City of Lakes and Palaces, Udaipur

Last year in December, I spent about two days with some friends in the city of lakes and palaces, Udaipur. The trip was planned last minute, so it was quite simple. And it turned out to be quite enjoyable, because of the lack of complexity. We just booked flight tickets and a high-end hotel. That was all that was needed. The rest was easy to arrange given how touristy the city is in terms of things to do and how to do those.

Windows...

I've visited Udaipur before, so this trip was not as much about exploring the place, as it was about rediscovering it, and looking at it from a different viewpoint. Of just being there and seeing all that is usually unseen. And I loved it, as I got to enjoy the slower pace of life of a tier 2 Indian city, plus the varied culture, deep history and warm weather it had to offer amid the very cold 2019 North India winter!


Udaipur is quite a popular destination among foreign tourists visiting India, and you get a glimpse of it on the plane itself. I was flying from Delhi and it was full of either non-Indians, or NRIs. And a lot of them were visiting Udaipur to attend a wedding 😊. When I landed there mid-day, it was warm and already felt nice given I was coming from the Delhi winter.

The airport at Udaipur is almost am hour away from the city, so I took an Uber to my hotel. As it was a long drive, I started chatting with the Uber driver and he told me a lot about the area of Udaipur, its people and so on. And as usual, I was excited about learning more about a new place.

Udaipur is part of the Mewar region of Rajasthan and is not a desert unlike the other parts of Rajasthan. It has mountains, a few lakes and hence a lot of greenery - something you never associate with Rajasthan. And it is the Marwar region which has most of the desert parts of Rajasthan, including Jodhpur, Bikaner, Barmer and Jaisalmer. There are apparently 9 different regions within Rajasthan, and they all have their own parallel histories.

Apparently Mewar was the only major region to fight the Mughals, Rana Pratap being their greatest warrior. And they did not bow their heads to the Mughals (at least initially, though some of his descendents chose to be friends with both the Mughals and the British).

Most of the people in the region are either Rajputs, Jains, Brahmins or adivasis. And there are not a lot of Gujjar or Jats in this region. The driver also gave me a quick lowdown on who are the ones who take most benefit of the reservation quotas but that discussion is for another day 😜.

Today, there are not a lot of income sources here as there are limited industries other than tourism. There is some zinc and silver works, some marble business and of course the local Rajasthani handicrafts. But mostly Udaipur has come to be synonymous with tourism, and of course, destination weddings. Recently, the Ambanis and Priyanka Chopra had their weddings in the city, which brought a lot of activity and attention to the city for a couple of months.

My visit was at the time of the CAA protests in India, and so I asked the driver his view on what was happening. He was quite a level headed person and talked about maintaining peace. He also mentioned that even though there are Muslims in Udaipur, it has mostly been a quiet place. Though recently Section 144 had been imposed here after a man ran away with a woman of a different religion, and then he was later killed. Apparently, the army had to be called in and the internet was taken down for a few days then. So whats happening right now in India, has been happening in smaller pockets for some time, without being in the news...

He also spoke about his experience of being a cab driver in the city, of the celebrities he had driven around and seen during the weddings, and of course the new market entrants. He drives for both Ola and Uber, but was a bigger fan of Uber as it has a perception of being more honest with their drivers. Apparently they track photos of their drivers regularly to make it safer, and Ola doesn't.

He also told me a funny incident which made me laugh. I had to wait a long time for him to come into the airport to pick me up, and later mentioned that he should have asked me to walk out to avoid the queue. And we could have avoided my 20 mins waiting time. He said he had stopped doing it as he has had people cancel his ride when he asked someone to walk a few meters from where they are. And then I realised, I am in India, where we don't walk as much as we do in London 😁.

During the drive to the hotel, we drove through some older and charming parts of town. There were loads of pretty buildings all around, many of them being mandirs. We crossed some boundary walls painted with tales of Rajasthan history. And drove past a part of the old town on Swarup Sagar lake, which looked quite picturesque against the waters. I wish I had got a photo of the place. The city is very small, and everything is within a 3.5 kms radius. Apparently, there are only 2 malls in town, one of which we crossed. Though I think we can do without them 😜. There are 2 main lakes in the city, Pichola and Fatehsagar. And most of the tourist areas are around them.

We were staying at the Trident hotel which is on the Pichola lake. It is part of the Oberoi hotel chain, and located in the same complex as the Udai Vilas palace. Both the hotels are located in a huge green area, lining the banks of the lake. Right outside, there is a row of high end art shops for tourists. And as I drove in, I was greeted with bright pink bougainvilleas lining the entrance of the hotel, welcomed by a person dressed in the traditional Rajasthani dress and entered the reception, all decorated with Rajasthani paintings and furniture.

All around the hotel, I saw the same. Lavish manicured gardens, lot of place to sit outside, a swimming pool with sunbeds, lot of local art inside and so on. All the luxuries that people associate with a holiday in Rajasthan. And as much as I was impressed with the hotel and its luxuriousness, a part of me did not like being there. Somehow, it felt so posh, so not me.

When I travel in India, I want to (for as long as I can) not feel like an outsider. I want to feel like a local, who does not need to stay at such a fancy place to enjoy her own country. Everyone was being extremely deferent, bowing when they didn't need to and answering in English even when I was speaking to them in Hindi 😳. It has nothing to do with the hotel, which was quite nice actually. It is a weird feeling which I cannot explain, but I really felt out of place there. Its the kind of feeling I have when I stay at too luxurious places, especially in India. And I had this feeling in the hotel the entire weekend. Except of course when I went to Shilpgram (more on that later).

City Palace during the day

Anyways, after checking in we decided to explore the hotel grounds. The whole complex is located on the banks of Lake Pichola, and they have a private boat house near the hotel. So we walked there and enjoyed stunning views of the City Palace and Lake Palace across the lake. There also seemed to be many mandirs and palaces all around the lake. We also noticed lot of people boating that time in the lake, enjoying the dusk views of the city. We however just sat there for an hour or so, seeing the sun set. And the whole city slowly came alive, with its lights slowly lighting up. It was quite uplifting just sitting there under the sky, with the sounds of the lake around and a light wind blowing...

City Palace at night

We then came back and had dinner at the hotel. They had a song and dance program going on at that time, with local singers and dancers. And we sat outside, enjoying the food and the performances. The singers sang a couple of local songs. And the two women danced to the ghoomar and the typical matka dance. I was amazed at the quality of the dancers, especially when they almost seemed to be gliding on the floor. And one of the dancers danced with up to 5 matkas on her head, which never ceases to be amazing. The dinner was tasty too, but very expensive!

The next day was our one Udaipur sightseeing day, and we spent it exploring the City Palace in the morning and the Shilpgram in the evening. We started with a breakfast in the hotel. It was so sunny and warm, that all I wanted to do was be outside. The whole time! So we had our breakfast sitting outside in the sun, with a view of Nahargarh fort up on a mountain nearby.

Lake Palace from City Palace

We booked a taxi for the day, and the driver took us to all the spots. We started with a visit to the City Palace. The Palace was quite crowded that day, but we still got to see the whole place over the next couple of hours. The City Palace was built in four different stages, by different rulers. With each king adding a section later, based on the prevalent architectural designs of his time. And it is quite huge and grand, with architecture ranging from the old to the British times.

King's throne

The complex has two hotels inside plus one section where the king currently lives. The part that is open to the public is divided into the Palace, the Museum, and the Crystal Gallery. And most of the things to see are in the 'Museum'. These are mainly the residential quarters, the many open courtyards and lots of art displays to walk through. With lots of paintings and sculptures everywhere. All of which is what you would expect from a Palace.

For me though, there were three highlights of the visit. One was the ode to Maharana Pratap, who is one of the most famous son of Mewar. He lived and died fighting for Mewar's independence. It always gets me thinking - what is the right approach to life? To fight for what is right, even if tough? Or to take the easier way out, if it improves your life? And I never get a quick answer to this.

Maharana Pratap led a tough life and never enjoyed the life of a king as he was always at war with Akbar. And in the end, he lost his life to the war too. Was he right? To fight for his freedom? Or were his descendants the smarter ones? Who made peace with Akbar (and later the British) and ruled their kingdoms all the way till Independence. Some people would always respect Maharana Pratap for his stance, while some may disagree with him for fighting. I am always in the first category, but I sometimes do wonder, if it is better to not take that stand?

Peacock courtyard

The second highlight of the palace for me was the artwork - all the stone mosaics, inlaid stone and mirror works, and the paintings found everywhere in the palace, covering the walls, the roofs and the floors, and especially in the peacock courtyard. The quality of the inlaid work was brilliant. Each piece of stone cut and embedded in to the walls to create the beautiful designs. I cannot even imagine the time and skill it would have taken to create all these masterpieces.

Art work

Inlaid stone work

Paintings on the walls

There was a small room which was painted roof to floor and I could have spent hours just admiring the paintings all around. The peacock courtyard also was exquisite and my favourite. And there was one section which had all the silver articles of the king, including a wedding mandap and a chariot. All were quite impressive to see.

Views of the city

The last highlight of the Palace for me were the many exquisitely designed windows through which one could enjoy the views of the city. I enjoyed all the views from the palace windows, of the city on one side, and the Lake Pichola and Lake Palace on the other. All of them would have made for some nice evening views for many a century. In one of such rooms, we also realised that the marbles used in the construction everywhere were quite cold. My friends put their cheeks to the stone and it provided a nice cooling feeling given how hot it was otherwise. No wonder marble is so popular in houses in Rajasthan.

After the long time spent walking in the Palace, we went looking for authentic Indian food for lunch. Our driver took us to 'Gordhan Thal', a restaurant serving the traditional Rajasthani Thali. The place was not very high end, but the food there was amazing, the highlight for me was the chaas they served! The restaurant was next to the railway line and I for the first time saw the Palace on Wheels train going past. I didn't realise it was still going strong, after so many years.

After lunch, we first went to the local market called Hathi Pol and bought some silver jewellery, local jootis, bandhini and the famous Jaipuri rajais. It was nice to walk in the bazaar looking at the creative work of the local artisans. Next we went to the Shilpgram, a handicraft festival starting that day, just outside town, behind the Fatehsagar lake. And that was the highlight of the whole trip for me.

Shilpgram had a very casual feel to it, it was full of locals rather than tourists. And it had 100s of sellers from across India, selling all handcrafted stuff. From shawls from Kashmir, to Rajasthani paintings, to sarees from the South. It was a treat to the eyes and a shoppers paradise. I wanted to buy so much as everything felt so unique and stunning, but had to restrain myself.

Grand finale

Then we walked into the cultural program of the day, which was dances from East India. There was Bihu, Manipuri, Naga and Odissi dance performances among many others. And I loved them, especially the bamboo dance from Nagaland and the folk dances from the East. The finale was a grand entrance of all the dancers on stage, to one combined song. And it felt like a grand finale. I felt quite lucky that we had walked in to watch the oerformance at the right time.

After the dance finale, we ate at the local food stalls. For barely Rs. 100 per person, we had amazing chole kulcha and lot of golgappe. It was a treat which the Trident could not match 😁. And that was the end of the day of exploring Udaipur. We had had a very long day and were ready to call it a day soon.

Grounds of the Trident

The next day, we had a few hours before leaving for the airport. So we spent time in the hotel itself, eating breakfast in the open, and then just walking around in the grounds. The grounds were huge and green, with lot of place to walk around. It was also surrounded by an old fort wall all along the lake. I sat outside for a bit, with a view of the greenery, lot of birds, and the lake. And then it was time to head back to Delhi.

I had an interesting experience with the Uber going back to the airport though. Each and every Uber I ordered cancelled on me when I told them where I was going. In fact one of them came to the hotel and left after I told him I had to go to the airport! It was quick a surprise, that this is how Uber works in India. Anyways I got a hotel taxi and had another long one hour drive to the airport. And then soon was off.

Though short, Udaipur turned out to be a nice break, and what I enjoyed the most was the small town and relaxed feel of the city. It felt so different from Delhi where everyone is in a hurry. And even though we had a short trip, and didn't do a lot, there is a lot more to do in the city, and here is a longer list (in case you need it)

1) City palace (Including the museum and crystal gallery)
2) Kumbhalgarh fort - It is a bit of a drive from Udaipur, located in a jungle. And apparently, it has a wall surrounding the fort, like the Great Wall of China. The wall is so huge that even a jeep can drive over it.
3) Temples - Ranakpur Jain Mandir, Jagat Mandir, Jagdish Mandir in old city, Sinaji Mandir to Lord Krishna, Ropeway to Karni Mata Mandir (it has views of the lake and the city, and you also have the option to walk up to the top)
4) Gardens - Saheliyon Ki Baadi, Maniklal Verma garden, Gulabag garden
5) Boating in Lake Pichola and Fatehgarh lake
6) Classic car collection
7) Shopping at Hathi Pol, Bapu Bazaar, Maldas street (walking)
8) Hotels - Other than the famous Udai Vilas, Taj Lake Palace and Leela Palace, the Chunda Palace is a stunning hotel built like a palace which could be a good option