So it has been a while since our last blog post. We have been busy exploring and photographing Rajasthan.

Udaipur, also know as ‘The City of Lakes’ located towards the west of Rajasthan. For us, this was our first stop in the state of Rajasthan on our tour of India.

So, before we get into what we got up to in Udaipur lets first get a bit of information about Rajasthan, the state. It is the largest state by area in India, but only the seventh largest in population. Rajasthan literally means “Land of Kings” or “King’s Abode” (from Sanskrit, raja- “king” and -sthan “land, abode”) Royalty ruled over the state for many centuries, and throughout this time they built forts, temples and palaces that are still here to see today. The state has a total of eight UNESCO heritage sites. We will see a few of these along our route which will be captured in the blog posts that follow.

The city of Udaipur is well-known for its handicrafts and paintings. This was evident whilst wandering around the little lanes. Hand painted artwork on the side of buildings was around every corner. When walking along the streets, look left and right as well as straight ahead to make sure you don’t miss any views into little courtyards that provide an escape from the hustle and bustle of the street it lies off.

We stayed at Nayee Haveli in the north of Lake Pichola. To take advantage of the view from the hotel we decided to take a ‘Lake View’ room which came with its own cosy window seat to read a book with a view.

To experience the traditional Rajasthani folk dance, we skipped to the front of the long queue of Indians at Bagore-ki-Haveli in the centre of town to experience folk dance and music from around Rajasthan. Tribal dance, folk dance, puppet show and live Rajasthani music made the evening an interesting experience. Some of the dances included a metal or earthenware pot placed upon the ladies’ heads whilst they danced. The spectacular finale of the show was with a 72-year-old woman who carried a range of one to eleven earthenware pots on her head at the same time as dancing and standing on broken ceramics. Each pot was placed one by one on top of the other to build up to a height of pots that was taller than her person.

Taking a boat trip down from the City Palace across Lake Pichola to Jag Mandir Island provided a respite from the busy chaos of the city streets; viewing back to the city shores, drenched with sun.

Walking through a bustling city, the opportunities for street photography were endless. One eye in the camera, but one eye has to always be on the look out for mopeds, rickshaws and cows.

The people in the below photograph perfectly captures the thought process that was going through my head. The first thought being “why would they even think of doing that?!” (the man in the stripy shirt) The second thought being “I need to discuss this with someone” (the man on the phone) And the final thought “Why wouldn’t they do that?” (the old man at the front) We have seen so many weird things in India, cows chilling out in the middle of a highway, cars driving on the wrong side of the road, but somehow everything works.

Completed in 1651, Jagdish Temple is a busy place for Hindu Worship. Located just down the road from the City Palace, the temple can easily be missed when walking on the manic street below the 32 steps it takes to reach the temple. The exterior is covered with ornate and intricate hand carvings depicting Hindu Iconography.

Construction of the City Palace of Udaipur began in 1553 and continued for over 400 years, with a number of rulers adding to the complex. The Palace Museum was very busy and at times felt like being herded around. But pausing in the quiet spots, we were able to take advantage of some beautiful architectural detailing and views out to Lake Pichola.

To finish off our time in Udaipur, I decided to partake in some heena on one arm. After application, I had to sit still and read a book on our window seat in the room whilst it dried. After flaking off the dried heena, the pattern turned orange which was a bit of a worry but after 12 hours it turned brown to blend with the skin thankfully. We didn’t take any photos of it after flaking off the dried excess, but it will appear in one of the later blog posts.

Throughout our time in Udaipur there were advertisements everywhere advertising a showing of James Bond Octopussy. This film had elements of it shot in Udaipur and the City Palace. So when we return to the world of TV & film, we will be sure to check out the film to see what places we recognise.