Out of the triangle

We successfully completed the #1 India must-do, the Golden Triangle of Delhi-Agra-Jaipur and now we head into unknown and unplanned territory. We were reluctant to leave the beautiful sanctuary of our guesthouse but we’ve barely scratched the surface of India and we’re keen to experience more.

Everyone says we absolutely must travel India by train and I finally figured out the online booking system and got us comfy seats for the 6-1/2 hour journey to Udaipur.

The first couple of hours were in daylight so we got to see a little of the territory. We were given water and a newspaper before departing, and served food and beverages four times during the trip. Amtrak could learn a thing or two.

We arrived in Udaipur in the dark and after a lively negotiation with two rather enthusiastic tuktuk drivers we finally got onboard for a nailbiting careen through the narrow alleyways of Udaipur to our randomly chosen guest house deep in the labyrinth of the Old City. Someone should make a video game of driving a tuktuk through the crush of pedestrians, motorbikes, cows, and dogs all vying for the same 8-foot wide lanes, and yes, even late at night.

The following day we set out to explore our new neighborhood.

We can never pass up a music store and we got a bonus from the proprietor of this one, a discourse on the sitar and a brief demonstration. He claims the sitar is easier to play than the guitar because while the sitar has many more strings, you only play on one of them. The rest are drones. I didn’t know that.

Udaipur is the City of Lakes, and of course we love being near the water.

We happened upon a small museum in a restored palace. It was cool inside and a nice break from the scorching midday sun.

We found a tiny fruit stand serving beautiful smoothie bowls and established ourselves as regulars.

We’ve learned to take shelter in the worst heat of the afternoon. Then we take to the rooftop for sunset before re-emerging after dark for dinner. We seem to have settled in nicely.