Udaipur

It never ceases to amaze me how fortunate Dave and I are. Here we sit, in Udaipur India. The sun basks on my face. Dave and I are both enjoying a capuccino, the first coffee of our trip. The coffee machine sits on a table inside the restaurant, displayed ceremoniously. Last night Dave asked if they served real coffee and he was immiediately invited to inspect the coffee beans and the inner workings of the prized machine. "Yes yes, I believe you" Dave insisted. I think we jumped out of bed a bit quicker than usual knowing what was waiting for us. We are sitting on the outside roof of the restaurant. It is filled with patrons, there is an open window to the kitchen. Dave and I both are engrossed on our ipads. Beside me lays a book I have just started reading, "The White Tiger" written by Aravind Adiga. The view from our rooftop over looks a very large lake. Directly in front of me are two large structures built on the lake. One is the former palace, now a posh hotel. Behind the hotel sits an even larger temple. Just to clarify, these buildings are sitting in the middle of the lake. There are some boats lazily gliding across the water. To my left another palace sits above all the other buildings. And to my right, way off in the distance I can see yet another fort perched on top of a mountain. I can't wait to get out and explore this city. It was a long day getting here. We left at 8am from Jodhpur, and arrived in Udaipur at 6pm. Much of the road was a tiny, one lane road through hills. Our driver was in no rush and so we were able to relax and enjoy the ride. As it turns out he works in Dubai, and is now in India on his break. He drives for his brother's business as part time work while back home. He seemed to enjoy the ride through the country side as much as we did. We drove through village after village where time has come to a complete stand still. The villages reminded us of Nepal, not necessarily because they looked the same but because village life all over the world seems similar. There is the smell of animal and smoke, dirty children either running around or walking with loads probably heavier than they are on their heads. Groups of old men in traditional dress sit huddled together in the town "centre" probably talking about the "goold old days". The women are always busy doing something, working the fields, pumping water at the well, and of course carrying loads I can't even fathom, on their heads. It wasn't something we expected to see on our drive and so Dave and I sat silently in the back of our hired card, mesmerized by all that we were passing. We had two stops along the way, a temple and a fort. One of the highlights of these two stops was the lunch at the temple. For Rs 25 (less than 50 cents) we were ushered into a clean cafeteria style eating area. In front of us was a silver platter, two bowls and a cup. Everyone sat on long benches. Men walked around with buckets of fresh cooked vegetarian food. One by one they laddled the food onto our plates. It was some of the most delicious food we'd had in India so far. When you had finished one dish, then a man came to laddle more on your plate. We sat near the kitchen door. Probably the most spartan kitchen I have ever seen. There was a man that walked from pot to pot, stirring and adding. What a great experience. Anyway, Udaipur beckons. We are here for a few days and we plan to take things slowly. Our last few days in India are spent jumping from one place to the next, with the Taj Mahal our final destination.