Sitar Hero

Okay... where was I last, its been a bit of a whirlwind. So, last place we were was Bundi, a really charming small town approximately between Pushkar and Udaipur. This was the first town where people greeted us with "hellos" on the street that weren't immediately followed by "you come to my shop!" which was refreshing to say the least. Very few tourists, and we stayed in an old Haveli (17th century restored mansion), which was very cool and full of interesting antiques and murals and such, and very cheap given that its the off-season. It was the first place where I finally felt relaxed and adjusted in the two weeks that we've been here- I guess India just takes a bit longer to ease into than most places. Bundi has got a wonderful palace and fort at the top of the hill, and winding streets complete with little cupolas and archways that lend it a very exotic feel, almost reminiscent of Chefchauen in Morocco, partly because of the ubiquitous pale blue paint on most of the buildings. We spent some time exploring the palace in the pouring rain, but it did mean no one else was there. Amazing gardens and arched arcades, marble sculptures, and wonderful intricate hand painted murals that were very well preserved inside of the palace. The views were also incredible over the valley and out over serpentine walls snaking outward along the hills on which the palace and fort were set. Many levels to this fort as well, with some dizzying views downward over sheer drops of a few hundred feet- first down walls which grow out of cliffs. Though very Hindu and Mughal in architectural style, there was something reminscent of tibetan architecture like the potala palace just jutting out from cliffs. We also were browbeaten into renting a monkey stick for the fort, albeit for 10cents. "Mot for hit monkey, for scare monkey"- the monkey stick man carefully explained. Well, no monkeys, so I guess it worked?

We wandered around the town a bit because of the rain, and were invited to chai by a kid named Jaypee, who works placing people in jobs with American companies in call cventeres and computer programming positions. His command of English was great, though maybe just his command of dirty words as he spent much of the conversation regaling us with tales of his various conquests of European and Indian women, and his friendship with the local Raj. Still, another genuine non-sales-related conversation was interesting. The guy at the internet there was similarly obsessed with talking about women, and was explaining his internet business to me, which, not surprisingly, was basically a way to get customers for his hashish business.

Dinner we were invited by an extremely charming and charismatic ten-year-old to her mother's homestay house, where we enjoyed the company of the family's children as we ate at a table in their living room. I really cant believe we didnt take pictures of the family and their charming turtle Gobhi (Cauliflower). Excuse, tortoise, the girls were quick to point out that "turtles live in water and are non-veg so they bite you," unlike friendly Gobhi the tortoise. Well, the girls were charming, with excellent English, and the home cookin' was pretty damn good too. Would recommend stopping by if you are ever in Bundi...

So onward by train the next AM to the Chittorgarh fort, the biggest for in Asia apparently. It was extensive- a few kilometers long, full of interesting temples and palaces. I found the temples particularly cool, as most were at least 1000 years old and Hindu temples that had the distinct honeycomb/cornhusk shape and the the bas-relief detailsof the temples at Angkor Wat- also originally Hindu. Also visisted a very pretty, very serene Jain temple. The views over the fort and landscape were also phenomenol, though overall I must confess that fort fatigue is rapidly setting in.

A miserable wait for the bus on the side of the road, followed by a lot of time standing on said bus, before a seat opened up on the way to Udaipur. Though a bunch of kids wanted to clear their seats for me, I really didnt feel like the extended conversation that would result, so stood until I couldnt take it. Finally sat and had everyone on the bus staring for the few minutes I was talking to my neighbor- this must be what being a celebrity is like. We were also mobbed at Chittor by people taking photos, literally blocking our path until we relented.

But Udaipur again felt reasonably relaxed and clean, and least by Indian standards. Also a lot of tourists, which can be sometimes irritating, sometimes just kind of comforting to have around. A great dinner at our really nice hotel with lake views, and up today to visit the city palace. Again, do you really want to read another attempt at describing a palace? Probably not, okay- but let it be stated for the record that Udaipur has by far the best palace of anywhere yet in India. Elaborate murals, integration of Persian and delements like marble carving and inset glasswork. We also got a guide, which meant we explored less, but learned a lot more. Got to see the Raj's car colelction, including his attempt at creating a solar rickshaw, and looked at crazy old armor, including horse armor that disguises the horse as as elephant so that other elephants won't attack. Beautiful marble courtyards and lawns, and just generally an A+ palace. Classy those maharajas were/are.

(Photos: As usual not mine: Bundi Palace, Bundi Palace, Chittor Fort, Angkor-esque temple at Chittor, Udai Palace, Udai palace - pics of udiapur forthcoming in next blog)