The Lake City of Udaipur
The water that's been missing in the landscapes of the last few days is found in profusion here in Udaipur, land of the lakes. The mountain ranges that provide a serene backdrop act as the boundary between the Thar Desert and the watery landscape that gives Udaipur its reputation as the "Venice of the East." Our tour guide, Lalit, never failed to answer a single one of our esoteric questions. What's that game show from "Slumdog Millionaire?" He should be a contestant. With him, we spent the morning exploring the City Palace and all of its intricate "miniature-painting" murals, tile and marble work. This time we were allowed to take photographs, which you'll see below. From the towers we saw the "White City" stretch out in all directions. From that vantage point there was no evidence of the honking horns and the gazillions of motorcycles and mopeds that seem to be the transportation of choice for the half-million people of this "small" and relatively prosperous Indian city. We shopped for fabrics and handicrafts. And we visited an antique car museum, which was mostly a collection of cars owned by Maharajas of Udaipur dating back to the 1920s. I learned that car trunks used to be just that way back when -- a trunk tied onto the rear fender of a luxury car. Who thought I'd travel all the way to India to learn something like that?
We must be getting used to the mayhem now because we were able to focus on the colors and faces in the crowd, which were often dazzling.
We must be getting used to the mayhem now because we were able to focus on the colors and faces in the crowd, which were often dazzling.