Udaipur (abbreviated) : Lazy of mind by the Lake.

Okay folks, south Rajasthan and the much vaunted city of Udaipur.  One of the jewels of the tourist trail in Northern India.  In summation my interest was not as thoroughly tickled by Udaipur as I had expected it to be.  And I'm not entirely sure why.  Still thinking on it to be honest.  More to do with me than the place I think.  A little tired and, rare though the feeling be, a little travel-bored.  I just don't get up the energy or the will to spend the money to get to some of its outlying attractions.  And those that I do see at the old city's heart, including the City Palace (India's second largest) and the views of the famous Lake Palace ( Number 1 'India Highlight' in the 2007 Lonely Planet ahead of the Taj Mahal and others ?!?) frankly I find pretty underwhelming in proportion to their reputations.   The Bagore-ki-Haveli too is more tired and depressing - even following its major restorations - rather than enlightening.

This though is not the main or only reason that I will not be writing too extensively about Udaipur.  If you'll forgive me, it's my intention in India - for better or worse - not to labour over blog entries in my usual over-expansive manner for absolutely every single destination I pass through.  It's time - for a while at least - to take some breaks.  Skip some stops, or at least abbreviate them.  Yeah, that's what I'll try and do.  Abbreviate.  A few observations and thoughts.  Over the course of a proposed six months in the Sub Continent, these contractions and omissions will probably be barely noticeable.  

Back to Udaipur briefly.  The historic area of Gangaur Ghat on the north eastern corner of Lake Pichola is where you and all the other tourists and I are most likely to find ourselves.  And this is where I settle, briefly meeting Jeremy and Deborah who will be my companions on a Thar Desert camel safari in a few days time all though we part company for now... me in search of cheaper digs.  

The main streets of Gangaur Ghat road and the bazaar street tributaries that stream off of it are sadly an absolute nightmare of automotive overpopulation.  A classic example of a Medieval/ Mughal era city groaning under the weight of the impositions of modernity.  Unlike New Delhi, not many of the auto-rickshaws operate on CNG [Compressed Natural Gas] here and these, coupled with the many cars and motorbikes that try to force their horn-honking course along these old roads (never conceived with such contraptions in mind) make for an almost suffocating, toxic pedestrian experience.   Especially in the midday and afternoon heats.

There is good street life to find all around though so - as usual - I advise you to stroll away from the main throb around the Jagdish Temple and into the market streets that spread north and east for as far as you're comfortable to get lost.  Or over the bridges and west, hugging the top line of the lake to observe life around the waters edge - although, again much of this subsists around tourism.

Anyway, I said this would be brief (by my standards ;) didn't I.  So I'll pull the needle off the record right there.  Leaving you a little in the lurch, and Udaipur un-honoured.  Both acts for which I apologise.  Please check other fine TB writers' entries (Dolfijn and Jos_nijenhuis to name but two) to truly see what treasures Udaipur possesses that on this one occasion I was too lazy to uncover.   I've just been killing time.  Awaiting a date to be fixed for a rendezvous with my pal Gray in Jaisalmer and the e-mail's finally come in.  So I gotta make plans.  I'll meet you next amidst the desert sands...