Day 1
We started the day with a visit to the extensive and opulent
City Palace complex which also houses a museum
and a hotel.
 The
building has a couple of Sheesh Mahals with elaborate
mirrors and coloured glasses on the ceiling, walls and even the
floor (Thank God, it took my weight!). Another celebrated feature
of the building is the grand Mor Chowk (Peacock
Courtyard), with its walls covered with a dramatic glass mosaic
relief of dancing peacocks.
The Museum contains a wonderful collection of
old Rajput weaponry including the suit of armour (along with his
weapons it weighed a whopping 165 pounds!!!) worn by the most
chivalrous of Rajputs, Maharana Pratap.
Elephantine Deceit
His equally famous horse, Chetak's battle armour has an unusual
feature - a fake elephant trunk. This was designed so that in
battle the enemy horses would mistake it for an elephant and get
intimidated by it, while the enemy elephants would hesitate to
attack a baby elephant.
From the City Palace, we visited the Jagdish Temple
with its impressive archway and after lunch we saw Lake
Fateh Sagar before taking a stroll at the Pratap
Smarak. It's a lovely park on a hill with Maharana
Pratap's imposing black statue on top and offers a lovely view.
Next stop was the beautiful garden Saheliyon ki Bari
with its lotus pools and delicate marble cupolas and fountains.
The picturesque Lake Palace. |
Sunset on Lake Pichhola
In the evening, we went to see the magnificient Lake
Palace in the middle of Lake Pichhola. And
what a breathtaking sight it was... the white-marbled Lake Palace
seemed to float fairy-tale like in the waters of the lake.
This photo of the City Palace
was taken from the boat. |
Our Network guide asked us if we would like to take a leisurely
boat-ride, and we jumped at the opportunity. It was an
unforgettable experience and probably the most romantic evening of
our lives. We cruised around, taking in the numerous ghaats
(including the Gangaur Ghaat which witnesses frenzied activity
during the Mewar Festival), the imposing
City Palace and the city spread around the lake.
 I
was looking at the water turning a deep orange, when Sonia tugged
at my arm and whispered "Mike, just turn around verrrrry,
verrrrry slowly." I did and was treated to the most glorious
sunset that I had ever seen!!!
We had a candle-light dinner in the charming Lake Palace (now a
luxury hotel) and then took the boat back to the city. Little
wonder that the Lake City of Udaipur is fondly referred to as "Venice
of the East".
Day 2 >>
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