.
I hear that Europe is covered in ice and snow. Here days are now both longer and hotter and the nights are pleasant with just a touch of fresh air.
We are longing for rain. There are dramatic thunderstorms but nothing happens, yet ...
Back on Saturday, 12 March -
posted by Bente at Sunday, March 06, 2005
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