Udaipur

Chris: Udaipur is known for being a romantic city and top tourist destination for Indians for a long time. We arrived off a delayed train at about 10pm without accommodation or food in our stomachs. So we scrambled for one of the only names we had, the famous ‘Lal Ghat Guesthouse’. It turned out to be one of the oldest guesthouses in India. The Lal Ghat’s charming rooms overlooked the lake in prime position. Within minutes we were on a restaurant terrace with an orange moon setting over the lake’s islands and mountains.

Udaipur’s intrigue was the setting for James Bond’s ‘Octopussy‘. Of course we followed in 007’s footsteps from the snake charmer where he first steps off the boat, to the palace hotel where he won at backgammon and had champagne by the pool with Magda. We sipped a Bombay gin and tonic as the sun set. From the terrace bar you can see the film continues across the water - from Kamal Kahn's fort in the Monsoon Palace, through the jungle where Roger Moore was hunted like a tiger, to the Octopussy’s island where he swam under an alligator disguise. We cherished these moments in the day at a nighttime screening of the film itself at a rooftop bar overlooking the Monsoon Palace.

We also found some of our own Udaipur treasures. In the morning a man welcomed us into his home for a cup of chai and a chat. Steph was not exactly in agreement with all of his views (such as women sticking to home chores and not being allowed out of the house even to go to the market) but we definitely welcomed his open friendliness. It was just a relief to meet his family and talk to people who were not trying to sell anything (it gets a little tire

some along the tourist trail).

After a very forgettable lunch with lonely planeters, we rummaged through the back of a tiny curio shop to find an antique, brass scorpion padlock and ankle bracelet for Steph. I also picked up a curious printing mold with the design of a very old moghul 1-rupee coin (before the formal British ones came in).

The old shopkeeper and his son were happy to show us how the mold could be used on metal imprint, wax stamp or even to print a personal seal on business card paper. We were lucky enough to later find an old bookbinder down a small alley. As we watched how the camel leather covers were engraved and then stained, the boys agreed to encorporate our stamp as a design in a custom made diary. This was probably the best souvenir we could bring back from India - for only 100 rupees (1.3 euros).

In Udaipur we woke up each day to the sound of a procession on the temple steps across the water. Worshipers were pouring water from the lake onto each other to the steady rhythm of drums. I would rise early to sit on the alcove stone balcony to order a pot of coffee and found myself watching the entire sunrise on the harbor. From here you could hear the swimmers across the bay and women pounding soap suds into their clothes on the steps where bond disembarked. It was from this spot, and these panoramic morning views, that I first fell in love with India.