Woke up early, made some tea. Dressed up, kept our bags ready and went around taking some pictures of this beautiful hotel before going to the restaurant to get some breakfast. We had to wait sometime to get the breakfast - juice, french toast and omellete. After eating, we paid the bill Rs 1200 for the room and Rs 907 for the snacks, dinner and breakfast total. Most of these hotels charge between Rs 120 to Rs 150 for the large Kingfisher beer. But, Sarawan Singh gets the same beer from stores at Rs 60 each.
Overall, a very good experience at this nice hotel. Service was friendly and the rooms extremely clean.
9.35 am - Left Ranakpur Hill Resort for the famous Jain Temple.
There are a lot of temples in this complex, but the main temple - the Jain temple - does not allow any photography before noon - that too with a lot of conditions. There is a camera fee. Shoes, readymade clothes (?) leather items on body etc are not allowed. The Jains are very devout and religious people and do not like to be disturbed while there is a prayer session. So, keep in mind, do not wear jeans, or any clothing which can be sonsidered "ready made" safe way is to probably carry a sari and just drape it on whatever you are wearing!!!! Anyway, we could not go inside as were too early and could not wait for hours.
We went around to the other temples, one thing that strikes you is the cleanliness of this whole complex, it is definetely OK to be stringent with the rules if one can maintain the area. There were gorgeous trees and flowers all around and most of their devotees volunteer to keep the place clean and shiny. Although we could not go in as we could not shoot and did not want to leave our cameras around, we got some really gorgeous shots all around the temples. However we were allowed to use our cameras in the other temples.
To Udaipur - our 20th District. We went to Udaipur via Kumbhalgarh and Haldi Ghatti in RajSamand.
11.30 am - On the way to Udaipur, we saw a "Rahet" a system of pulling and spreading the water from a well to the fields. Pavan stopped the taxi abruptly when he saw one in action. We got out of the taxi and took some pictures. Gave the Rahetwala Rs 50, that made him a very happy man as he was not expecting anything from us.
12.35 pm to 1.05 pm was spent at Kumbhalgarh, in RajSamand. This is an awesome Fort, and the birthplace of Maharana Pratap Singh, the feerless, valiant warrior of Rajasthan. Most of us know the famous story of Pannabai, who had her own son killed in order to save Udaisingh, the father of Maharana Pratap Singh. The Fort is unbelievable, and has to be experienced in person and no photos can do justice to the massiveness of this great monument. Excellent entryway and easy to climb ramp and shallow steps make it easy and tempting for one to keep climbing higher. The view from the inside of the fort is magnificant. A must visit for Rajasthan lovers.
1.10 pm - When we came out of the Fort, we were very hungry from all that exercise. We asked Sarawan Singh to find us a good place where we could eat in that area. He said there were a few places and just as we were driving down from the Fort, we saw a few vehicles stopped outside a shanty little place called "Lucky Restaurant" - We saw another table occupied by 2 guys who looked like some business people, that gave us some confidence. The owner - Ghisu aka Ghisaram -was very gracious and polite. Pavan wanted to use the restroom, I waited to get the verdict. He returned and informed me that the bathroom very decent and clean. We asked what was for lunch, he had a fixed menu, so we asked for three lunches (including Sarawan's). After a wait, as he was first serving the other 2 guys, we were served one of the best meals we ate in Rajasthan. He cooks and serves himself, with the help of his nephew - Mohan. We were served unlimited makki ki roti (corn pita bread) with dahi curry cooked with sarson ka saag (yogurt curry with fresh mustard leaves) and a mixed vegetable which was mainly potatoes and cauliflower. He also served us some rice and yogurt and we asked for mineral water. The food was so good that we kept eating without talking. Ghisu kept sending us fresh rotis and Mohan enjoyed seeing us gobble down our food. When we told him that this was one of the best meals, he brought us the Visitor's book and showed us that he has been quoted in the Lonely Planet. His Visitor's Book had comments in all languages, the last one before ours probably in Japanese. Our total bill for 3 people was around Rs 250 (don't think he gave us a receipt) and with tip we paid Rs 300. Wow, will never forget this experience. I would highly recommend everyone who goes to Kumbhalgarh to stop and taste his food. You will not regret it.
2.56 pm - Went to Haldi Ghatti Samadhi, where the famous battle was fought between Maharana Pratap Singh and Akbar, and also where Maharana Pratap's horse - Chetak - was hurt while fighting with the Maharana. One can feel the presence of such warriors even today while visiting this place. A few hundred yards from the Haldi Ghatti is the Chetak Samadhi where Chetak breathed his last in Maharana's lap. Now at this location, the State Government has built a museum with a sights and sounds show at a charge of Rs 40 per person + Rs 5 per camera.
4.20 pm - Left Haldi Ghatti Samadhi.
5.58 pm - Reached Chetak Circle.
6.05 pm - Raj Palace Hotel in Udaipur.
Room rate was quoted at Rs 1800 - Rs 300 = Rs 1500 for the night. We had a nice room (# 27)on the very top, it was a suite (someplaces suite was spelt sweet!! - not here though). The room was very nice and the restaurant was even nicer. There were all these covered white settees with lots of colorful cushions making it look very welcoming and royal. The area was covered on top and also had some tables in the open. We could see the City Palace from the restaurant. Infact, when we went to the City Palace next day, we could see the hotel from there. Nice view.
We went to the restaurant to eat our dinner. Soups, Cheeze Onion Pizza, Vegetable sandwich and mineral water at Rs 181 - gave Rs 210 with tip.
Settled down after uploading the pictures, charging the batteries. Had tea before going to sleep.
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