Udaipur And A Break From Travel Blogging

For those arriving at this travel blog post hoping to find out detailed information about our experiences and things to do in Udaipur, leave now, as you’ll need to look elsewhere instead. The hectic schedule of our last two weeks on the road with our driver had wearied us a little. The thought of seeing another palace or temple in the next few days was not an option for us, no matter how magnificent.

Instead we got settled into the very relaxed pace of Udaipur and had a very unique Christmas and New Year in this beautiful water filled oasis in Rajasthan.

Udaipur and Break from Travel Blog Writing

We spent the whole of Christmas and New Year here, but managed not to visit a single one of the recommended palaces and sights. I know that kind of sounds strange but after winding down from the long journey and getting our writing and picture editing up to date we really couldn’t be bothered doing another sightseeing day. We had not planned to stay very long in Udaipur, but became enchanted by the city and its inhabitants. We also met some good interesting people here and spent time talking and chatting over our experiences in India.

The second hotel we moved to was also staffed and managed really well, the food was great and good value and you could never really tire of the views from the rooftop restaurant. In the day they featured the glistening lake and the distant hills punctuated with Rajasthani architecture of the elegant hotel roofs. At night the scene changed into twinkling lights reflected in the lake and a bright moon to look at while you nestled into the low cushioned restaurant couches sipping a beer all snugly wrapped up in blankets provided by restaurant staff to keep away the evening chills.

In some ways I suppose we were recreating our own little Christmas break surrounded by the family of staff, fellow travellers and the locals while we ate too much, drank too much and generally did very little in between the Christmas and New Year festivities. Pretty much like home really, and we were both feeling very homesick.

Practicals for Visiting Udaipur in December

Bring a few warm clothes, without the heat of the sun in the day the temperature here plummets in the evening and you will need your long trousers and a hooded top or a sweater.
Be prepared to watch the James Bond film Octopussy at least once while you are here. It was filmed here in the 1980’s and all the restaurants and bars like to show it while you dine. It is remarkable watching it how little has changed around Udaipur in thirty years, except for the lack of international criminals living in the palaces!
You can do a tour with the local RTDC (Rajasthan Tourism and Development Agency) for 600 Rp which will get you around the lakes, the temples and the palaces for a day. It leaves from the government Hotel Kajri
Another great way to see the lake is taking a relatively cheap boat tour.
If you arrived at Udaipur without visiting Ranakpur this would be a pleasant day trip out to see the Jain temples and hillside scenery and local villages along the way.
Hiring a scooter or getting a local guide to take you into some of the un-touristy local villages is a good idea for those wanting to get off the beaten track.

As we packed our bags ready to make the journey to Goa (via Mumbai to collect my lost bank card) we felt a little guilty at not having explored the city more. We chatted this through and reconciled ourselves that now again you just need a break from sightseeing and we had just as much fun mingling with the people, walking the streets and markets and generally doing very little other than enjoying the ambience of the place.

Its a very romantic city pretty much free of the hassles of the rest of Northern India and if you are planning a Rajasthan car and driver tour this is a perfect place to unwind after it and spend a little time recuperating.

Getting Back to Writing A Travel Blog

We managed to both get over our strong desire to see friends and family and thoroughly enjoyed our time here. So we stopped our guilt trip and planned for a few weeks further rest in Goa, while we decided where to travel to next, and maybe do a bit of work on updating the blog. We haven’t updated the blog since starting it, well over a year ago, before departing on our around the world trip. We created the blog, without much thought as we were so busy making plans and sorting arrangements before leaving our lives back home in the UK. We’re going to have a serious discussion about the future of the blog and what direction, if any, we want to take in.

So for now, sorry if our blog post didn’t whet your appetite about travel in Udaipur, but even travel bloggers need a holiday. Needless to say, if your looking for a cool and beautiful winter destination to relax over the festive period, we’d highly recommend Udaipur.