This is a continuation of a journey that began in Jodhpur. En route to the “City of Lakes,” we stopped at Ranakpur which is famed for its Jain temple.
Sadly, by the time we arrived at the temple, it was pretty late in the evening
But we still went in
Even though I couldn't get any photos from inside, take my word for it - it's very impressive!
The most impressive aspect of this temple is inside you will see over 1,400 beautifully sculpted marble pillars
But do get here by daytime
We reached Udaipur at night and went to Sukhadia Circle
This roundabout is a popular hangout and famous for its street food. We had some pav bhajji and kulfis. Yummy indeed.
Date: 29th December 2006
The next morning we had breakfast at a paratha food stall right in front of our hotel
The aloo (potato) parathas were served with fresh homemade yoghurt
But I couldn't believe they served each paratha with 50gms of butter!
After our cholesterol-packed breakfast, we began our sightseeing of Udaipur
That's the Udaipur City Palace complex, today's main attraction
Our driver first took us to this small lake
There's an entry ticket to the Udaipur City Palace Complex, which also houses the Shiv Niwaz Palace Hotel
We went in
The first thing we saw were the royal stables
We went out to the lake
And took a boat ride on Lake Pichola
We really enjoyed the morning calm, it was very relaxing
That's Jag Mandir, a small palace, in the distance
And that's the famous Lake Palace hotel (by Taj) which was made world famous in the Bond film 'Octopussy'
We made a short stop at Jag Mandir, which was booked that day for a lavish wedding (All of Rajasthan's palaces play host to weddings to those who can afford to rent out the space)
The palace was built on a natural island, one of two on Lake Pichola
That's the Udaipur City Palace Complex from Jag Mandir
We headed back
Udaipur was once dubbed the "Venice of the East"
That's another palace turned hotel (forgot the name of it though)
A boat ride on Lake Pichola is highly recommended
We went back inside the palace
It was 11:15am
That's a guy playing the tabla
The houses that neighbour the palace
Of all the three major palaces, this one is the most exquisite
Probably the income from the hotel business helps in renovation and additional enhancements
Some of these royal halls are available for rent
The entry ticket also includes a serving of tea at the darbar hall
That's us
One attempt at a panorama inside the darbar hall
Here’s a video I took from inside the palace rooms:
... and one outside the palace before leaving
We left the palace and next went to a park facing Fateh Sagar lake
The place is also famous for the Maharana Pratap memorial
After that, we checked out the Vintage and Classic Car Collection of the erstwhile royals of Udaipur
Which comprises of a lot of Rolls Royces
So... they knew how to 'roll'. Get it?
A good chance to see a vintage Rolls Royce dashboard
Another Rolls Royce
They have a brief description outside each car
The Buick Eight
Its steering wheel
A classic Ford car
Morris Tiger & 1000
Some American car called the Rambler
A vintage Chevrolet
A classic Jeep
They had more cars in a garage
Along with some old horse-drawn carriages
This looks like its still in use
Now I know why it was called 'petrol pump'
With that, we were done with our tour of Udaipur – definitely the prettiest of the three major cities of Rajasthan, and well worth the visit.
After the wedding in Jaipur, we flew back to Bangalore
I insisted on getting a window seat for this very reason
Check out those light rays
It was time for the sun to set
Another good trip comes to an end
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Tags: aerial photography, canon powershot a95, cars, classic cars, India, lake palace, palace, Rajasthan, ranakpur, udaipur, udaipur city palace, vintage cars
