A final day in Udaipur

As my train did not leave until 6.20pm I the day to sightsee around Udaipur, so on the recommendation of my hotel manager I trekked out to the ‘rope ride’ which is in fact a cable car to sunset point. As I walk along the road I become aware of the range of traffic using this main thoroughfare, from large tourist coaches to herds of goats shepherded by women with sticks and with the lead animals tethered so that they cannot run to Donkey trains carrying loads of rock from the quarries… These donkeys look tired and harassed by the endless streams of traffic but stubbornly go about their work encouraged once again by the shepherdess lagging behind. They obviously know the route off by heart because once empty of their loads they head back for more on their own!!

The cable car was quite an experience with two cars on each side transferring tourists to and from the top as demand required. While I was there I met several Indian tourists who were keen to meet me and have a conversation about travels and work. There was also one of the most outrageous feats of metal rod transport I have seen. These rods are about 5m long and sag, they are used in construction to re-enforce concrete and are a rusty brown in colour, I have seen them carried on lorries and cycle rickshaws but today I witnessed two such rods held by two men, one in each gondala of the cable car, from the top of sunset point to the bottom, leaning out of the windows to hold onto their cumbersome burden!! The rod bent and dangled onto overhead lines and trees but to hell with health and safety, clearly the job had to be done and it was…

After sunset point it was time to go for a cruise on the lake, at 300r for 1 hour it is worth the investment as you get to see the palaces from a completely different perspective and they are glorious basking in the sun. The lake palace is fronted by elephants and is an impressive site with gardens to match - here I was able to get my fix of expresso J But on walking the gardens I was chased out by an angry pair of Bee or Hornet type flying insects which were each bigger than my thumb with a visible sting 0_0

There is lots of restoration work underway at the Palaces in preparation for the new season of tourists due to take off in Oct. To stay at the lake in Sept is 20,000r per night but in Oct you can add another 5000r (Takes it to about £400 per night!) Quite a luxurious expense…