On the way to Udaipur, we visited a fort which was 35 km long and on the top of a mountain range. Called Kumbhalgarh Fort.The views were spectacular.

Udaipur is a beautiful city of lakes. One lake connects to the river and the rest are man-made lakes connected by canals of some sort. Hotel Rampatrap was a bright and cheery place to stay at. wE went up to the Monsoon Palace to see sunset which is very popular and lots of people there.Our driver suggested and booked for us a special restaurant with a table beside the lake. Mostly international tourists there and the weather was perfect, as was the food…yet again. The roads to the spot were made for walking and donkeys and only just fitted one car in spots. there was lots of reversing and shuffling of cars and tuktuks along the street.

This post is a bit late. Sometimes it is more difficult to access the Internet. We travelled on aa mostly single car road to Ranakpur through little villages. There were gum trees… but no koalas!!! There are heaps of monkeys everywhere though. As well there are lots of cows, pigs, dogs, goats, squirrels and donkeys. They all have a purpose. The cow dung is dried and used for fire starters, patching up walls and there are often women carrying baskets of cow dung along the streets. The pigs are used to eat the rubbish on the streets. The donkeys are used to carry heavy items. The goats are used for milk and meat. Any lamb on menus might also be called mutton but is actually goat meat. We have been eating meat sometimes, in places where there are lots of people or we have been told is ok by our driver or guide. So far so good. Mostly though we eat vegetarian.

We visited the amazing Jain temple. Jain worshippers believe all creatures are equal and so we couldnt wear any leather inside the temple. it is made of intricately carved marble. Absolutely beautiful.

We landed in Jodhpur and were met by our personal driver for ourRajasthan experience. Ba greeted us with marigold garlands and red roses. Our hotel is called Pal Havali and could be mistaken for the exotic Marigold Hotel. The family still live here but most is hotel accomodation with a great rooftop restaurant. It’s made of sandstone and has a shady central courtyard.


Not only do we have a driver but a guide called Ram, very friendly and knowledgable. In fact the whole Indian population seems so friendly and welcoming. We wandered around the market maze and never got to the end after about 2 hours. Lots of pressure to buy but somehow we didn’t, at least on that day!
The houses are painted blue. We were told it is to keep them cool and because mosquitoes don’t like blue.

The Mehrangarh Fort sits on top of the hill carved from the rock. It is carved from sandstone but parts of it are painted with egg and crushed seashell to give the walls inside a smooth shiny look.

After going to the memorial thurat for the Maharaja, we were taken to numerous shopping warehouses with rugs, jewellery, statues of everything Indian and art works. We resisted and resisted!!!
We finally gave up …. the no- pressure to buy (ha ha!) became overwhelming and we bought things we didn’t need much to the delight of the sellers. We were also very lucky to be the first customers of the day!! On to Radakpur tomorrow with Ba to see the Jain temple.