Udaipur, Rajasthan

Udaipur is, most likely, the only city in the world with nightly showings of the 007 flick, Octopussy. It was filmed at the Lake Palace Hotel, originally a palace built in 1754, but today is a luxury hotel that's also an island on Lake Pichola. We arrived here by bus, at 4:00 in the morning, when the city was asleep -- the cows and dogs in repose along the sides of the streets, like lazy, acquiescent sentinels.

Udaipur is a relaxed yet bustling small town full of palaces, havelis, temples, aged charm and romance... some call it 'The Venice of the East'. A walk through its narrow streets evokes a feeling of intimacy as friendly people smile and say "hello". At any given time, women and children can be found gathering water at the public wells. Homes crowd the narrow lanes -- some with painted handprints on the exterior walls next to the doorways. Back in the olden days, when husbands went off to battle, women put their handprints on the wall of their home and if a woman's husband was killed in war, she would throw herself into a funeral pyre. Udaipur is located in Rajasthan, a land of warrior clans, legends, heroes, kings, palaces, and chivalric code... death before dishonor.

The historical relics of ancient kingdoms, so well preserved in the arid heat,
make Rajasthan a tourist magnet... although now, as the heat of May approaches, the numbers are at a low. It's a world apart from the India Benjamin and I have seen so far. It's the romantic, fanciful, exotic India from daydreams.