A sorrowful bellow reverberates through our room. It’s not John but a cow outside. Another wonderful morning has begun.

As we leave the hotel, I notice cow patties of a very disturbing consistency. No wonder she bellows and what does she expect after eating from garbage cans?

John takes me through town to breakfast at Jheel Cafe and Restaurant. We are about to grab a seat beside the window overlooking the lake on the ground floor when we are told to go upstairs. My goodness, the stairs never seem to end. I reach one landing only to discover another stairwell over and over again. Finally we reach the top with a breathtaking view. We eat omelettes and drink chai while soaking in the surroundings.

On the way back to the hotel I’m a bit intimidated by a moaning, big black cow, but finally get the courage to pass. Check out this 20 second video of the cow.

At the hotel, I go up to the rooftop for my pre-arranged appointment with a palm reader/astroĺogist. Apparently, I am going to live 93-95 years. Note to self: stay in good with the kids.

I give John the good news and I head to the Hindu Jagdish Temple while John searches for a working ATM that will accept his bank card.

A service is going on at the temple with singing and some dancing (check out the video). I step in something wet and soak my socks. Not seeing a cow or dog, I assume it’s water.

I climb back down the many steps and find John surrounded by a school group telling John all their names and wanting to shake his hand.

 

Then we head by tuk tuk to the City Palace boat docks less than ten minutes away.

The sound of parrot squawks alert me to the green Alexandrian parrots flying around the top of the City Palace.

It’s a pretty boat ride to Jag Mandir, an island in Lake Pichola. The boat tours the lake first with the breeze off the water making it very comfortable. Passing the Taj Lake Palace,   which is now a hotel where only the uber rich can stay, I cannot help but think that architecturally speaking, many of the other buildings in  Udaipur are more attractive.

Jag Mandir is a small island where the Maharajas built a summer palace. It is peaceful, relaxing and beautiful with gardens, restaurants, a spa and hotel on the island.

The boat ride back is quick and we choose to walk back to our hotel. The motorcycles and tuk tuks pass so close that at times my hair blows in their wake. I try and de-stress myself by entering a shop and buying a skirt.

We spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the Rainbow rooftop restaurant.

At 4:30pm we pile into our tuk tuks and head to the Monsoon Palace (aka Sajjangarh Palace) which is a 20-30 minute tuk tuk ride outside of Udaipur. Once there we have the choice of walking 4 km up the steep, winding mountain road or taking a jeep.  That is a no brainer. There is a line up for the jeeps but Garima does her magic and we only wait 30 minutes before stuffing all seven of us into one jeep.

The road is narrow and sharply zig zags to the top of the mountain. It’s a sheer drop on one side. The driver travels this at break neck speed, leaning on the horn at each turn.  My nerves are a mess.

We finally get to the top but unfortunately it’s so hazy (from pollution), that the sun is just a smudge on the horizon. We can make out Udaipur far below.

The palace is rather rundown and plain compared to others we’ve already visited. The real reason to come is for the view. We stay a short while and decide to beat the after sunset crowds and line up for the jeep ride down.

The descent is every bit as hair raising as the ride up. I keep my head down till we reach bottom.

I stay back at the hotel, pack and upload the blog for the rest of the night while John heads out to Udai Garh Restaurant where a small part of the Exotic Marigold Hotel was filmed.