museum – THE ONLY ERIKA IN THE VILLAGE

Itinerary: 2 days in Udaipur

I should have been more enchanted by Udaipur…looking back on the photographs I took it certainly looks beautiful. It was our last stop in India so maybe I just had a bit of travel fatigue – India is exhausting to travel. Its so fascinating and amazing to experience but the cities are chaotic and dirty and full-on. I think I expected a beautiful lake paradise and yet Udaipur was like any other Indian city – noisy, busy, smoggy and overall overwhelming.

GENERAL INFO

Getting there and away:

We travelled to Udaipur via Jodhpur with a private driver. Arriving this way meant we could incorporate two rural ‘must-see sites on our way. You can read about how we did this here.

There are also many flight and train connections into Udaipur. We left Udaipur on a flight to Mumbai to catch our international connection. Note the airport is quite some distance (takes 40mins-1 hour).

Accommodation: We stayed at Zostel Udaipur – nice enough hostel which was well located. Zostel is a chain that has many hostels around India. We also stayed at a Zostel in Jaipur.

If you have too much money I recommend staying at the Lake Palace – it is stunning. Be aware though you won’t feel like leaving the hotel.

Food: I highly recommend eating at The White Terrace Restaurant. Although the food is standard tourist fare (a bit lacking in flavor). The staff were so friendly, the setting was beautiful and you could entertain yourself by people watching on the street below.

Getting around: Walking will get you anywhere you need to go in Udaipur – if you are leaving the city to see Ranakpur Temple or Khumbhalgarh Fort then I recommend hiring a driver for this trip.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

1. Explore City Palace

City Palace has lovely grounds and also a large museum. You do not need to pay to enter the grounds if you are entering the museum. It is quite beautiful – its more of the same of what you see elsewhere in India but can you ever really see enough intricate detail? Its worth popping in and having a wander. There is also a Sound and Light Show at the City Palace if you want to visit at night.

2. Take a boat trip on the Lake

While you are at City Palace, I suggest you pop down to the lakeside and take a boat trip out onto the lake. Udaipur is famous for its lake and so you may as well experience the city from the water. You get a great view of the Lake Palace from a boat – the closest you are going to get if you cant afford to stay there. The boat trips stop at Jagmandir which is another hotel out on the water. You can have lunch here but we just chose to wander around the beautiful grounds for a while away from the noise of the city.

3. Visit Bagore-Ki Haveli

Bagore-Ki Haveli has been carefully restored – it has some quirky aspects to it which sets it apart from the other palaces and havelis we have visited. For example the world’s largest turban – you can sit in front of it and take a photo that looks like its on your head.

4. Kumbhalgarh Fort

Kumbhalgarh Fort is a rural fort 2 hours outside of Udaipur. Its a tranquil place to spend an hour or two. Also make sure to climb to the top of the Fort for stunning views. Just WOW.

5. Ranakpur Temple

Ranakpur Temple (2 hours from Udaipur – combine this with a trip to Kumbhalgarh Fort) is also an interesting place to visit. If you haven’t seen a Jain Temple before then you definitely need to go to Ranakpur – the stone carvings are so intricate and it is one of the largest Jain temples. Its a peaceful place to explore. Also if you are here at lunchtime you should stop at the charity restaurant on the grounds. All you can eat delicious food for so cheap!

Enjoy Udaipur! Let me know what you thought of the city and why.

Erika xx

Itinerary: 24 hours in Jodhpur

Jodhpur is a great place to just kick back and spend some time. Even with only 24 hours here I suggest just wandering around and taking it all in.

GENERAL INFO

Getting there and away: We travelled to Jodhpur from Jaisalmer by train – it takes about 6 hours.

From Jodhpur we travelled to Udaipur – we hired a driver and car for this as there is no direct train between these two cities. It worked out well for us as we wanted to make a couple of stops on the way but if you are travelling direct it may be easier to fly.

Accommodation: We stayed at Yogi’s Guest House. It was fine but I wouldn’t recommend the place. It was really noisy we got almost no sleep + there were people sleeping on the floor right outside our room (like we almost stepped on them walking out) – I assume those were the dorm beds available. BUT the owner did help me put on my sari properly which was nice and the rooftop terrace was a chill spot for a drink.

Food: We had AMAZING Chole Bature for breakfast at Namaste Cafe. Go there!

Also we had a beautiful dinner at Indique – a candlelit rooftop restaurant by the clocktower that is part of the Pal Haveli Hotel.

Getting around: The train station is central, you can probably walk from here to your accommodation. You can walk to most of the attractions also. If its a bit far you may want to take an auto-rickshaw.

Top Tip(s): I suggest doing any shopping you were planning to do in Jodhpur. If you wander a few streets or so away from the clocktower you will find shops that sell beautiful items for local prices – if the price seems good don’t bother haggling. The money is worth a lot less to you.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

Visit Mehrangarh Fort and Museum – its a steep walk up. Wear comfortable shoes and enjoy the views. Walk up one side and leave via the other entrance/exit. Both are spectacular. You only need to purchase a ticket to the museum (not the Fort).

2. More walking (its going to be a big day of walking): visit the old city quarter of Navchokiya. Its very picturesque due to all the blue coloured buildings – you can see the neighbourhood from the Fort. The buildings are blue because the Brahmin community (the priestly caste of India) are said to have painted their homes blue to differentiate themselves from the lower-caste communities.

Enjoy Jodhpur!

Erika xx

Quick Cultural Injection

Although Brazil is a wonderful place, food is so expensive here! After eating our first home-cooked meal since we got here, lovingly prepared in the hostel kitchen, we realized that we had still spent 15 dollars on dinner! I began to worry that my budget of 20 dollars a day for food would be nowhere near enough for my travels. Fortunately, I don’t have the time to worry about that now, as our stay in Brazil is nearly over.

Peter and I felt that today would be the perfect day to visit some of the many museums and art galleries scattered around Rio de Janeiro. We took a bus to a suburb near the centre of town, Cinelandia, where many of these attractions were clustered.

We began our culture fix at the Museum of Fine Art. It was really interesting to note how late in history art began to be an important topic to be taken seriously in Brazil. Earlier paintings in the gallery were by unknown artists, while a rise in French-inspired art seemed to increase the popularity of the genre. This new found popularity could be seen in an increased use of European styles, copied amateurishly by Brazilian artists. We also visited the national history museum which provided a decent overview of Brazil’s heritage.

Peter and I did get a bit lost looking for what we thought was the Cinelandia Gallery of Contemporary Art, however, we stumbled across the actual gallery eventually – it was an industrial style building which held lots of interesting pieces. A lot of our time in these museums and art galleries was spent taking photographs of the actual buildings themselves, as my boyfriend Peter is an architectural student and was in the process of researching a future project to design a gallery. This side project was relatively successful,and possibly made up slightly for Peter missing the first week of university due to our vacation.

On the way home from the galleries, we stumbled upon some GIANT ants and preceded to get in everybody’s way on the footpath trying to get a closer look. It was pretty exciting! Apparently, these giant ants are called Tiger Ants.

The photograph is of me on a beautifully designed staircase in the neighborhood of Lapa

Until next time,
Erika xx

Share:

Share:

Share: