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Udaipur: Stepping across cultures

Narrow lanes where only a car can pass through at a time climbed up to hotels and shops in old Udaipur. It made me do two things: fight with claustrophobia and try to get a glimpse of the famous lakes.

Lake Pichola, Udaipur

The largest lake in Udaipur, Lake Pichola, is blocked from view by hotels, shops and houses; none of them higher than the third story. The only place from where you can get a full view of Pichola is hotel balconies, roof top restaurants, the two bridges (one for vehicles and one for pedestrians) and hilltops. It is a beautiful sight with Lake Palace (which the present king has given on lease to Taj Hotel) standing in the middle of Lake Pichola.

Hotels

We took up two hotels while on a three day stay. The first was WonderView Palace. In Udaipur, any dilapidated building is a palace. WonderView Palace hotel is situated at Hanuman Ghat, 6 Panch Dewari Marg, Outside Chandpole, Udaipur. If you are going by taxi, you do not need the address of the hotel, only the name  is enough. Udaipur is a small place and everybody knows everything.

WonderView hotel has a view of lake Pichola from some of its rooms and from its balcony and restaurant. It also had a roof top restaurant. We took a big room for Rs. 2,800 for four people. The room was comfortable. The floor was carpeted, the walls were covered with miniature paintings, there was a T.V., and the bathroom had a tub and an exhaust. The food here was reasonable, but too oily. The raita was stale.

Veg. Pakoda – Rs. 50

Dal Fry – Rs. 60

Veg Raita – Rs. 35

Plain Rice – Rs. 45

Plain Chapatis – Rs. 7/per piece

Green salad – Rs. 35

Milk – Rs. 20

Tea – Rs. 15

The other hotel we stayed at was Hotel Sarovar. We took two double bed rooms here for Rs. 1,200 each. The room was good and clean. It had a T.V. The food here was very expensive. We ordered two glasses of milk for the baby and it came to Rs. 91 with taxes. Otherwise, the hotel was very good with a good view of lake Pichola.

Food

There are many good restaurants around Lake Pichola, which is the largest of the two and the most popular lake in Udaipur. We went to dinner at The Food Club restaurant for two consecutive nights. It offers a fantastic view of Lake Pichola from the comfort of a takhat. The food is not exuberantly priced and is delicious, the two things all customers look for. Before going to Udaipur, I searched the net, but did not find much detail. So, here I want to include prices and stuff so that any tourists going there may find the trip more pleasurable and comfortable.

Night view of Lake Pichola

The Food Club restaurant, (owned by Gajendra Singh Shaktawat)

Bada Ramayan Chowk,

Outside Chandpole,

Udaipur

Soups – Rs. 60-65

Biryani – Rs. 90

Dal – Rs. 70

Alu Palak – Rs. 90

Roti – Rs. 10/per piece

Noodles – Rs. 140

Raita – Rs. 35

Salad – Rs. 40

Fruit Custard – Rs. 60

Tea – Rs. 30

Coffee – Rs. 20

Lime soda – Rs. 50

Mineral water – Rs. 30

For four people, our bill for dinner came to Rs. 700- 800. Talking of restaurants, there is one excellent restaurant that serves authentic Rajasthani food. It is called Bawarchi Restaurant Fastfood. It is air conditioned and the seating is reasonably good, and the food is excellent. This restaurant is in the main city of Udaipur.

Bawarchi Restaurant

Dal Fry – Rs. 40

Shahi Paneer – Rs. 70

Missi Roti – Rs. 15/per piece

Jeera Rice – Rs. 40

Butter Milk – Rs. 12

Lassi – Rs. 25

Mosami Juice – Rs. 40

Butter Naan – Rs. 20/per piece

Tava Roti – Rs. 5

Places to Visit

The City Palace is the main attraction in Udaipur. It is a large complex where you might spend an hour and a half walking. The ticket for adults is for Rs. 50 and for a child. You can rent a guide here for Rs. 100. From the palace you get a breathtaking view of the whole city of Udaipur.

City Palace, Udaipur

Sahelion Ki Bari means a garden for friends of the queen. The fountains here use gravity, not electricity. The lawn on the left side of the complex was designed for the summers because it has many trees and fountains. The queen and her friends would sit here in the summer and enjoy the pleasant sound of the water and the cool of the trees. Another unique feature of this place is the round stone area with fountains all around. This area is surrounded by huge trees and flora. When you stand at the centre of this round, you feel as though it is raining. That is because the circle is surrounded by fountains and the trees echo the water falling on the ground. It was a tremendous experience. The lawn on the right side of the structure is for the winters where the queen and her friends would bask in the sunshine. Here, you can get a guide for Rs. 50.

Shilp Gram is a village where painters, weavers, potters, sculptors and artists of handicrafts exhibit and sell their craft. The village is an amazing experience. With real mud houses lining the mud lane, you get the authentic feel of a village.

Making pottery at Shilpgram

The stuff you get here is very reasonably priced and you get to talk to real artists, not businessmen hiding behind the mask of artists. For most of them, it is their ancestral art and they are not really trying to sell, they are happy if you appreciate their art. They were eager to show how they do it. I bought a terricota camel, traditional artificial jewellery sets, a handmade shawl, a miniature painting and rajasthani slippers from here. The camel was for Rs. 60, jewellery set for Rs. 250, 2 bangles for Rs. 250, miniature painting for Rs. 500, rajasthani slippers for Rs. 250.

A vacant rural mud house at Shilpgram

We took the camel ride for Rs. 50, but ended up giving the old man Rs. 100 because of his patience, good humor and guidance. He even gave us his rajasthani turban for photographs.

Vintage Car Museum of the Maharana

The museum has a collection of twenty cars. There are around four or five rolls royce. The cars are used by the Maharana occasionally. There was a royal tonga and veiled cars for princesses. It is a beautiful collection and the cars are maintained very well.

Posing in front of a rolls royce

Monsoon Palace is situated on top of a hill from where you get a fantastic view of Udaipur and both the lakes (Pichola and Fateh Sagar). This is a fairly small palace, which was created as the summer residence of the king. The king died before the construction finished.

Panoramic view of the city of Udaipur from Monsoon Palace

Ropeway brings you to the top of a hill where you have a restaurant and a temple. The ticket for the ropeway is Rs. 60 per person.

Ropeway climbing to the top of the hill

Maharana Pratap Memorial has a statue of Maharan Pratap and his horse Chetak surrounded by beautiful lawns and fountains.

Maharana Pratap Memorial

The Udaipur Zoo had a leopard, storks, birds of many kinds, deers, tiger and many other animals. It is a long walk. The facilities provided to the animals were not good.

People

I loved the people here. They are intensely honest. I lost my purse at Monsoon Palace in the afternoon and got a call from an NSG official early that night. He came halfway down to the market to return the purse to us. Udaipur won my heart.

An old man in traditional headgear

Nobody, not the taxi driver, not the guides, not the shopkeepers will try to overcharge or cheat you. They are simple folks doing honest business.

The life pace here is slow and the people are not greedy for money. I did not see any beggars around the town. None of the guides pestered us when we went to see the many palaces. The people are polite and welcoming. While walking on the street alone at night, I did not feel unsafe the way I do at Delhi.

Taxi

We got a prepaid taxi from Udaipur airport to old Udaipur (Wonderview Hotel, in particular) for Rs. 350. It is around 25 kilometres drive.

A taxi (Indigo) for a day will be around Rs. 1,200. You also get bikes and cycles on rent here, but before renting one do check out the roads and see if you can drive in these narrow, congested roads.

Weather

We went to Udaipur in Feb, which is a good season to visit, as the sun is not too hot in the afternoon. Except in May-July and Dec-Jan, where it might be too hot or too chilly; all others months are safe. In Feb, we had to wear full sleeves sweaters after eight o’clock at night till the morning and roam around in a T-shirt in the afternoon. That is expected in a desert climate.

The air is a bit polluted especially while walking on the road. As an asthmatic, I had to cover my nose with a wet cloth while walking on the road. There is no sidewalk for pedestrians in the old city where the roads are very narrow.