Udaipur and Agra, India

It was a pleasant change to be somewhere close to water and where hills can be walked and mountains seen. Since I've been in India I've only had flat and dry scenery to look at.

I have to admit Udaipur is a beautiful city. The presence of the lakes and the fact the buildings sit right on the edge and allow the water to lap up against them does it no harm. 

Some people call Udaipur "the Venice of India". That might be a bit of a stretch but I can see where they're coming from. 

Udaipur has a real artistic element to it. In excess. Most shop owners are creating and selling traditional and contemporary art or handcraft and jewellery. Actually I'd say that maybe every third store is a jeweller. There are art studios and schools everywhere.

I was in a real wandering wonderer mode in Udaipur.

I needed to just walk and look and satisfy my curiosity. It had been a while since I'd deliberately gotten lost, so that's what I did. 

I found myself sitting on the steps with local shop owners just sharing stories and satisfying each other's interests.

They would show me what they do, I would tell them my story and together we would simply watch India roll past us.

My beard must have had some strength to it because so many people enjoyed telling me how much they liked it. I guess I'm exotic. If only they had seen it in the past...

Oh, and I've really missed an opportunity to make some cash here in India. If I charged people every time they took a selfie with me I could fund half my journey.

I stumbled on a Tibetan market and thought I'd check it out. It's set out in a u shape and consists of 56 stalls. Amusingly there was only two different types of ware being sold. Leather jackets and fleecy hoodies made up one type of stall and the other was peddling ladies and kids clothes. Each one had the exact same garments. 

It had been a while since I treated myself to a nice meal so I visited the Hari Garh Restaurant and I'm so glad I chose that place!

Great venue, awesome view, real service, best food so far in India and excellent value for money. I was even invited into the kitchen. 

The Monsoon Palace sits high on a mountain about 30 minutes ride from town.

I'm not crazy enough to rent a bike so I got someone to take me.

I felt ok with that until he told me he rides like Valentino Rossi! Then again he had a helmet, but that wasn't for me! 

The palace is run down, in disrepair and unmaintained. Actually the palace is pretty crappy. I knew that before I left and didn't care because it was the view that I went for. The iphone camera can't take photos properly of such beauty.

Agra is home to about 2 million people and the train ride from Udaipur is around 10 hours. Unfortunately, mine took about 12.5 hours due to "smoke".

I was only here for a short stay but long enough to see a few of the sites and one of the seven wonders of the world. 

I visited a few sites while I was in Agra. One being the "baby Taj" 

which was nice but really just an appetiser to the main course...

The Taj Mahal is as wonderful as you could expect. 

It makes a real statement and stands alone on the landscape because no other buildings are allowed to be built in the area. 

It generates an atmosphere unlike anywhere else I've experienced in India thus far. 

There is very limited acces inside. Tourist are only allowed to see one quarter of the ground floor. And there are no photos allowed inside either. 

The site is obviously a popular tourist destination and it's very well maintained. But then I guess it demands respect. Truly awesome!