Day 230: Udaipur
Today we explored Udaipur – the City of Lakes. Surrounded by a series of artificial freshwater lakes, Udaipur is definitely the most beautiful city we visited in Rajasthan. Numerous palaces, temples and havelis border the lakes – some are even built in the middle of the lake! – it feels like an Indian version of Venice. The Lonely Planet calls it, “the most romantic spot on the continent of India,” and it truly deserves the title. (James Bond fans might also recognize Udaipur as one of the film locations for the movie Octopussy.)
We started off our tour of Udaipur with an hour long boat ride on Lake Pichola (thankfully we were able to buy the 400 Rs. boat tickets with credit card as we were running dangerously low on valid cash!), floating by the gorgeous buildings along the bank before landing at Jag Mandir Island where the king’s “pleasure palace” was built. After wandering around Jag Mandir for about half an hour, we returned to the shore and met up with our guide to visit the enormous City Palace.
The Lake Palace on Pichola Lake – now a luxury heritage hotel (no, we didn’t stay there 😛 )
Lake Pichola – an artificial lake first created in 1362. It it only about 14′ deep on average, and can completely dry up in drought year, but luckily for us the water level is nice and full right now
As we pass by the shore, we see women washing clothes and men jumping into the lake for a bath. While there are many “holy” rivers and lakes in India where Hindus bathe for religious purposes (which we visit the next day in Pushkar), Lake Pichola is just free water J
City Palace and Lake Palace
The Jag Mandir Palace – while it was originally intended to be a party place for the Mewar king, its first occupant was Prince Khuram (AKA Shah Jahan, the future builder of the Taj Mahal) while he was in rebellion against his father and stepmother (who was plotting to have his younger brother succeed the throne). By letting the exiled prince sofa surf, the Hindu kingdom earned a major alliance with the Mughal kingdom once Shah Jahan became emperor
Exploring the Jag Mandir Island Palace – there is a restaurant, café and even a spa (all at exhorbitant prices). The garden area looked like it was being set-up for a swanky wedding – wish we could gate crash, but the lake makes sneaking out here a bit tricky!
Panoramic view of the Udaipur City Palace from Jag Mandir Island
Jag Mandir Island – the “garden palace”
Returning the shore for our tour of the magnificent City Palace
A good-luck statue of Ganesha – framed by an elaborate tile & glass mosaic – welcomes us as we enter the City Palace
The Badi Mahal, or “Garden Palace”, within the City Palace complex had a lovely garden with huge trees inside – which seemed odd considering we were on the 4th floor. Turns out, the palace was built around a natural hill, so there is no 1st, 2nd or 3rd floors underneath this section of the palace, allowing the gardeners to plant whatever they liked! From the balconies, the royal family had a view of the courtyard below where they used to hold elephant fights where two elephants would go at it across a stone wall (looks a bit like medival jousting in the picture – apparently the last fight was held in the 1950s)
Looking down at the city of Udaipur from the top of the City Palace. Down in the courtyard we see chairs and sofas being set-up for the Hindu/Jain festival Kartik Purnima (a full-moon festival held every year around Nov/Dec) – tonight should be extra special as it’s a SUPERMOON! The Udaipur City Palace is pulling out all the stops with an all-you-can-drink cocktail hour, a performance by a Bollywood dancer, and a VIP seating section where you can rub elbows with the Mewar royal family!
View of Udaipur from the City Palace – the outside walls of the City Palace are decorated with blue, hand-painted Belgian tiles
Touring the swanky interior of the City Palace – the mirror-covered cupola inside the Manak Mahal, the queen’s elegant dressing room, and a study with a circa-1900s electric fan
Checking out the palace kitchen – they must have liked to host a lot of parties as those pots where big enough for Lindsay to climb inside!
Two very different royal “thrones.” The first was a special chair made by the British government for the Mewar prince to sit in while participating in King George’s the welcoming committee during his 1911 trip to India – however, the Mewar prince was the *only* Indian prince to snub the king and not show up (not sure why they sent him his chair afterwards – seems the British should have been pissed off…?). The second is a handicapped toilet made for the final ruling king of Mewar, Bhupal Singh, who was paralyzed by polio when he was a teenager.
A portrait of Bhupal Singh, the final Maharana of the Mewar Kingdom, until the independence and partition of India in 1947, and his custom-made wheelchair. The Udaipur palace was also the first building in all of India to install an elevator, making it easier for the king to move around his home
The ancient Mewar kings were “sun worshippers” – every morning the king and his subjects would look at the sun and give thanks. During the monsoon season when the sun is hidden behind clouds, the king would pray to a giant golden sun he had installed on his dining room wall (next to some exquisite peacock mosaics). To be nice, he installed a second sun on the outside wall of the palace for the villagers
After visiting the City Palace, we stopped for lunch at a lakefront restaurant (whew! another credit card-friendly establishment!) before heading over to the Sahelion Ki Bari – the “Garden of Maidens.” Since the maharanas of Mewar practiced the “veil tradition,” royal women were not allowed to be seen by any men outside the immediate family, which often meant they were secluded indoors all the time. In the early 1700s, the king Sangram Singhv built this huge, private garden for his new bride and her 48 ladies-in-waiting so that they would have an outside space where they could walk (and even swim!) freely without worrying that a man would see them (the king was the only male over the age of 5 permitted in the garden – all the gardeners, musicians, and even security staff were all women).
The lush, fountain-filled gardens of Sahelion Ki Bari
A lotus-filled pool in the Queen’s private gardens
Lindsay posing for pictures with random Indian tourists. Like in China, Lindsay is constantly asked to take pictures with strangers. While she found it flattering 10 years ago when she visited India the first time (she vainly thought people were mistaking her for someone famous!), now it feels more like she’s a weird animal in a zoo. The couple on the left tried to make Lindsay hold their baby for a picture – Lindsay finally had to put her foot down and say, “No.”
Throughout the trip, we have been upfront with our local tour guides telling them we didn’t want to go shopping for souvenirs and made it clear that we didn’t intend to buy anything when they insist on visiting a shop, “just to look.” But the places our guide in Udaipur took us to were worth the stops as they were actual *workshops* where we got to see the artists producing the products before visiting the storefront. We visited a studio where painters used squirrel-hair brushes to make miniature masterpieces (the brush strokes are so fine, they were able to paint our names on grains of rice!), as well a jewelry store where silversmiths were fashioning earrings, bangles and belt buckles by hand. Afterwards, we took a walk through the bustling outdoor marketplace before concluding our tour of Udaipur. Definitely one of our favorite places in India so far!
Artists of Udaipur – painters and jewelry-makers – using the same ancient techniques as their ancestors
Fresh fruits and fresh-squeezed sugarcane juice for sale in the marketplace
“Fresh” baskets for sale! Seriously – the basket weavers are sitting a few meters away cutting bamboo and making new products
Lots of specialized sellers in Udaipur – there’s a “guy” for anything you need: a pasta guys, a tea guy, even a cups guy!
Oooh, the desserts guy! Gulab Jamun (think donut holes floating in sugar syrup) and silver-leaf-covered milky cakes
Enjoying a bottle of Indian wine and a gorgeous lake view for the 2016 Supermoon!