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India

Udaipur - Lift, Lake, and Leaving



After seeing the Jain temples, our last evening in town was spent enjoying new views of the city from two different perspectives.
No, we didn't ride on camels (like these guys are doing), but instead hiked up a hill to a "ski lift" type contraption that looked over the city.

We had seen the wires from our hotel and talked about going, so we just walked up to see what the deal was. There were a good number of people waiting in line (as Diwali was just starting and all the Indians were beginning their vacations), but nothing too bad.


Riding up, we had a great view over the entire valley. At the top of the mountain was an old fort, a Hindu temple, and a Muslim shrine, so we spent some time climbing around and enjoying the sights and the wind.


And like any good tourists, we took pictures and were the subjects of pictures taken. I snapped a shot of this Muslim family at the top of the mountain, and these ladies wanted their picture taken with the kids and Susan. What goes around comes around!
After coming back down, we were able to enjoy a lovely boat ride around the two islands in the middle of the lake (both of which have palaces – Jag Mandir and Jag Niwas). The sun went down just as we were boarding, and as we shoved off we passed this funky looking party boat (on the right). It is apparently operated by the Lake Palace Hotel (the fancy white one of Octopussy fame) and features waiters and oarsmen dressed in snazzy Indian gear - totally catering to the white tourist looking to be pampered and have a taste of "authentic" India. Of course, notice how the rowers are totally out of sync. They are just for show - there is actually a small motorboat on the other side pushing the whole contraption along!
There it is again - the Monsoon Palace as seen from the lake!!


Breck and Alea express their opinions about Dad taking pictures of them...
And as the sun went down, the lights came up. We had a marvelous last night and a fantastic overall trip: Udaipur is a do-again location for sure! 
But what would a Stutz travel story be without a twist: Our last day in Udaipur was frazzled, as Indian Airlines canceled our flight without telling us. To make a long and stressful story short, we ended up buying new flights on Kingfisher (and are still waiting for a refund from IA). So – a word to the wise and NEVER fly Indian Air
Other than that, our time in Udaipur was much more than we had expected; we look forward to returning next year to explore it further.
Udaipur home - Exploring the city - City Palace - Dance performance - Night lights - Jagdish Temple - Life on the Ranch - Country Scenes - Diwali - Mountain Ridge - Jain Temples - Lift, Lake, and Leaving

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