20 December 09 – 25 December 09

View of lake Pichola from our little hotel

Cuando llegamos, tuvimos la suerte de que nuestro conductor de rickshaw nos llevó al otro lado del puente. Esto hizo una diferencia inmensa ya que ese es el lado calmado y pacífico de Udaipur.

Un pequeño restaurante casi oculto junto a nuestro hotel nos dio la atmósfera relajante y pacífica que buscábamos. Frente del lago Pichola, disfrutamos de las vistas del Palacio y las costas activas del lago. Cada día, las mujeres van a los ghats (pasos que aterrizan en el lago) para lavar ropa en la manera tradicional. Sin embargo, las vistas más cautivantes fueron de los elefantes que andan alrededor de las calles.

Nos gustó mucho la visita al Palacio, aparentemente el segundo más hermoso en India. Tiene decoraciones suntuosas. De allí, tomamos un bote a la Isla de Jagmandir. Lo que era antes un palacio que ocupa toda la isla, es actualmente un restaurante muy caro y un hermoso spa, todo rodeado de hermosos jardines.

Lake Palace

El templo de Ranakpur es probablemente el más hermoso que hemos visto. Ninguna de sus 1444 pilares de mármol blanco tiene el mismo diseño. Después de eso, fuimos al Fuerte de Kumbalgarth con sus paredes que van más allá de 36 km y tiene más de 300 templos. En la noche había un festival de baile y logramos ver unos pocos bailes tradicionales antes de nuestro retorno al hotel por 2 horas.

La noche antes de Navidad estuvimos en otro restaurante muy bonito a la orilla del Lago, disfrutando una vez más los curries de India y de nuestro postre predilecto Gulab Jamum.

Sitting in the Jagmandir Island (very posh place)

Udaipur is said to be the most romantic town in India. It might be right!
When we first arrived, we were lucky enough to be taken by our rickshaw driver to the other side of the bridge. This made a huge difference as that was the quiet and peaceful side of town.

Kumbalgarth Fort by night

An almost hidden small restaurant right next to our hotel gave us the relaxing and peaceful atmosphere we were looking for. Right in front of the lake Pichola, we enjoyed the views of the Palace and the active shores of the lake. Every day, women went to the ghats (steps landing on the lake) to wash cloth in the traditional way. However, elephants walking around the streets were the most captivating views.

Patricia in the middle of the amazingly detailed Ranakpur temple

We took a day trip to the Ranakpur temple of Jainism. This is a religion separated from Hinduism. They strictly believe in non-violence to any living creature. Some of the strongest believers would sweep the floor before them when walking in order to avoid killing any small insects and would wear a handkerchief over the mouth to avoid swallowing a mosquito. Mahatma Gandhi was a Jain follower.

Impressive dance show

The temple is probably the most beautiful we have ever seen. None of its 1444 white marble pillars has the same design. After that, we went to the Kumbalgarth Fort with its walls stretching over 36 km and more than 300 temples. There was a dancing festival that night and we managed to see a few traditional dances before our 2 hour journey back to our hotel.

We spent Christmas evening at another nice lakeshore restaurant, enjoying once more the Indian curries and our favourite dessert Gulab Jamum.

Christmas dinner by lake Pichola

written by  patryandjose on December 20, 2009 from Udaipur, India
from the travel blog: Resumen de dónde estamos y para dónde vamos? - Summary of where we are and where are we going to?
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