Udaipur

If Jaipur was the beginning of me questioning why we came to India, then Udaipur was a breath of fresh air. Built around a lake (you all know how I love my cities built around lakes!) it has palaces, temples, roof top restaurants and not a single busy road because it is such an old city that it does not have multi-lane roads in the city center. The roads are only wide enough for one car or rickshaw to pass through at a time. Udaipur's claim to fame is that "Octopussy" was filmed there. Several restaurants show it nightly so as you walk down the street at night you hear James Bond flirting with women and shooting guns and leaping from building to building.

Udaipur at sundown; view from a rooftop
Lake Palace in the distance

There were more visible tourists in Udaipur as well, as most chose to stay in the center of the city. This meant I met a few women I could actually talk to. After traveling for nearly two weeks with three generations of Cooper men, I was sorely missing some girl-time.  Anytime I heard a woman speaking English, I would strike up a conversation with her, "Talk to me!  PLEASE!" Great coffee was abundant and so was great food. I took a cooking class and learned how to make four different curries, masala chai, roti, parathas, and dal. Yum.  We found a rooftop restaurant with fabulous food (and minestrone soup for Chuck) that looked over the lake and had a very large cushioned area to sit and eat at on the floor, which was ideal for Oliver because he could move around (highchairs aren't a thing in restaurants in India). I really enjoyed being able to go up on a rooftop, several floors above the street and enjoy a quiet meal with a great view.

Walking around Udaipur was fun. There were many attractive things to look at and all were easily visible as we walked along the narrow roads. The only issue I took with walking these roads was that I was constantly being yelled to by shop owners who were quite forward; "Beautiful woman! Come into my store!" "Madam, you need ______!" "Pretty mother and baby, you like? Come in!" We stayed just four buildings down from a great cafe and I would count dozens of shouts as I walked for coffee each day. I get it! You want business! I want coffee, so it's not going to happen right now!  An owner of a tailoring business even tried to sell me the jacket I was wearing. "I can make your jacket for you! Good price! Come in and get measured!" When I asked him why I would want a jacket made exactly like the one I had on, he was so perplexed. "Then you would have two!" Oh, got it. Maybe next time.

We took long walks around town and across the lake. Toured the city palace and took a boat ride, which was Oliver's first and he LOVED it. We shopped and drank and enjoyed the atmosphere.

City Palace

There were no camels that we saw, but there were hundreds of cows and Oliver was thrilled to "Moo" at them everyday.

When we were in Jaipur I asked Chuck for his input, as it is his vacation too. I asked him, "What would you like to see while you are here?" He responded, "Old stuff." Andy and I howled with laughter and it became a running joke between the three of us. We would pass by an old temple, "Look Chuck, 'old stuff'!" Or an old, dilapidated building, "Old stuff!" Even an elderly cow, "Old stuff!"

Udaipur satisfied the needs of all three adults and Oliver. Water, a more quiet energy and great food for me; Great art, temples and walking for Andy; "Old stuff" and minestrone soup for Chuck; and plenty of cows for Oliver to admire. It felt like a very special place, a place we were very fortunate to see. I truly enjoyed my time in Udaipur. Now we had to prepare ourselves for two overnight train rides in the next forty-eight hours as there is no direct train from Udaipur to Jaisalmer. We headed back to Jaipur on an overnight train and stayed at our former hotel for the day. Then at 11:00 p.m. we left Jaipur for Jaisalmer. I was beyond exhausted, feeling depleted and ready to stay in one place for a while. But staying in one place was not on the agenda.