We were in Udaipur for a whirlwind 3D/2N holiday, which is hardly enough to explore the city.
But, we learnt some valuable lessons on this journey, and that deserves to be documented.
First, when we usually stay at a heritage property, it is so far removed from the main city that the sounds of the city never reach us. This time, thanks to last minute booking, we got a property that was pat in old Udaipur city. The arti from the nearby temple, the last day of Navratri celebration, everything reached our ears. It was so lovely to be out at midnight, just walking the tiny lanes of old Udaipur.
The auto drivers we met were both very nice. The taxi drivers were the exact opposite. Because of the weather, it was great fun to get into an auto and just go all over town. We would love to do that again some day. Deepak, our Man Friday, went out of our way to be available whenever we called him, and did a lot to ensure we got everything we wanted.
The taxi owners (they were self driving their cars) - Bablu and Raju, were both uniformly pathetic. They:
A. Overcharged us
B. Did not understand what the guest would like. Routinely, they took us to places we did not like and completely missed places we would not have discovered if it wasn't for Google baba. Please avoid at least these 2 taxi drivers if you can.
C. Specifically misguided us. Instead of saying "I do not want to go there" they said, "That is a complete walk way. Vehicles are not allowed there any more." I remembered that the City Palace gate is different. They took us to a gate from where we spent 100 rs per head extra on the golf cart, it took longer, and we had to buy an extra ticket for no reason. Another time, they took us to the Vintage car museum, we bought expensive tickets though we did not want to see the cars, and found that their recommendation of what we would find at that place was completely incorrect. Another time, I specifically checked with them if the amenities at Kumbhalgarh are clean, otherwise we can stop at a place before reaching. "Don't worry, everything is available. All amenities clean and accessible." Zilch. Zero. nada. We walked out of Kumbhalgarh within minutes of reaching. When you have been in a car for more than 1.5 hours, you do NOT want unclean amenities soon as you reach.
D. Do not go to any expensive showrooms. Do NOT buy Semal ki rui ki rajai. It is a rip off. We bought it at twice the price of a regular Kapaas (cotton) ki rui ki rajai and it is in tatters within 15 days of being at home. Do NOT buy marble artifacts from showrooms. No one told us where we could get something for ourselves.
E. When you search for properties on the internet, the Lalit does not come up at all. But The Lalit has a LOVELY property in Udaipur, near the Fateh Sagar lake. Isolated and beautiful.
Things to do in Udaipur
If, like us, you dig heritage properties and history, Kumbhalgarh and Haldi Ghati will be nice. Don't go to the private museum. Go straight to Haldi Ghati. After that, go further ahead, and you will find distilleries that make ark and gulab jal etc. We bought from there and it has been v nice. The Chaitri Gulab fragrance in particular is very lasting.
Within Udaipur, the City Palace is the draw for the right reasons. Absolutely amazing. Do keep at least 2-3 hours for this one. Do invest in a guide. Do NOT respond to sexist jokes by the guide, esp about why is the lion smiling.
We could not experience boating or the ropeway because the lakes were being cleaned after the festival, and because the ropeway was far too crowded for our liking. But if that's your thing, please do try them out.
DO pluck the custard apples etc. on the way to Haldi Ghati. Do engage with the local children. Do see the local water harvesting wheels that you will encounter if you look closely.
We also recommend the thalis very highly, esp if you love the thali system of eating. Natraj it was for us.
Ceiling of the Udaipur City Palace courtyard
Pencil sketch of a section of the hotel
Our ceiling
Hotel
View from the room
We also spent an entire evening just walking the tiny lanes of Udaipur old city and it was nice. We were there on the last day of Navratri, so there was all night praying and celebration. The lake was walking distance but we were too tired to walk by the lakeside, though have been told that that is good too.
Our hotel was, as mentioned earlier, a proper old haveli, pat in the middle of the old city, and had a good view of the lake and the city palace. It was quiet, not crowded, and that suited us very well.
THE Haldi Ghati
Our staircase at the hotel
