Leaving Jodhpur, travel through the beautiful hamlet of Ranakpur (approx 3 hrs), home to a host of intricately carved white marble Jain temples. Explore the incredible complex of Jain temples - the main reason why Ranakpur is one of the most important pilgrim destinations for Jains in India. Then continue on to Udaipur (approx 5 hrs).
Udaipur undoubtedly lives up to its reputation as India's most romantic city. Rolling hills, white marble palaces and lakes come together appealingly and it's a centre for artists, dancers and musicians. The shopping is also superb, with miniature paintings being the speciality.
Take a walk around town to help gain your bearings and explore Udaipur's twisting alleys filled with silver, shoes, bags, leather goods and miniature paintings. Visit City Palace, one of the largest royal palaces in India, and check out the unbelievable treasures within - from vivid murals to antiques and royal utensils.
Enjoy a half hour boat ride on the famous Lake Pichola and see marvels like Lake Palace and Jag Mandir Island (seasonal depending on the water level in the lake). Be part of a musical concert combining seven traditional Rajasthani folk dances. Join the famous Spice Box cooking school and spend a half day learning the secrets of Indian cuisine. With lessons on preparation and cooking, you'll be able to whip up a full Indian meal in no time. (brochure)
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We leave exciting Jodhpur and head for Udaipur, our final Rajasthan destination and our last stop before we return to Delphi and end our Intrepid adventure.
Our 1st stop is at the Ranakur Jain Temple which contains 1044 marble pillars, all carved differently to honor 24 Jain saints. Each column is an individual piece of solid marble and as you can see, the carvings are quite intricate.
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The drive to Udaipur is long but interesting. The desert changes into hills and valleys followed by taller mountains. Some areas exhibit their desert environment while others are fields of wheat and rice. Over the crest of a mountain, we descend into beautiful Udaipur. We say good-bye to our bus driver, Mahendra, and his assistant, Prakash, who were invaluable in getting us from Jaipur to Udaipur. Mahendra was a superb driver who navigated the difficult Indian roads, avoided near-certain collisions and always welcomed us with a smile each morning. Prakash was more like our personal attendant...assisting us off the bus....bringing us water and soda as our needs demanded....offering a friendly smile during the long road journeys. To both of them, I say thank you for your pleasantness and professionalism.
We transfer to smaller autos that can navigate the city's narrow streets.We arrive at our final hotel and what a hotel it is....Lake Pichola Hotel.....located on its namesake lake..a beautiful facility that looks across at the city's "old town". We all are very pleased with our new accommodations.......unpack......get ready for a walk into "old town" to see a traditional Rajasthan folk musical and dance show.
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| Mahendra, Tom, Prakash |
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| Hotel Entrance |
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| Hotel Lobby |
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| View from the Balcony |
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| View from My Room |
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| Another Balcony View |
The show was held at the city's museum and was quite good....musicians, dancers and bowl balancers. The woman below actually balanced ten (10) vases/jugs on her head.
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| Duet with Indian String Instrument |
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| Puppeteer |
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| That's Three |
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| That's Six |
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We had dinner on the Hotel's roof-top restaurant followed by a short fire-works display and off to bed.
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