Udaipur

The lonely planet describes the journey from Bundi to Udaipur as for sadists and masochists only. I thought they were being melodramatic but as it turns out they were right. Over the course of ten hours, I was smashed into a thousand pieces. On arrival I was slowly re-built and admired the huge lake that I looked upon from my hotel rooftop. It always amazes me how in India, the cheapest places have the best location and views.

The sight from the rooftop overlooking the lake and the City palace, made the journey worthwhile, which is lucky because the rest of the place flattered to deceive. Walking around the lake was near impossible and the shops were personally uninspiring. That said it is a rather spectacular place to look upon, just limiting in what you can do.

My enduring memory of Udaipur will be of the walk I took on my first day. It was a failure in the sense that I struggled to get to the waters edge and at one point hit a dead end. Rather than re-trace my tracks I took a side road. Immediately I was set upon by as close to a rabid dog as I have encountered to date. I was saved from needing a rabies jab by a passing motorcyclist who chased it away with his bike. A minute later I passed a temporary homeless camp where the parents, in unison, pointed at me and what felt like a thousand children ran towards me. Each one begged for a different thing. It was like I was in a zombie film. Luckily I've learnt that you can out walk any type or age of beggar. They have no stamina. Finally I turned the corner to find myself starring down an elephant. It was wondering on its own down the center of the road and causing all sorts of havoc. It was one of those moments that showed me why India is such an exciting and interesting place to be. Good or bad, it's just so unpredictable.