Udaipur Favorites

Favorite thing: Hi, Udaipur to Mount Abu is five hour drive. ( Now dayes four lane work going on ) No train Udaipur to Mount Abu. If you like to hire car & driver try them www.heritagejourney.com
have a good trip

Fondest memory: Beautiful lacks in city

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Favorite thing: On the roof of the pavillion that faces the lake on Jag Mandir island are several nice relaxing seats to sit in and take in the views of the lake, Lake Palace Hotel and the City Palace. Nice spot. Also, there are some floor seats in the pavillion below.

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Favorite thing: I had to wait about 30 minutes for the next boat trip and was shown into a covered area nearby where people take a launch (boat) over to the Lake Palace Hotel. This area is rather posh with nice seats and you get the chance to see the posh people pass through!

Favorite thing: The City Palace has a whole host of different types of tickets available for entrance, boat rides and other packages. Note the price for taking in a camera! I've listed them below just in case you can't read them from the photo:

1. City Palace Complex entrance ticket (excludes museum, used to get to jetty for lake boat trip) - Rs25
2. Package (City Palace Museum & soft drink with crystal touch plus boat ride & another soft drink with crystal touch) - Rs570
3. City Palace Museum - Rs50
4. All types of cameras - Rs200(!)
5. Soft drink with a crystal touch - Rs300 (whatever this is)
6. Boat ride (one hour including visit of Jagmandir island palace) - Rs250
7. Boat cruise (half an hour lake safari) - Rs130
8. Soft drink with a vintage touch (at garden hotel) - Rs100
9. Veg Thali & soft drink with a crystal touch (at garden hotel) - Rs130
10. Lunch/dinner coupon - veg thali at Garden Hotel restaurant - Rs60
11. Charter boat upto 7 people - Rs2000, 8-12 people - Rs3000, 13-18 people - Rs4500
12. The Mewar sound & light show at the Manek Chowk Hathnal-ki-Chandni - Rs300
13. As above at the Manek Chowk - Rs125.

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Favorite thing: The Sisodias dynasty rules Udaipur, and claim their descent from Lord Rama, the hero of the famous Hindu epic Ramayana. It is also said that the group descended from the Sun God and is thus known as the Suryavanshi or Children of Sun. The prince of Mewar is treated as the legitimate heir to the throne of Rama. The earliest history of the clan calims that the group had probably descended from the Central Asian tribes who had moved from Kashmir to Gujarat in the 6th century.

The sisodians also claim to be one of the oldest ruling dynasties in the world, spanning 76 generations.

Read more at http://www.mewarindia.com/ency/ency.html

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Favorite thing: Udaipur was the capital of the Mewar Kingdom.

Legend has it that Maharana Udai Singh came upon a hermit while hunting in the foothills of the Aravalli Range. The hermit blessed the king and told him that if he built a palace on the spot, it would be well protected. Udai Singh established a residence there.

In 1568 the Mughal emperor Akbar captured the capital of the kingdom of Mewar, and Udai Singh moved the capital to the site of his residence, which became the city of Udaipur. As the Mughal empire weakened, the rulers of Mewar (Sisodia ranas, and later maharanas) reasserted their independence and recaptured most part of Mewar except the fort of Chittor.

Udaipur remained the capital of the state, which became a princely state of British India in 1818. After India's Independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Udaipur acceded to the Government of India, and Mewar was integrated into India's Rajasthan state.

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Favorite thing: While this bazaar was no different to anywhere else I had experienced with locals, this was a memorable experience. I walked around and was used to the stares by then. I didn't see another westerner the whole time and really... it was great. I didn't feel like a tourist other than when I took my camera out.

While walking down the main street of the bazaar, a young boy carrying a very young child started to stalk me. With heartfelt difficulty, I brushed him off.. as we were told to do, but to no avail. He continued to follow me around. I suddenly remembered I was still carrying a little bag of an assortment of soaps, shampoos etc. from the hotel. This was something we came to do travelling around the country. In so many places small children were not only asking for pens but for shampoos so we decided that we would take the complimentary 'stash' in our hotel rooms and give them out to children when they asked. I still had a small bag of these little bottles etc, so I gave the bag to him and kept walking. I got quite a bit further along the road before I turned around. He was still walking behind me, but slowly this time, holding this little bag with a stunned look on his face. It was priceless. I don't think he quite knew what to do with it and it wasn't quite what he was expecting from me. It was mostly in the countryside that we had been asked for such things and I think being in the city, this was an unusual gesture. I just hope he managed to recover and take it home to his mother.

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Favorite thing: After an exhausting attempt to explain that I wasn't interested in being the typical tourist and shopping, my rickshaw driver finally suggested he take me to Bapu Bazaar. Having no idea, I hoped I had made myself clear and off we went. Now this was what I was looking for. Not a tourist in sight. Bapu Bazaar was a maze of lanes and little streets leading onto a main road. There were all sorts of vendors selling everything a household would be looking for. The only thing I was interested in buying was another inexpensive bag to replace the one I was carrying. The strap was breaking fast and I needed a replacement. I found a tiny store and there were no end of bags brought out for me trying to meet the criteria of what I wanted. Finally, success.. and a really good bargain as well. Language was no problem at all.