Many people say Udaipur is like the Venice of India. It has a lake that stretches out, giving a feeling of calm in the city of small chaotic streets. We arrive early in the morning - stepping off the Volvo bus only somewhat rested. The night was full of highway lights and screeching horns. One can see quickly why a sleeper train is preferable.
Drivers shout at us as we leave the bus station, offering their services tirelessly. We shoo them away, mapping the journey and seeing that it is a fairly easy walk. Traveling incredibly light permits this sort of freedom and we are constantly reaping the benefits of cutting back on possessions. We call our air BnB host and he kindly allows us into our room at the early check in time.
We arrive to discover not a room in a house but an established guest house. It has steep stairs, and we greet our host and begin the steep ascent. We walk four floors, and the door opens to our room. It is clean and the bed sheets beautiful. And then he opens the balcony door. Roof tops and the lake spill out before us in the hazey morning light. In that moment I fall in love with the city. He explains that it's quiet this time of year so he has upgraded our room. For the next four days I spend all my spare time sitting huddled in a blanket siting on the balcony - watching sunrise and sunset as monkeys jump from roof to roof. There is a certain magic to this city. Our first morning we sit in cafe edelweiss and have coffee and bacon and savor the sweetness of something so familiar.
Whilst in Udaipur we step away from forts and palaces and engage in some local activities. An artisan work with a local painter proves a great way in which to see the local arts and crafts. We go to his village and meet people from all different areas. We stand atop a roof of a potter's home and juggle with the local kids, enter the home of a family of puppeteers, meet a woman making zero waste jewelry and see paintings of all sizes.
We cook with Shashi, a woman who lost her husband very young. Unable to remarry due to her caste, she was faced with financial difficulty and fear for the future. When her two sons suggested her cooking as a way of income with foreigners she laughed. A great plan if only she spoke English. With great determination she not only now speaks English, but also bits of almost every other language. Shashi now owns the most highly rated cooking school in the city. We cook with Lily from France, and create everything from chai tea to curries and nan bread. We finish the night with a feast that leaves us ready to be rolled off the premises and home to sleep.
We spend our last day walking through the City Palace and boating on the lake, stopping at an island set out on the water with beautiful gardens and buildings. The sun shines bright and warm as we lounge on the white marble slabs.
At the City Palace restaurant we sit and sip cocktails, laughing at the prices of the exorbitant menu and ordering 2 for 1 happy hour drinks.
The night is spent on our rooftop, overlooking the twinkling city and the boats as they slowly move through the beautiful landscape, always keeping an eye out for a rogue monkey or two.
