Dec 5th, 2007
Rajasthan Delights
We left cosmopolitan Mumbai and plummeted back into the India of yesteryear. Rajasthan is awash with colourful buildings and turbans, vibrant saris, golden deserts, plodding camels, ancient forts and Maharajas. Our souls instantly became calm again and we were mixed up in a whirl of ancient history.
First stop Udaipur with its stunning Lake Palace Hotel which seems to float upon the water. The narrow cobbled streets were pretty and wound their way up and down the local terrain. Whilst there were still plenty of wandering cows and motorbikes to dodge we loved this sweet town. Views to the Lake Palace Hotel were aplenty; the hotel is a rather swanky affair and was used in the Octopussy movie (so any discerning backpacker guest house showed re-runs of the film every night).
We made ourselves busy wandering round the City Palace on the mainland for a few hours. And whilst sitting on our hotel rooftop admiring the sunset across the lake, another guest arrived who we instantly recognised from the Swarambayath Stupa in Kathmandu. He wasn’t hard to forget. The first time we saw him we thought he was a Bollywood star; intricate facial hair, cowboy boots and an air of superstar about. I had sneeked a picture of him at the time and we later asked a few Indians if they recognised the person in the snapshot but we only got blank faces (unfortunately we sent this pic home on a cd). This time round, Guy bounded over to say Hello and We meet again! It turns out he was Frederic Cartier from the one-and-only diamond jeweller Cartier family. And before we knew it we’d been asked to join him for drinks that evening at a local restaurant. How could one refuse?
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