Monsoon Palace

Breakfast in the Cupola

Akhtar's Father

The Monsoon Palace

Cathy and the Leopard

Bougainvillea Art Gallery

Monsoon Palace on top of the Mountain

Akhtar and us at Royal Repast

Akhtar's father, mother and sister

After a leisurely start, we left our palace on the water and took the boat to the landing where we were met by Vijay and went to Gem Arts a wonderful jewelry store in Udaipur. They took us next door to their studio where we watched the artists working with metals and jewels. They will work with you to make custom jewelry if necessary and have a large stock of ready made jewelry at all price points.

In our previous visits to Udaipur, we had viewed a Palace on top of a nearby mountain, but hadn’t given it much thought. On this occasion, I decided to ask Vijay if it is possible to drive up to it. He said “No Problem”. He had last been there about 10 years ago.

When we left the jewelry store, we headed up the very windy road to get to the top of the mountain. It reminded us of the roads we drove on in the Himalayas, but was better maintained. It weaves through a nature preserve. At the summit was the rather decrepit Palace. It had been turned over by the Maharaja in 1956 and not maintained since. It was empty of all furniture. It reminded us of other heritage properties we have seen that have the potential to be restored. This one is just waiting, perhaps someday it will find some love. What it does offer, besides a small restaurant, is a magnificent view of Udaipur. One can see the many lakes and fertile fields along with the developed city. It was worth the drive. In the far distance you can even see our Lake Palace Hotel.

Upon descending from the mountain, we went to a fabulous art gallery: Bougainvillea Art Gallery. This gallery could easily be at home in Santa Fe or any other place rich people like to buy art. The building and surrounding property are gorgeous. Much of modern art we find ridiculous, but here there were really some stunning objects. There were ceramics, bronzes, paintings and other creative works of art. The gallery is well worth a visit even if you don’t purchase anything, they are very welcoming.

We then returned to the Lake Palace, to read and lounge. On our last visit to Udaipur, a friend, Rohit introduced us to Royal Repast. It is an excellent restaurant. We had both a lunch and dinner there. We had the hotel make reservations for us and after cocktails at the hotel, headed out to the restaurant. The food was as delicious as I remembered, especially the Gobi (Cauliflower) my favorite. When the time for the bill arrived, Rohit had generously pre-arranged to pick up the tab.

We have a friend, Akhtar who we met in Delwara years ago when we were staying at Devigarh. We try to meet up with him on our trips to India. Since we were planning to dine at Royal Repast, we invited Akhtar to join us. He said he would come see us, but not eat. It was great talking to him, and learning how his career has advanced. He then invited us to stop by his family home that was not too far away. After dinner, we followed him to his father’s house.

His father is retired after being with the Udaipur Police for 38 years. He is a very devoted Muslim with a large close family. His father speaks almost no English, but emanates a warmth towards us that is manifest. It is a special and wonderful experience to burst out of the tourist bubble and be able to enter  a real Indian household. This happens with Vijay who always invites us to his house and it happens with Akhtar. We treasure these moments.

We returned to the hotel, and wondrously I slept through the night, maybe Jet Lag is over!