The 7 hour train ride from Udaipur to Ahmedabad was long, but there was so much to see outside that I had no need for reading or writing. The area outside of Mumbai is full of vast planes which stretch on forever. There were rural slums, houses with thatched roofs, and five storey buildings which look so out of place. The sunset was amazing, with a sun of blood orange set over the fields.

Once in Ahmedabad we changed to a sleeper train which would take us to Udaipur. We knew this part of the trip would be cold - Rajasthan has a desert climate, which is freezing at night but hot during the day. Even with a hoodie, my silk liner (thanks Jess!), woollen slippers, and the woollen blankets we stole from the airplane (thanks Quantas!) we were still cold. I managed to get a decent amount of sleep, but Glen spent most of the night listening to music. Once the sun started to come up we opened the blinds, and watched the new year sunset. We found ourselves in a very different world again. Far from the planes of Mumbai, the landscape here is rugged and mountainous. Sparse trees are dotted over the hills, with slate cliffs. The ground is blanketed with straw orange grass. Against the New Year sunset, the place was golden. Ifound myself asking how I had never been here before.

Once in Udaipur we met a lovely taxi driver who took us to a fantastic hotel. Weary of paying the driver's commission on the room, we bargained a room for 400Rps. The room is gorgeous and slightly kitsch, with handpainted details around the doorways and windows, and saris hanging from the windows. It is so lovely, that we are sorry to leave it today as we move on to Jodhpur.

Walking back to our hotel, we saw our first elephant! It wasn't particularly happy looking though. A little sad. And we were offered a ride for 1000Rps. Not paying that much thanks! But cool to see one.

Last night we were sitting in a little cafe, talking to the owner, and we learnt he did reflexology massages. He gave us an evaluation, and could tell that one of Glen's legs is longer than the other by just feeling our hands. We considered having a massage, as he is praised in his 'visitor's book' by hundreds of travellers in all different languages. But we decided that we couldn't afford it this time. Maybe later in the trip.

The back streets are my favourite. We do not feel threatened or in danger exploring these parts, and love to get away from the tourist centres. Children are very keen to meet us, and many speak good English. We met a group of children who were particularly friendly, and later realised they wanted the bag of fruit we were carrying in our hands. We couldn't resist, and after a few minutes they had managed to extract all the fruit we had just bought.

Above all, the people here are amazing. Everyone wants to talk to us, and yes, some want to sell us stuff too. But the sales pitch comes at the end, as an aside. People are genuinely interested to know who we are and where we are from. Some have a scarily good eye for guessing where we come from. Wandering the streets we sometimes get calls of Haere Mai or Kia Ora.

Today we are getting an overnight bus to Jodhpur. We don't expect to sleep much, but by taking an overnight bus we effectively get a night's accommodation.

Happy New Year everyone

written by  Capto on January 2, 2010 from Udaipur, India
from the travel blog: Two months in Limbo
tagged Udaipur
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everythnig sounds amazing! Thanks for the awesome read :)

written by  Jason on January 2, 2010

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Sounds amazing! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it, my parents loved there trip there (before I was born). I had imagined the temp at night was still be warm! Glen I had no idea one leg was longer than than the other lol!

written by  Michael Steele on January 4, 2010

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