Rajasthan tours and travels by Holiday organizer in Rajasthan

Udaipur's labyrinthine streets have some fascinating bazaars and we browsed through them in the morning - Small shops selling the tie-and-dye fabrics which the city is famed for, particularly the leharia (wave-patterned) ones which are, perhaps naturally associated with this city of lakes.

		Other good buys include Udaipur's brightly coloured folk toys,pichwais, miniature paintings, ornamental swords, enamel jewellery and terracottas from the nearby village of Molela.
Molela craftman at work. Click to enlarge

We had been too overwhelmed by the City Palace Building and Museum yesterday, to see the the two hotels in the City Palace complex. And we strolled into them today - Shiv Niwas and Fateh Prakash Palaces.

Shiv Niwas has played host not only to celebrities ranging from Jackie Onassis to Queen Elizabeth II, but was also a location for the James Bond movie, Octopussy. And, I have always liked 007's taste in women and hotels :)

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Excursions

The smaller Fateh Prakash has some of the the most exquisite Mewar miniature paintings from the Maharana's private collection and the Crystal Gallery with Belgian glass crystal furniture.

We had lunch at the Gallery restaurant and then went to Shilpgram, an interesting "living ethnographic museum" that gives a superb insight into rural Rajasthan. Spread out on a hillock, it has village huts of various regions furnished with traditional household items. One can also sit and watch how different craft items are made.