With nothing to do at all. Nothing other than talk and stare at the horizon, we devised very cunning plans on how to make the most of the free snacks and by-pass the costly meals, at the Neemrana fort-palace.
Best masala tea place (self proclaimed obviously).
Can’t really say it was the best, but it was well worth the experience. It was the last day of the year. He was high. He was happy. And how he made the tea is a feat in itself. Chatter relating to which was the party to attend was all around. We walked away from it all and on to our quiet party around a bonfire. Not sure which turned out to be the best party of the tiny town, but from the many sounds we heard, it was clear that the competition was tough.
In Bundi, all rooftops are well secured. From monkey attacks. If the Langur is being lazy (like in the photo), the bamboo caging will work.
We weren’t exactly offered tea at this potter’s house we forced ourselves into. Made do with a live pottery demo and teacups in a corner.
A huge part of our stay in Bundi was about eating, drinking and reading on our hotel rooftop restuarant.
The food was great. Hence, they have branches in Pushkar and Dharamkot too.
Obviously the other part, (now in comparison to the time spent eating and chilling on the rooftop, seems much less) was spent forting.
The luxury-homestay,The Padmini Haveli guest house is the ONLY place (till now, atleast) you can stay at, inside the fort boundaries of Chittorgarh. And it is an experience not to be missed. Agreed that the stay costs a bit too much, the meals are a bit steep and a Langur could be lunging over your head at any moment, it is THE place to stay. Even if a few kilometres away, it feels so far from the dusty and characterless Chittorgarh town. In the best way possible.
There are 113 temples in Chittorgarh. Some intact, some overly-popular and some be-headed.
None, were visited by me.
Having travelled a long way from home I was clutching onto my mini-Kaavad preciously. I had seen it in Delhi and could have bought it there. But for some reason, that makes no sense to me, I told myself I’ll buy it only from the craftsman. I found out where these craftsmen lived, read about them and marked Bassi on my travel-map (which is in my head). So steering this years’ new year trip towards Chittorgarh might have had an ulterior motive after all. Chittorgarh, and 26 kms further, I was at the craft village which is the only place that makes temple shrines (and mini ones too). I was there. And I got what I had come for. What I didn’t know was that the National Award winner himself would invite me to his house for a cup of tea.
Of course the lakes and ghats of Udaipur are its main attraction, but without mentioning its lanes and lanes of markets and shops, a true visual of the city isn’t complete.
Here, the tall glass holds tea from a tiny shop that is recommended by the Lonely Planet guidebook (it is painted on the wall). We seated ourselves on the one-piece table-chair, asked for a samosa each, but ended up ordering more.
From one of the numerous restaurants serving food with views of lake Pichola. Frankly there are so many that it tends to make you picky. Many a times, we sent up a group representative to the rooftop to check out the place (and the menu). And since all rooftops are 4 floors up, there were never too many representatives for this job.
The “other” lake, Fateh Sagar. Quiet, and seems a bit lonely.
