Village

We began the morning later than usual although I still woke early so I took a little mini-tour of the palace. Unfortunately though, it seems the Delhi Belly bug has got to me :( I ate only toast for breakfast and drank only masala tea and water.

It was a very hot start to the day after breakfast - apparenly 31 degrees though it felt hotter to me. After breakfast we took a walk around the village. The people here are so different from the cities and towns we've been to so far - friendly, curious, obliging and very welcoming. There are some incredible 400-year-old artefacts around the village - step-down-pools for bathing in fresh water, a cemetery/burial ground dedicated to the Prince's family ancestors (a place where he himself will rest one day) - but the sad thing is that everything is overgrown, under-cared for, dirty and almost derelict. As I mentioned yesterday, neither the regional nor national government takes any responsibility for the upkeep of places like this, though with a general election nearing, this might change a little.

After the village tour it was back to the accommodation to pick up our bags then onto the bus to head to Udaipur - about 2-3 hours away.

Udaipur appears to be a smaller, more friendly place with little of the in-your-face selling we've experienced elsewhere. The streets of old Udaipur are typically narrow and the shops seem to specialise in art pieces, jewellery, a little (goat or camel) leather and clothing. The thing that stands Udaipur apart from the rest however is its lake. How wonderful to see water again! There are some 6 or so lakes round Udaipur and they were all man-made back in the 16th century. That's some mean feat! With the small buildings rising up from the lakeside it really does look like India's Venice. Took a boat ride out over the lake tonight (45 minutes . . . . 200 rupees . . . . about $4!) and circled the 5 star hotel which sits on one of the islands not too far from the shore. I had hoped we'd get a nice sunset whilst out on the water but that wasn't to be. Maybe tomorrow? We have the luxury of 2 nights in the same hotel :)

Off to bed now - tired and still feeling like I'm not fully over the Delhi Belly (haven't eaten since breakfast). Hopefully all will be good for tomorrow - a palace visit, a cooking demo, a spot of shopping, . Need my sleep now! G'night.