Udaipur - November 23rd

Today for the first time we have had the appearance of the dreaded Delhi belly.  Dorota has actually had a cold for a couple of days due mostly to the change to the dry climate of Rajasthan, but today I have definitely come down with Delhi belly.  The day started normally enough, with breakfast in our restaurant terrace, but it wasn’t too long before the stomach cramps appeared (and all ensuing consequences, I will leave out the gory details).

Nonetheless I still felt well enough to continue with our plan which was to go for a quick walk to the second lake in Udaipur, which is one that not many tourists get to.  It turns out that the map we have isn’t to scale, and so it is further than it looks.  Also not helping is the fact that any locals we ask don’t seem to know where it is even though it is a giant lake about 5 minutes away from where they are standing.  Still we get there, look around, and leave somewhat unimpressed.  Our real reason for this walk is that we are waiting for the electricity to come back on in Udaipur, it is off from 08:00 to 11:00 each morning due to power generation supply issues, so we can use the internet (to finalise our Vietnam trip details).

In the afternoon we pay a visit to the City Palace museum, another of the many palaces we are visiting this week.  This one is slightly better organised with a one way system and plenty of stewards, as the local Maharaja himself still runs the whole complex.  It is a bit feudal, although no more so than a stately home in England, but it works and is worth the money (even the camera charge).  However I begin to fell unwell again as we finish, so we don’t go to see sunset from the palace grounds.

After I sleep a little we go for the highlight of an Udaipur visit, the Octopussy film show.  Most restaurants will play this every night, because it is the film that put Udaipur on the map.  90% of the film’s Indian scenes were filmed here, and so everybody who comes here has to watch it, whether you’ve never seen it (like Dorota) or have many times (like me), as there are extra things to notice now you’ve seen the sights yourself.