Dusshera in Udaipur

A low drumbeat seeped into my room, a subtle heartbeat of the city invading my sleep, welcoming me to a new beginning, imploring me to take advantage of what the day will offer. So I slowly got up, taking my time to enjoy the fact I was on vacation and made my way up to the roof top terrace of the hotel. Where better to take breakfast then with a view over the lake, sparkling as the sun touched it after rising past the buildings, reflections of windows and the exclusive white palace floating in the middle adding an extra dimension. I could have sat there for hours appreciating the sight, but there was more that Udaipur had to offer. After enjoying a stuffed parantha and a cheese omelette I headed out to the streets. Despite the drumming that woke me Udaipur doesn't move very fast in the morning; as we walked the road to the City Palace vendors were just starting to open up shop; making sure that their wares were beautifully displayed, a riot of leather, glass and color. We had to pause for a stop under the sparkling tinsel canopy to climb the stairs up to Jagdish temple, rising above the city streets in the heart of the old city. Remove our shoes and then wander around the intricately carved temple. Layers of designs covering the facade of the building that towered above. Elephants here then a level of horses, people farther up, some flower designs; on and on it stretched, no inch left unadorned. Then back down to the street to continue on to the City Palace, a twisting turning maze of rooms that it takes a couple of hours to wind through. A trip that takes you past a variety of rooms and colors, amazing windows, carved details and open spaces. 

No visit to Udaipur is complete without a boat ride around the lake. A twenty minute journey where you can't decide it you want to look towards the shore and the old constructions that line the water's edge or if you'd rather stare at the smattering of constructions that seem to have been built on nothing in the water, conveying a mixed sense of floating and sinking. Did I want the faded light of sunset or the clarity a day trip would bring? Rather than trying to make that decision I settled on both. Each time I completed a circuit I noticed new things, took a few more pictures, and appreciated this special piece of Udaipur a little bit more. So much so that I decided I needed to get a birds eye view of the lake, and so went off to experience a very Indian segment of Udaipur's tourist offerings: the rope way - a cable car/gondola trip up the hillside that offered views over the city in every direction. The string of lakes making it clear just how different Udaipur is from other cities in India.