Day 123 Thursday 18 January 2007 Pushkar to Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

Continuing our travels thru Rajasthan, which is mainly scrubby desert dotted with hilltop forts, ancient walled cities, arid mountains and dusty plains. Once a series of princ We principalities controlled by maharajas and their dynasties it is now the largest state in India and one of its main tourist destinations. The men wear brightly coloured turbans, with fluro pink and yellow the latest fashion, displacing multicoloured tie dyed or traditional orange ones, whilst the women sport bright red, crimson and orange saris, even when breaking rocks or digging trenches. Note that as in most of Asia (and Australia) its the women who do the work, the men sit around in groups, drinking tea, gossiping and talking politics, bollywood and cricket.

The journey from Puskhar, setting for the famous camel/cattle fair to Udaipur is uneventful, reasonable roads and the usual smattering of head on collisions, overturned truck and flatted fauna. We pass thru the Areveli Hills and thru strings of marble producing villages, with all manner of marble sheets, blocks, birdbaths and furniture lining the highway for kms. Then we reach Udaipur, finding our hotel, the Ram Pratap palace by one of the city’s two main lakes. Its an old haveli and our room, with marble floors and window seats has a beautiful view over the lake. There’s a restaurant with gardens running down to the lake so we have a well earned beer or two or three which roll into dinner , with a brazier to keep away the chills. The hotel owner has a great dane (what is it with these dogs in India) which guards the car and frightens away the locals.

Distance Today: 296km Trip to date: 18,294km