Rajasthan

Friday, March 04, 2016
Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
This was completely different from the tropical south; dry, dusty, colourful and historic. Rajasthan involves long car journeys, lots of forts and palaces and temples in the cities and trips to see leopards in the countryside.

We started by flying into Delhi to meet our driver for the next 16 days, who proceeded to drive us as safely as he was able through the crazy traffic and crowded roads of Rajasthans towns and villages .We saw the Taj Mahal in the early morning mist, accompanied by crowds of tourists of all nationalities, rich and poor, and Agra Fort to steep us in Mogul history.

Then the abandoned city of Fatephur Sikri,which we had to ourselves 40 years ago, now much visited on the way to JAIPUR. Here the massive Amber Fort towers above the city and the Palace in the pink city is exqusitely decorated.. Escaping from tales of the battling Rajputs and the heat, we visited the Raj Mandarin cinema, a stunning 1920s building cinema to see film about an indian stewardess who became the heroine and victim of the Karachi hijacking in1990s,

We stayed in 2 lovely hotels, one in Jaipur and another in a restored Fort in the middle of the countryside, run by two sisters. They were both beautifully furnished, the Fort providing an example of how the landed classes live in luxury while they look down on the village nestled round the massive walls below . The bullock cart ride gave us the opportunity to mix with the villagers who were all persuaded to wave and have their pictures taken, except one old lady who swore at us, and was of course dismissed as mad. Maybe?
On to blue city of JODPUR for great audio tour of privately run Fort and pretty mausoleum. The current Maharaja has built himself a palace in 1920s and is building expensive homes on his land to sell to the growing middle class, many involved with the large airforce and army presence, given that Jaipur is the last major town before the Parkistan border that is constantly provoking with skirmishes. Military activity provided a noisy backdrop to our outdoor dinner in the beautiful garden of the hotel, near a surprisingly large swimming pool.

At Castle Bera, a somewhat seedy fort dominating the village,we saw LEOPARDS at dusk and dawn. We drove along dusty tracks and over bare rocks to the hills. After some hours of waiting and training binoculars on cracks in the rocks we finally followed a leopard silhouetted against the skyline along the ridge. Then up before dawn, wrapped up against the chill as the sun edged over the horizon a family of Leopards, mum and 2 cubs, came out to lounge on the rocks and tumble and chase each other and the noisy, honking peacocks that seemed to bait them. A great entertainment !

We met Maharajas and lesser nobility, both alive, hosting the hotel forts and dead, their pictures decorating the palaces. We read about the repeated battles of the Rajputs against the invading Mugals and the alliances they finally made in 1857 with the British. We also met living Maharajas, complaining bitterly about the move in 1960s of the government to confiscate much of their lands, finally getting rid of the feudal system and appealing to the democratic vote.

Situated on a lake and surrounded by arid mountains the city of UDIAPUR was a bit cooler and breezy. Every resturant advertised a lake view and we enjoyed a boat ride on the lake after exploring the City Palace. A tuc tuc took us through the smelly narrow streets in the evening to a packed dance and puppet performance and on to a popular resturant by the lake for supper. Meals have become fairly repetitive ; two meat and two veg dishes, with nan and rice between us, washed down with beer, but very tasty and spicy. 

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