The title as above may be a bit weird, but there was no other way I
could go about this. The reason being that I most recently completed a
semi Rajasthan circuit. and I wanted it all under one heading, instead of splitting it into different cities - takes the fun out of narration.
I started my trip flying to Udaipur, and ended the same at Jaipur when
i flew back.
Our trip started on the 8th evening, when our flight ( Indian Airlines
- Alliance Air) finally took off at 6.30 pm from Mumbai Airport. After
having waited in the airport for 4 hrs, taking off itself was a
pleasure. We landed at Udaipur Airport at around 7.30 pm. Thereafter,
we had this car that picked us up and took us on the long drive to the
city.
All this had been planned in advance through a Tour operator in Jaipur
- Kalra Tours ( The name now brings shivers to myself, considering the
awful goof-ups done by the operator. This name was recomended by a
friend - even he wonders why now. Inspite of planning about 50 days in
advance, ni most places, our hotel bookings were not done. If u r in
jaipur, and someone recommends Kalra tours - avoid the same.
Infact I do hope after reading my odyssey, u all can make the trip on
ur own - tour operators be damned.
Well, we checked into a decent hotel in udaipur - The Krishna Lila
Regency ( Lila Junction, Lake Palace road, near gulabh
baug, udaipur-313001. ; Telefax 0294-24255489.)
Tariff
Rates Single occ Double occ Extra bed
Std 990 1290 150
dlx 1390 1790 200
std suite 1990 2490 250
This is a decent place to stay in. The standard rooms though nice, are
bit cramped, so a delux room is what we checked into ( for 3 adults).
This is a relatively new hotel, hence service provided is good. The
food too is good.The manager, a Mr Lobo was indeed very helpful.
Anyways, lets see what we saw in udaipur. We started the next morning
with a trip to the City Palace.It is an awesome palace, and the most
expensive entry fees possible in rajasthan. Pl make sure that u hire
the official guides from the palace. Ensure the fact thought that the
guy is not in a hurry to ditch you. At the ticket counter, pl make sure
that you buy tickets for the palace as well as the lake palace hotel
behind , else u will have to make a trip to the counter again (not a
pleasurable task with the sun blazing down. The tickets are priced at
125/- per head, 100/- for the guide (for a group of 4), 200/- for the
still camera, 25/- for the palace behind, 150 for the boat ride to see
Jag Mandir in between lake pichola, and if u r a crystal connosieur,
300/- per head to see the crystal museum (something I avoided).
The palace is an awesome monument, and having a guide is
illuminating.Some places within the palace are a treat to the eyes -
the sheesh mehal, the museum within, the Mor Chowk - wherein u have
awesome works of art etched into the walls. After a tiring hour inside
the palace, we walked further down to go boating to see the Jagmandir.
This is where mughal prince Shah jahan was given refuge. The view of
the palace, as well as lake palace from here is very nice.
From here our chauffer ( we hired a car to travel from Udaipur all the
way to Jaipur.- The chauffer was from Jaipur, as was the car. The
chauffer - hari nath (HN) (tel no:+919829199513/9828046791) was a big help, since he advised us time and again wrt our trip.) took us to the Rana pratap memorial. this boasts of a magnificebnt bronze statue of Maharana Pratap riding his horse
Chetak. From here, u get a great view of the Fateh sagar lake, which
apparently looks like the indian map.
You can also enjoy boating at this lake, though from a little further
away and visit a park situated in between this lake.
In the evening we visited the sahelion ki badi ( a garden built in the
18th century for the queens - a summer resort kind of). This place is
lush green and has nice fountains - sounds cool doesnt it.
Also there is the Vintage Car museum / hotel, which worth a dekho ,
specially for car lovers. The collection of cars is amazing. The ticket
costs 130/- per head, which includes a meal at their restaurant -
great meal.
From Here, we left the next day for the cool hills of mount Abu. This
place is approximately 190 kms from Udaipur. It takes roughly 3 1/2
hours of sane driving ( speeds of 60-80 kms/hr) to reach abu.
Here we parked a place called Samrat Hotel. This is a nice place, and
also popular, as we could see from the crowd that kept checking in.
add: near taxi stand, mt abu.
tel: 02974-235173, 235153
The rates vary from season to season off seasons a std room could cost
550, dlx - 790. other times the same rooms could cost as high as
1290-2690 ( specially diwali). We were there in off season and hence
got a good discount. The restaurant attached to this hotel - Takshila
is a good one, and food is quite good.
At Abu, in the evening, its a good time to walk around Nakki Lake,
eating Softies, just chilling out there or some boating if u wish.
Abu is famous for The Dilwara temples. But other good spots include The
guru Shikhar - highest point in Abu, the peace park maintained by the
brahma kumaris, Achalgarh.
The temples at Dilwara have been apparently
built between the 10th - 13th century. The place is awesome, but what
took the fun away ( for me ) is that you cannot shoot any photos here.
The guides are the temple guards , and most of them do not make sense.
Though it was lovely sight, what we have for memory of the place are
some post cards or some mediocre photographs taken by storekeepers
inside the temples. Infact I liked the Jain temple inside Jaisalmer
Fort better.
FYI : The mediocre ratings apply to the operator
Continued in comments section