T ' Udaipur

Can I tell you about...Udaipur. This was our last stop in Rajasthan and we were spending New Years eve here. We drove almost 8 hours from Jaipur to Udaipur with a side trip to visit the Jain temples in Rankapur. If you can fly there, fly!We stayed at an 18th century fort palace converted into a luxury boutique hotel called the Devigarh. I had seen it in travel magazines and had heard rave reviews from friends who had stayed there previously. It's nestled in the Aravali Hills, in the village of Delwara and has been restored using local marble and semi- precious stones. The fort palace was built in the 1760s originally to protect Udaipur from invaders. Eventually, it was abandoned like most palace forts all over India. Now it plays host to fashionable nomads and spa junkies.What we liked about the hotel is that it's away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Udaipur, about 20 minutes away from the city center. It's tranquil and quiet. The only sounds you here are the daily Muslim call to prayer that echoes through the hills. The call to prayer is heard five times a day; at dawn, at the midday, about the middle of the afternoon, just after sunset, and at night fall about two hours after sunset. There is still a village around it and the hotel offers great views of scenes of daily life.Our trips into the city comprised of seeing the City Palace and a boat cruise on Lake Pichola. This palace is enormous and towers over the lake.Legend has it that the Maharana met a sage who told him to find a city at the exact location that is now known as the Rajya Angan(royal courtyard).The rooms of the palace are spectacular; decorated with mirror tiles and paintings.I was really looking forward to seeing the Lake Palace(of Octopussy fame) but unfortunately, because of the New Year's eve celebration and other security reasons, they weren't allowing non guests in the premises. We got to see it from a distance when we took a lake cruise. I'm determined to come back and stay at this palace one day. We always want what we can't have.The Lake palace was built in the 17th century on a natural foundation of 4 acres of rock. It was built in 1743 by Maharana Jagat Singh for the sole purpose of being a cool escape for the royal family during the summer. Constructed from white marble and employing the same techniques and essentially copying elements from the Taj Mahal, it is a stunning visual statement surrounded by the blue waters of the lake. It is so white, it looks as if someone poured bleach all over the palace.On New Year's eve, a gorgeous buffet was set up by the poolside as well as stage for a live Rajasthani song and dance performance. They put braziers near the tables because it was a little chilly to be dining outdoors. I had to eat fast because the food only stayed warm for a few minutes. It was winter after all. After the variety show guests were ushered into the courtyard that had been converted to a dancefloor. At the stroke of midnight, a firework display lit up the sky and guests took to the dancefloor.


The best part about the evening was when the DJ suddenly switched to Indian Pop music. All the waiters and hotel staff hit the dance floor and I was in transported to a Bollywood extravaganza. The sang, jumped, danced, held hands with such euphoria it was infectuous.
One of the waiters dragged me out of my chair and all of a sudden I was dancing in my own music video complete with a choreographed ensemble. It was T'Udaipur!