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| Monkeys playing on a wall - do you see the third one hiding in this photo? |
Friday, March 02 Udaipur, India
Our flight from Yangon to Udaipar was three hours. Our Nat Geo experts provided on flight lectures and slide shows again; Carroll gave a talk on the richness of life in India, Jack did a
talk on Jainism. When we arrived, around
4:30 PM local time time, we had quite an experience with passport/immigration
control. It is not an international
airport, but allows the NG/TCI private jet to land there. There are no computers – all of
immigration done by hand. They had
4 guys working on it (at a single work station) – and they kept collecting passports and having us stand to the
side while they looked each passport and visa over line by line. They kept putting the new person's
passport on the top of the pile, so those of us who went through early ended
up waiting the longest. It was a
bit like a 3 Stooges or Marx Brothers comedy.
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| Udaipur Airport decorated in colors for the Holi holiday |
We boarded a bus to take us to Lake Pichola and the
Oberoi Udaivilas Hotel – about a 40 minute ride. As we boarded the bus, there was a large Indian flag –
orange, white and green flying in the breeze, and a large statue of the first
King of the Mewar Dynasty (1500s) in front of the airport. The airport was also decorated because
yesterday was a big holiday – Holi – where people dance and throw colored
dyes and drink to great excess.
We saw some folks that still had pink or yellow or
orange power in their hair – and saw an altercation and a few accidents on the
side streets from those that were still partying for Holi. We also saw the famous cows walking
along the streets, passed a large, old zinc factory (reminded me of the old
Ford Motor plants in Detroit) and the crazy street life that is India.
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| If there are cows wandering the roads, it must be India |
When we arrived at Lake Pichola, we could see the
huge Royal Palace, which seemed to stretch at least 4 city blocks. We arrived in the late afternoon, just
as the twilight was turning the sky rose and pink, coloring the white marble walls of
the palace. We needed to take a
boat ride to the Oberoi hotel complex, and as we did so, we took a little tour
of the lake – first past the palace itself, then past the “floating hotel” in
the middle of the lake, and also past the numerous palace administrative
buildings that accumulated near the palace for the officials to live and work –
which have now been turned into more hotel complexes. We saw the sunset from the lake – beautiful.
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| We boarded boats and crossed Lake Pichola to reach our Oberoi hotel |
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| Udaipur's Royal Palace,where the 76th Majarana, Arvind Singh Mewar, lives |
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| A portion of the palace has been converted into a hotel; the ruling dynasty runs a number of hotel complexes |
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| Beautiful sunset on Lake Pichola |
Our arrival to the hotel was impressive – up from the boat dock to the main welcoming gate via large golf cart-like vehicles. Awaiting in the fore court of the hotel were 4 camels, an elephant and two of the local Rajasthani horses, as well as a trio of traditional musicians – blowing welcoming horns. Later that evening I called the grandsons - and told 4 year old Charlie that I'd seen elephants, camels and horses. "You're crazy, Grandma," he said and ran off. Maybe he's right? Who can believe all the amazing things we've seen.
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| Welcoming reception at the Oberoi Udaivilas Hotel |
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| Four camels, two horses and an elephant! |
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| Majestically decorated camels |
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| The famous Mawari horses of Udaipur |
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| These camels are tall! |
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| Entry courtyard to the Oberoi hotel - as we walked through the arch, rose petals rained down on our heads |
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| Welcoming staff |
We picked up our welcome packets and keys, and an attendant took us to our room #132 – a long and winding walk past a candle room, the formal gardens, the spa pool, and the spa and down almost to the end of the complex. THIS time, however, it was great to be at the far location – because we were in a room with a private balcony and access to a semi-private pool. We looked out on trees and hills and Lake Pichola, and could see the Royal Palace in the distance on our left. The water was clear and cold and a beautiful blue from the tiles lining the pool. The grounds are impeccable – bougainvillea all over the place, water features, peacocks strolling the grounds.
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| Evening twilight view from our room's balcony |
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| Full moon tonight - so big and bright |
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