Through The Palace Windows...

We landed in Jaipur on a cold December morning. 

Day 1

A Uber cab took us to our hotel – Karnot Mahal in the heart of old Jaipur. It was a very basic hotel, the rooms had air conditioning, but there were no provisions of room heater. 

After a quick breakfast on the terrace of the hotel - Aloo paratha and oodles of hot tea - soaking in the mild winter sun, we set off for our two days’ trip. 

Hawa Mahal

We took an auto rickshaw to Hawa Mahal, spent quite a few hours there grasping the beauty of the place. Actually this spot was only 900 meters walk away from our hotel

City Palace

Our next wandering took us to City palace which is adjacent to Hawa Mahal. However, it is privately managed and they give a preference to foreigners who book tickets and packages at a higher price. 

Hence the queue for the locals was incredibly long since there was no one at the window to collect the ticket money from the Indian travelers. I made a mental note to tweet about it, at the first opportunity I have.

Looked like we had to wait for one hour to get our tickets. Hence walked away from seeing this place

Jantar Mantar

We then explored Jantar Mantar. On the way back we had myriad shops to check out in the old city quarters of Johri Bazaar where starting from Bandhej Duppattas to Rajasthani Pagris and colourful Leheria sarees you can pick up anything after a successful bargain. There are a lot of copper and brass whole sellers as well and lovely Indian artifacts can be bought here. Again don’t miss the pleasures of bargaining here as well

Dinner Time

Our next stop was for dinner at LMB – the famous Lakshmi Mistanna Bhandar. Highly recommended is the Rajasthani Thali , Dal Bati Churma and Badam Halwa the taste of the locals. This place also has a sweet shop adjoining the dining space and you can definitely savor some Ghewar here.

Shopping Time

Next we headed to Chaura Rasta , to buy some of the famous Rajasthani Razais. These are lovely cotton filled super light blankets that can be used as comforters. The prices range from Rs.650 to Rs.3000 as per your needs. If there is a dearth of space in your baggage, good news is that they also courier the Razais anywhere in India. We purchased 3 and since we packed light we could easily fit them into our suitcases.

Day 2

Our next morning began with some sunbathing on the hotel’s terrace accompanied with Puri Sabzi Breakfast and the usual accompaniment of hot tea. 

Amer/ Amber Fort

We were now ready for Amer/Amber Fort, which is about 11 kms from the city Centre. Again we called for an Uber and it was a relatively easy drive to the place. On the way we crossed Jal Mahal, but did not stop there.

There was a lot of traffic on the road as it was holiday season. So we got off our taxi a good five hundred meters away from the gate and walked it up. Amer Fort is one of the well preserved Forts, since the King entered into a treaty with the Mughals and the fort was spared the Islamic invasions. It houses the famous Sheesh Mahal which was built for the queen who loved to sleep under the stars.

Coffee, The Queens Way

There is a Café Coffee day while you are exiting this Palace. Do stop by for a cup of coffee. The view from its Balcony is amazing. Its like having coffee in an actual Fort .

Day 3

Udaipur

Next we headed to Udaipur by Humsafar Express in the night. It was a very pleasant and comfortable journey. We reached Udaipur around 4.40 am and then waited in the railway waiting room for day break. 

(Note: all stations have cloak rooms for depositing your luggage at very minimal price)

We checked into our Airbnb accommodation which was right next to Gangaur Ghat and opposite Bagaur Ki Haweli. The view from our deluxe room was that of Lake Pichola and the beautiful Taj Lake Palace in the middle. 

City Palace, Udaipur was also walking distance for us. After Breakfast - Toast, tea , pancakes and omlette - we set out to explore the neighborhood on foot. There are cycles available on hire as well. We walked across the many foot bridges criss crossing the lake, went up to chand pole (where the taxis come to pick up since the other roads are too narrow for them to navigate during the day)

We did a quick viewing of the City Palace with a Rs.30 entry ticket and saved the detailed tour for later.

Then we went to Sahelio Ki Bari which is a green garden built for the Royal Ladies in and around 1710. The water in the fountains I guess are not propelled by electricity but some other mechanism.

In the evening took a Tuk tuk to Fateh Sagar lake and enjoyed the boat ride watching the setting sun in the horizon.

Udaipur is one of the relatively rich places in Rajasthan and always full of upmarket tourists – both Indian and foreign.

Day 4

Chittorgarh Fort

The next day it was our tour to the Chittorgarh Fort which is the largest Fort in Asia and one of the largest in the world. It’s at a distance of 120 Km from Udaipur and took us about 2.5 hours by car to reach the entrance gate. 

Cars are allowed inside the Fort. Do remember to take a registered guide, since without them you will not be able to appreciate much of the history behind this old and magnificent fort. 

The foundations of the Fort was laid in sometime in the 7th century and then gradually rose to its glory days before falling on to shambles trying to withstand the many Islamic invasions. Today it’s a UNESCO world heritage site and still some parts of it are intact for us to imagine what it was during its hay days. 

Important spots to visit within the Fort – ruins of the palace, Meera Bai’s temple, Rani Padmini’s palace , Vijay Stambh, Kirti Stambh, Jain temple near Kirti Stambh, Gaumukh Reservoir, Jauhar kund. It takes the whole day to cover this fort, hence take your time and visit. 

I did not find any interesting eating joints inside the Fort though.

Day 5

The next day we went to the City palace again to take to boat ride around Lake Pichola and then visit the Jag Mandir. It’s a beautiful Must take boat ride. 

The Jag Mandir has a restaurant and bar overlooking the Lake. Next stop was the Monsoon Palace which is about 7 kms away from the city Centre. It gives an unhindered view of the Aravalli mountain ranges and birds eye view of both the main lakes of Udaipur – Pichola and Fateh Sagar.

Evening was the dance performance at Bagaur ki Haweli for about an hour followed by dinner and sleep. During peak season the crowd is immense at the Bagaur ki Haweli event. So make arrangements to get the tickets early and reach the venue early to catch a good seat.

Day 6

The next day we did the City Palace in details, saw the insides, in all its magnificent glory . Post that went to Maharana Pratap Smarak. 

Missed on visiting the Shilpgram Festival that happens once a year , since we had to catch a flight at 3.30 pm. The flight ultimately got delayed by another 3 hours. If we had known would have loved to spend some more time at Udaipur.

I am looking forward to when I can visit again and cover the other places still unexplored by me .

We did not have much time to explore eateries and shopping at Udaipur. Since our hotel food was quite nice actually. I am sure there are lots of eateries to explore in this city.

Seriously, I do not want to end this epic blog on that note - just looking for excuses and reasons to visit - Local food is the world's best reason - Agree?

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Images - Editing in progress. Will be uploaded soon