Day 68: November 11: Breath of (relatively) fresh air.

The alarms went off at 5:30 this morning, and we arose from our uncomfortable berths wondering if the train would actually stop at the appointed time of 6:10. Of course, it was running 2 hours late, but when we asked the first time, they told us we'd arrive at 7. Alicia was able to doze a short while longer before packing up, but Karla was too uncomfortable (and takes longer to pack).

We took a rickshaw to our guesthouse, and while we were waiting for people to check out at 10, we had a lovely breakfast on the rooftop. The guesthouse is laid out like a traditional haveli (Indian home), and has a beautiful decor and a family-run feel, which is a refreshing change! When we got our room, we dropped our stuff off, listened to the patron's schpeil about what there is to do in Udaipur, then set off to find the City Palace. We both felt like the train ride was just a nightmare.

We love this city. First of all, we can breathe again (well Karla's cold makes it harder so maybe only one of us can) - unlike Agra and Delhi, there is not a huge cloud of smog lingering over us at all time. Second, the streets are a lot cleaner and it's not as smelly. Third, we're harassed by vendors and rickshaw drivers much less frequently here (flash back to Luxor which was absolutely terrible in this regard). Last, it's beautiful. The city is situated on a lake (which has seen cleaner and less green days), and the houses and shops are painted in pastels. It's actually a pleasant place to be!

We found the City Palace and we decided to go into the museum. The museum essentially was the palace, and it showcased the ornate, and at times extravagant, decorations of the maharanas who lived there. The vast majority of the rooms were painted bright colors or were frescoed, and there was a fair amount of stained glass. It was really beautiful. Although definitely over-the-top.

We were both ravenous after walking through what seemed like a never-ending palace, so we went to lunch on another rooftop (don't tell our guesthouse! It would be jealous), where we watched women passing in their brightly-colored saris, along with the traffic of rickshaws, motorcycles, stray dogs, cows, and yes, even an elephant. It was a spectacle!

By the time lunch was over, it was close to 4:00 and we headed toward the Jagdish Temple, which is dedicated to Vishnu as Jagannath, Lord of the Universe. The exterior was beautifully carved with hundreds of little statues, and we walked around the whole exterior admiring the craftsmanship. We also admired a new kind of monkey that was hanging around the temple. These ones have funny eyebrows and look like old men when they sit and stare at you hunched over.

We really meant to make it to the Bagore-Ki-Haveli to explore before the cultural show, but we got distracted looking at shops that sold blank books covered in traditional materials because Karla had the brilliant idea of buying photo-album-type books to each make an album of our trip. Of course we then had to try to explain to the vendors that we loved the hand-made paper, but that we just wanted to buy the covers because the paper was too heavy...we both ended up finding ones we liked, although Alicia saw the fabric that she wanted in the corner of the room and commissioned the exact cover that she wanted. We'll pick it up tomorrow. Now we just have to get them home in one piece...and of course keep taking pictures to fill them up. But that's never been a problem.

We finally made it to the Haveli, but unfortunately the museum part closed an hour before we arrived, so we bought our cultural show tickets, and kept wandering the streets. But in a safe way. Karla actually bought some hilarious pants (look at us on our shopping spree!), then we went back to the Haveli.

The cultural show consisted mostly of folk dances from Rajasthan, although there was one puppet act thrown into the mix (this included a puppet who's trick was to throw his head around). The first and last dances were by far the most impressive; the first dance was performed by a young woman who shook what her mama gave her with fire in a pot on her head. The last act was a 60-ish woman who danced with 10 pots on her head! She really brought the house down (all 50 of us. Small venue).

Karla and I trotted home for dinner, which we ate on the roof again...who would have thought that it's only possible to eat on roofs in Rajasthan? We had every intention of getting to bed early tonight, but here it is, after 11 and we're still fussing about. Maybe we'll sleep in tomorrow.
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