Udaipur and beyond

City of lakes, "The Venice of India" What on earth would that be like? Well assembled online community let me tell you all about Udaipur.

After travelling from very busy and heavily populated cities it was a welcome relief when I arrived in Udaipur. Located in Rajasthan, Udaipur is a little more prominent on the tourist trail and I was treated to a whole host of pale skinned fellow travelers.

However the trip to Udaipur almost didn't happen. The gentleman who was supposed to book my bus didn't. Thankfully I arrived 1 hour earlier than required to find out my ticket was merely a reservation and not in fact for a bus that day at all. After a brief discussion with management I was placed on the back of a motor bike and taken across town (safely and securely mother) to a nearby bus depot who actually had a bus running that day. Once on the bus my backpack chose to dislodge itself from the roof rack and fell into the face of the Indian man sat next to me, as you can imagine not ideal. Thankfully he accepted my apology and I took a selfie with him (whilst he was asleep) to commemorate the occasion *see previous blog post*

Anyway back to Udaipur. I arrived at 20:30 and decided the 3.8km walk was nothing for a fit young lad such as me. In all fairness it wasn't that bad but when I arrived at my hostel I was a little hot under the collar. The staff at the hostel were amazing and cooked me up a mean curry whilst I jumped in the shower. This hostel in my humble opinion had the best views of the city, banging food, great staff and an all round solid vibe. If you're in Udaipur check out Backpacker Panda Lake Pichola (I have not been paid for this endorsement). I met some awesome German guys from Stuttgart and a group of Aussies who decided to come to India on a whim from their quintessential trip to Thailand/Vietnam/Laos/Burma delete as appropriate. We proceeded to drink the night away regaling each other with tales of travels and light racism directed at each others country of origin.

The city itself is quite simply beautiful. There is and abundance of  lakes, you are surrounded by picturesque mountains and you get a much more mellow vibe than in other parts of northern India. After many sunsets on roof tops and walks around the lakes, it was time for a boat trip around the whole city. By chance I made the acquaintance of two fellow Brits from Bournemouth who are also travelling the world, visiting the best swimming pools in every city. As a result they found us a rooftop pool overlooking the lake for a mere 200 rupees (£2.38) per day.

In summary Udaipur is great and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I liked it that much I extended my stay from 3 days to 8.

After I wrapped things up in Udaipur, I have moved even further north into the desert. I'm currently writing this from a hostel in Jaisalmer, having just got back from a camel safari and night under the stars in the desert up near the Pakistan border. Despite popular belief isn't even that dangerous. I was only shot at twice, I hear it's worse in Peckham. More on my desert exploits next time...