Category: Travel

I’ve spent a couple days in Mount Abu. I managed to stay at the Brahma Kumaris retreat. I met briefly their leader – the second “deity” in a month. The good news was that they provided decent Indian food. Mount Abu has two attractions. The first are the Dilwara (Jain) temples, which are even more … Continue reading / view photos Mount Abu

Another car ride from Udaipur took me to Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur. I shared the journey with three friendly Koreans: a mother and son living in the UK and a solo South Korean traveller. The driver was definitely overachieving on the beep front – never ceasing to use his horn at the slightest traffic ambiguity. Kumbhalgarh … Continue reading / view photos Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur

After the excitement of Chittorgarh yesterday, it was back to Udaipur. The morning was spent planning – booking planes, trains and automobiles. Hunger then set in and I walked to the Queen Cafe, recommended by Lonely Planet. Looking at the dark exterior and no light coming out, I was about to turn away when someone … Continue reading / view photos Wandering in Udaipur

There was a perfect blue-sky for a day trip to Chittorgarh – the fort (garh) at Chittor. It’s the largest fort complex in India and rises from the plains of the valley that seem to go on forever. It looks like an island 6km long and elevated 150m from the ground. The origins of the … Continue reading / view photos Chittorgarh

Whilst strolling around looking for a place to eat, I came across the Bagore-ki-Haveli, an 18th century mansion. There were some similarities to the City Palace with the advantage that it was deserted with just a couple of other visitors. Intriguingly, it has a turban museum, with the world’s largest turban! An American and I … Continue reading / view photos Bagore-ki-Haveli

It’s back to Western food. Breakfast was a bland porridge perked up by fresh orange juice and my Marmite 😄 I also accidentally found a nice little restaurant, Grasswood Cafe, that made vegan pizza with freshly made cashew cheese. Surprisingly good especially because I also had a chocolate milkshake 😁 View photos Grasswood Cafe

The exquisite City Palace – with its balconies, towers and cupolas – overlooks the beautiful Lake Pichola. It’s Rajasthan’s largest palace with a facade 244m long and 30m high. The Construction began in 1599 and continued in phases upto the British Empire. I didn’t think I’d stay in the palace so long but it is … Continue reading / view photos City Palace

The Jagdish Temple is an Indo-Aryan temple built in 1651. It has been a working temple ever since then! It has wonderful intricate carvings. View photos Jagdish Temple

On my first day, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how attractive Udaipur is! It’s got some beautiful historical buildings. I’ll show these in later posts. I’m referring to the Old Town, which is where I am. It shows signs of having changed to cater for the sort of tourists who come here, which, going by … Continue reading / view photos Udaipur, the Blue City

My detailed action plan for my first trip to India when I was in London last year – now updated with status: Fly to India ✅ Visit family in Gujarat ✅ Visit North India ❌ Visit South India ✅ Fly to UK ❌ 😄 View photos Mumbai airport – half way there?