March 7, Wednesday
Well I was trying to take a picture of the road, but as you can see from Neema's "god charm" the swinging around was quite remarkable.
One of the rare straight stretches in the mountains had a beautifully decorated bridge
Adornments on the four corners of the bridge
And entertainment in the middle of the bridge.
One of the many temples seen along the way.
Once we left the mountains, we were back into agricultural country.
Those aren't grass huts up there, they are hay stacks.
Tiny little white donkey on the streets of one of the towns
Local bus anyone ? These jeeps are everywhere and used as the local transportation mode. They are always crammed and sometimes there are men standing on the back step as they go down the roads.
Team of oxen pulling a mill stone. I saw at least 4 of these today.
Palm trees !
In this one tiny village there were about 6 huge trees like these on both sides of the road, and they were filled with bats. Hundreds of them !
Trying to take close up picture of the bats
Scenes along the way
Rocky mountain has been blasted to make way for the divided 4 lane highway
Local farmers selling their produce along the road
Only averaging 40 km for the first part. Sayra, Padrara to Jaswantgarh.We reached the main highway (27) at 10:20,passed Gogundra and left it again at 10:40 for the side road to Udaipur.We arrived at 11 am (2 hours to drive 56 miles)and made our first stop at the Saheliyon Ki Bari gardens,"Garden of maidens".
Gates to the garden
Front garden
Fountain in the front garden
Fountain and lily pond in the back garden
Center piece to the back fountain
Side garden was spectacular with all sorts of flowers
Lot of mausoleums here, must be hundreds of them, and I'm all alone in this site, not feeling too comfortable.
That's Brahma with the four heads/faces, but I guess this doesn't count as a temple to him.
One of the major mausoleums to the maharajas
Hundreds more mausoleums in the back section where the dignitaries and other family members were remembered.
There were two identical ones like this big one on the left, facing each other near the entrance
Details of the major Maharana mausoleum
Boats on Lake Pichola
Camels for the tourists to have their pictures taken
I was taken to an artists store where they make miniature paintings. This is a squirrel hair brush which only has a few bristles on the tip. (Don't worry, they don't kill the squirrels, they cut some hair from their tails)
From there we stopped off at my hotel “Pichola Haveli” on the shores of Lake Pichola which is one of the main attractions in Udaipur. I only had ½ an hour to freshen up before my local guide, Uma, arrived to take me to visit one of the temples, and then the Maharana of Mewar City Palace & Museum.
Street seems in Udaipur 
Not sure what the tiny little windows are for.
We only made a quick stop at the temple since it was about to close for the day, early because of the impending "Holi" festivities.
Beautifully decorated base of the temple
Some of the corner ornaments
No pictures allowed in the temple; actually no leather either so purses are left in small lockers at the bottom of the stairs. From there we walked around the streets and went to the Maharana of Mewar City Palace & Museum. The same family of Maharajas has owned it since it was built, and their lineage has been documented from 566 AD to 2012. Now that’s genealogy.
The streets of Udaipur as I came back down the temple steps to put my shoes back on.
The entrance to the Maharana of Mewar City Palace & Museum. Main gate in front of us.
Once within the walls, I get my first glimpse of the palace
Within the palace I took a lot of pictures, but I will limit my blog to just a few so you get an idea of how huge and how grand it is.
From the upper windows, looking down at the inner courtyard below. In the background, a view of Udaipur. The lake is on the other side of the palace.
Room where the carrier pigeon cages and coops were kept
Huge bees nests were located in many of the outside alcoves
The "jalousie" window screens were all beautiful. Wonder if anyone has done a book of all the different patterns that have been used in all these palaces.
A mirror room where the Maharana entertained.
One of the upper courtyards of the palace
Part of the zanena / harem rooms.
Also part of the zanena where the "little queens" could look out but no one could see them.
A look at the courtyard below, where they are getting ready for a special celebration marking the start of "Holi".
Udaipur is known for the quality of its mosaic works. This piece and many others within the palace, are reproduced by artists in many forms.
A zoom into the ceramic Peacock piece so that you can see the detail work. Some of the pieces are teeny tiny.
Back outside the palace, looking up at the intricately decorated balconies.
On our way back down to the main gate of the palace/fort
The gates and doors of the fort.
Street scene just outside the gates.
From there, my guide brought me to a series of stores (wonder if they get paid a commission for bringing all the tourists to their shops…. Or if they only get a commission if we buy something ?) Anyway, I did end up buying a blouse to match a skirt I purchased the other day (for when I visit very conservative areas), then I bought a white cotton blouse & pants to wear in case I go out to celebrate Holi. And I bought a ring….. and I bought….. you see what happens ! ! ! No more stores for me from now on. There is no room in my luggage !
The best shop I was brought to was this one where I saw a demonstration of how they put the mosaic pieces together. Metal and semi-precious stones are used, as well as glass and mirror pieces. You can see the pattern to be followed on the white paper. The dark section in the middle of the picture are the pieces of metal which he has already cut and assembled. It will take MONTHS to finish this piece of art work. Truely amazing, patient artists. They mosaics are often placed within carved marble plaques, but they have also started making plaster of paris molds to carve and place the mosaics within; it is less heavy for tourists to carry if they want to purchase a small momento. No, I managed NOT to buy any from this store.
The festivities will begin after 5 pm tonight and last all day tomorrow. There will be bonfires in the streets as well as fireworks. The streets here are very narrow and uneven with deep gutters on the sides and holes in the pavement. Oh and add the “droppings” from the “Sacred Cows” and hundreds of people crowding the streets and you get the picture of what the city will be like tonight.
“Happy Holi !” as they say here to each other.
I looked it up on the internet to see what the point of this holiday: “Celebrated by Hindus, Holi is also known as festival of Colours”. “Also known as Dhuli in Sanskrit. It is celebrated by people throwing scented powder and perfume at each other. Bonfires are lit on the eve of the festival.” “Celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month (February/March)” ….. AND YES, there is a full moon to night ! “In most areas, Holi lasts about two days. One of Holi’s biggest customs is the loosening strictness of social structures, which normally include age, sex, status, and caste. Holi closes the wide gaps between social classes and brings Hindus together. Together, the rich and poor, women and men, enjoy each other’s presence on this joyous day.”
From Ranakpur to Udaipur 56 miles south
9 am departure as usual, through mountainous region this time. Only a one lane paved road, so it is quite treacherous when rounding corners along the winding roads. 
Well I was trying to take a picture of the road, but as you can see from Neema's "god charm" the swinging around was quite remarkable.
One of the rare straight stretches in the mountains had a beautifully decorated bridge
Adornments on the four corners of the bridge
And entertainment in the middle of the bridge.
One of the many temples seen along the way.
Once we left the mountains, we were back into agricultural country.
Those aren't grass huts up there, they are hay stacks.
Tiny little white donkey on the streets of one of the towns
Local bus anyone ? These jeeps are everywhere and used as the local transportation mode. They are always crammed and sometimes there are men standing on the back step as they go down the roads.
Team of oxen pulling a mill stone. I saw at least 4 of these today.
Palm trees !
In this one tiny village there were about 6 huge trees like these on both sides of the road, and they were filled with bats. Hundreds of them !
Trying to take close up picture of the bats
Scenes along the way
Rocky mountain has been blasted to make way for the divided 4 lane highway
Local farmers selling their produce along the road
Gates to the garden
Front garden
Fountain in the front garden
Fountain and lily pond in the back garden
Center piece to the back fountain
Side garden was spectacular with all sorts of flowersFrom there Neema drove me to Ahar where memorials of many maharanas of Mewar are located, as well as those of their wives and other high ranking officials. Most impressive is the one of Maharana Amar Singh who reigned from 1597 to 1620. (Must look up the difference between maharana & maharaja !)
Lot of mausoleums here, must be hundreds of them, and I'm all alone in this site, not feeling too comfortable.
That's Brahma with the four heads/faces, but I guess this doesn't count as a temple to him.
One of the major mausoleums to the maharajas
Hundreds more mausoleums in the back section where the dignitaries and other family members were remembered.
There were two identical ones like this big one on the left, facing each other near the entrance
Details of the major Maharana mausoleum
Boats on Lake Pichola Camels for the tourists to have their pictures taken
I was taken to an artists store where they make miniature paintings. This is a squirrel hair brush which only has a few bristles on the tip. (Don't worry, they don't kill the squirrels, they cut some hair from their tails)From there we stopped off at my hotel “Pichola Haveli” on the shores of Lake Pichola which is one of the main attractions in Udaipur. I only had ½ an hour to freshen up before my local guide, Uma, arrived to take me to visit one of the temples, and then the Maharana of Mewar City Palace & Museum.
Street seems in Udaipur 
Not sure what the tiny little windows are for.We only made a quick stop at the temple since it was about to close for the day, early because of the impending "Holi" festivities.
Beautifully decorated base of the temple
Some of the corner ornamentsNo pictures allowed in the temple; actually no leather either so purses are left in small lockers at the bottom of the stairs. From there we walked around the streets and went to the Maharana of Mewar City Palace & Museum. The same family of Maharajas has owned it since it was built, and their lineage has been documented from 566 AD to 2012. Now that’s genealogy.
The streets of Udaipur as I came back down the temple steps to put my shoes back on. Maharana of Mewar City Palace & Museum: “Maharana Uday Singh initiated the construction of the palace but succeeding Maharanas added several palaces and structures to the complex and retained a surprising uniformity to the design. Suraj Gokhada or the balcony of the sun is where the Maharana would grant public audiences. Moti Mahal or the pearl palace has beautiful mirror work.”
The entrance to the Maharana of Mewar City Palace & Museum. Main gate in front of us. 
Once within the walls, I get my first glimpse of the palace
Within the palace I took a lot of pictures, but I will limit my blog to just a few so you get an idea of how huge and how grand it is.
From the upper windows, looking down at the inner courtyard below. In the background, a view of Udaipur. The lake is on the other side of the palace.
Room where the carrier pigeon cages and coops were kept
Huge bees nests were located in many of the outside alcoves
The "jalousie" window screens were all beautiful. Wonder if anyone has done a book of all the different patterns that have been used in all these palaces.
A mirror room where the Maharana entertained.
One of the upper courtyards of the palace
Part of the zanena / harem rooms.
Also part of the zanena where the "little queens" could look out but no one could see them.
A look at the courtyard below, where they are getting ready for a special celebration marking the start of "Holi".
Udaipur is known for the quality of its mosaic works. This piece and many others within the palace, are reproduced by artists in many forms.
A zoom into the ceramic Peacock piece so that you can see the detail work. Some of the pieces are teeny tiny.
Back outside the palace, looking up at the intricately decorated balconies.
On our way back down to the main gate of the palace/fort
The gates and doors of the fort.
Street scene just outside the gates.From there, my guide brought me to a series of stores (wonder if they get paid a commission for bringing all the tourists to their shops…. Or if they only get a commission if we buy something ?) Anyway, I did end up buying a blouse to match a skirt I purchased the other day (for when I visit very conservative areas), then I bought a white cotton blouse & pants to wear in case I go out to celebrate Holi. And I bought a ring….. and I bought….. you see what happens ! ! ! No more stores for me from now on. There is no room in my luggage !
The best shop I was brought to was this one where I saw a demonstration of how they put the mosaic pieces together. Metal and semi-precious stones are used, as well as glass and mirror pieces. You can see the pattern to be followed on the white paper. The dark section in the middle of the picture are the pieces of metal which he has already cut and assembled. It will take MONTHS to finish this piece of art work. Truely amazing, patient artists. They mosaics are often placed within carved marble plaques, but they have also started making plaster of paris molds to carve and place the mosaics within; it is less heavy for tourists to carry if they want to purchase a small momento. No, I managed NOT to buy any from this store.The festivities will begin after 5 pm tonight and last all day tomorrow. There will be bonfires in the streets as well as fireworks. The streets here are very narrow and uneven with deep gutters on the sides and holes in the pavement. Oh and add the “droppings” from the “Sacred Cows” and hundreds of people crowding the streets and you get the picture of what the city will be like tonight.
“Happy Holi !” as they say here to each other.
I looked it up on the internet to see what the point of this holiday: “Celebrated by Hindus, Holi is also known as festival of Colours”. “Also known as Dhuli in Sanskrit. It is celebrated by people throwing scented powder and perfume at each other. Bonfires are lit on the eve of the festival.” “Celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month (February/March)” ….. AND YES, there is a full moon to night ! “In most areas, Holi lasts about two days. One of Holi’s biggest customs is the loosening strictness of social structures, which normally include age, sex, status, and caste. Holi closes the wide gaps between social classes and brings Hindus together. Together, the rich and poor, women and men, enjoy each other’s presence on this joyous day.”
Uma offered to come back for me in the evening and take me out to celebrate Holi, but I was tired, and tired of being harassed, so I opted to just stay in and have a nice meal. I downloaded the pictures for the day adding captions for each.
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