Early bird catches the bus

Today started early! In the lobby by 4:20am. Now there was a time in my life that if I had heard that I just wouldn’t go to bed but these days I just think damn, I hope I make it! But I do, and I am happy to see that the rest of the group is as knackered as me. As the group waits for our final tuk-tuks to arrive not a word is said. My heart does sink a little when I notice that we have the same drivers as yesterday, they have an affection for speed and their horns that does not mix with the early hours we find ourselves in. After a somewhat chaotic journey we are dropped off on a seemingly random corner. It is dark, most people are still asleep. I can tell because we are right next to groups of people who are asleep on the streets – I am not sure if these groups are homeless as they are groups of young men, many of whom we have seen before, awake, hanging around the streets.

As I ponder this our bus pulls up. I am pleasantly surprised – there is leg room, air con and the seats are comfy. I have to admit the public bus was the trip I was most worried about but now I am content and ready for the ride to Udaipur. It is a long ride with a chia break in the middle, during which the bus seems happy to leave before everyone is back, but we manage to scramble on just in time.

Udaipur

Once we are up at the viewpoint I actually see this couple again and have to say the woman gives it as good as she gets it, so maybe just an unhealthy relationship on both parts for them and not an indication of the bad treatment of women in general. The views here are amazing, Udaipur is a beautiful city with lakes in the middle. We are joined by monkeys at the top of the mountain.The group is amazed by the length of their tails – it’s crazy! Once we have soaked in the views and made the most of the photo op, we head back down on the gondola and call for our driver who zips us back to our hotel. We have a little time before we are meeting up so I head out again, this time determined to find a laundrette. I wend down different roads all leading to or from the intersection that Google claims has two laundrettes, all to no avail. I have a sneaking suspicion the laundrettes aren’t open today as there are quite a few shop fronts with their shutters down. In a last ditch attempt I ask a couple of guys in the tailors on the road the hotel is on and they tell me that, although there is normally a laundrette here, it is not open today. My heart sinks – I have about one clean outfit left. Here’s hoping the hotel in the next place doesn’t charge too much for laundry.

Taj Lake Palace Hotel on Pichola lake

After the cruise we head for dinner at a lakeside rooftop restaurant. The views are once again beautiful and the group of course take a shit ton of photos before ordering. It is Esra’s (another of my fellow travellers and new friends) birthday so we are of course celebrating, the group decides to all order an assortment of curries and share between us all (Holly orders separately; a lasagna with the request for no spice – she enjoys the creamy side, the tomato side has spice). Esra tells us it is a tradition in Belgium to buy the first round on your birthday which seems crazy to the rest of us and we are a little peeved when she tells the waiter she is getting it without us noticing. We reciprocate by paying for her meal and the rest of her drinks.

The night is another early one, the group has an early activity tomorrow and it’s a bike ride through the local villages. None of us particularly want to be tired or hungover for that so off to bed it is. So ends another day of my trip and, again, I go to bed a happy man.

Mansapurna Karni Ropeway

Once we reach the hotel we have a quick lunch. We have the afternoon to ourselves until dinner so are left to our own devices. Tia, one of my fellow travellers and new friend, spotted a gondola that she wants to try. The Mansapurna Karni Ropeway is 387 metres long and traverses the Deendayal Upadhyay Park and the Shri Mansapurna Mata Temple on the hill top in Udaipur. Will, Rachel and I want to join her while others opt for a massage at the hotel. Anuj arranges a tuk-tuk for us up to the start point, but I have an increasingly large bag of laundry, so I quickly run out, frantically trying to find a laundrette that Google says charges by the kilo rather than per item, like the hotel. I get to the main intersection of the market – Google says there should be two laundrettes here but I can’t see them. I’m starting to panic the tuk-tuk is on its way. I desperately ask a local shopkeeper but I don’t think he understands my question and just gives me a blank stare and then I get the message the tuk-tuk is waiting. I hurry back to the hotel, leave my laundry for another time, and jump into the tuk-tuk.

The driver Anuj has arranged is good and along the way he points out different tourist attractions that we may want to see, for the first time it doesn’t feel like he is trying to sell his services, he is just being helpful. When we reach the gondola box office we buy our tickets. 620 rupees for the four of us, the equivalent to £1.60 per person for this ride, so we can’t complain at those prices. As we are in the waiting area Tia points out a couple and says she saw the man slap his partner when we arrived – it doesn’t surprise me too much unfortunately. During my time here I can understand why they suggest women don’t travel alone in India. Although a beautiful country, the group has been constantly mobbed for photos, the women in the group getting the worst of it. Many men just shoving cameras in their faces or trying to sneakily take videos of them. It does have an aura of intimidation and the actions of some of the men make me wonder what would happen if the women were here alone.

Will, Tia, Rachel and me with a backdrop of the beautiful city of Udaipur and its lakes

Having failed in my mission I head back and get ready to head out with the group. Before dinner we are heading for a sunset cruise around Pichola lake. Anuj leads us back into the maze of streets and alleyways, steaming ahead immune to all the different sounds and sights that are constantly distracting me. As we reach the lake we accidentally wander into a film set being set up, so if you see me in the back of an ad for a Suzuki you'll know why.

Once on the boat we are all handed extremely bright life jackets with the explanation that Australian insurance, One Life is a Australian registered company, is very restrictive and life jackets are a must. The boat is the slowest form of transport I have ever been on, not helped by how overcast it is, turning this sunset cruise into just a cruise. Luckily for us the city itself is beautiful and once the sun is set, the way the many hotels, restaurants and city in general light up is beautiful. We take lots of photos while Anuj fills us in on the history of many of places we pass. One of which is Taj Lake Palace or Jag Niwas water palace, now a five star hotel and famous wedding destination. Will and I are particularly fascinated by one building, where only a helipad is all that remains above water, Anuj tells us that underwater is a full hotel that emerges during dry season. That seems crazy to me but agree with Will that it would make a cool diving/snorkelling sight.

Holly happy with half a lasagne

Celebrating Esra's birthday