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18th January 2012, 16:53
| #121 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bangalore
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| Day 13 - Beautiful drive to Udaipur and exploring the "Romantic city" Total Distance - 650 KMs Departure time -7.30 AM (Orcha) Arrival time - 4.00 PM ( Udaipur) Road condition - Excellent throughout Breaks - 20 minutes for Breakfast Max speed - 130 KMPH Best stretches - Throughout  We now move through Jhansi Cantt and I notice the new war memorial which has come up which was not there earlier. Jhansi – Babina is home to armoured regiments i.e. Tank regiments and what you see in the picture is the emblem of White Tiger flanked by Main battle Tank of Indian army - Arjun. The War Memorial in Jhansi  Many a times, I have noticed that whenever you have least expectation about a journey, you come across some great sights which will remain with you forever. This is what happened as we start moving towards Udaipur and hit NH 76. This road is just fantastic. It is beautifully laid and there is no traffic either. This made us start cruising quickly. Within no time we are nearing Shivpuri as we could see from the signage. At a distance we see a huge water body flanked by hills. The landscape look fascinating – huge water body in a dry and brown landscape. Monsoon has brought good rains in these areas and we can see backwaters of Madikheda dam extending miles. We stop on the bridge to click some pictures and that is when we see these surreal pictures of submerged trees. Morning sun cast shadow and the reflection of the tress in the still water make them picture perfect. A lone boat is moving around. But for this the whole place is quiet and serene. The calm back waters of Madikheda reservoir  Surreal pictures of submerged trees     The lone boat  We cross the bridge and see a signage giving direction to Shivpuri. It is a long deviation into the city 20 KMs one way – which will result in spending at least two hours. We do not want to lose time and want to reach Udaipur quickly and skip it. We continued to cruise comfortably and stop for a cup of tea on road side dhabha. On the way we come across these camel caravans of nomads which move from one place to another. We stop to click some portraits. The ladies are beautifully bejewelled and wear colourful dresses. The men wear white with colourful headdress. Our next stop is to click picture of a shepherd – with colourful head gear again - with a herd of sheep. The camel caravan of Nomads  The bejewelled lady  The Shepherd and his sheep  The Shepherd - Notice the colourfully painted lathi!  NH 76 is fantastic except for a small stretch wherein you have to go through Kota town as Kota bye pass is still not complete. We go through the town without much hassle, cross Chambal and join back the highway. As we move we also see a deviation to Bundi. It is a pity that we cannot stop over in Kota and Bundi to explore the places as this deviation to Udaipur was not planned at all  . For people in Delhi Gwalior – Jhansi – Orchha – Shivpuri – Bundi – Kota – Delhi should be an interesting circuit.After Kota, it is a breeze to Udaipur and we reach the town at 4 PM. We had confirmed accommodation in Jagat Nivas palace hotel as well as in Amet Haveli. We have to now decide where to stay. We know that there is no parking place in Jagat Nivas having stayed there earlier. We call up Amet Haveli and they confirm that parking place is available. As we enter the city, we are in for a surprise as we see road blocks on the raod leading to Jagat Nivas which is close to the temple. Today is Vijaydashami and cops have blocked vehicles on the temple road. I check when blockade will be removed and the cop gives me answer “6 PM”. We can’t wait till six and decide to go to Amet Haveli and drop Jagat Nivas. My fear of driving the Scorpio in the narrow roads of Udaipur come true as i somehow manage to scrape – literally as in one stretch which was wide enough to allow only one vehicle my mirror brushed against the wall - through the narrow streets and arrive at Amet Haveli. We ask for a good cup of tea and in next couple of hours should be venturing out into town on shopping! To be continued: - Udaipur – The Romantic and Charming city |
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23rd January 2012, 14:11
| #122 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,471
Thanked: 994 Times
| Exploring Udaipur - The Romantic lake city!! Udaipur is a fascinating place with a charm of its own. I find this is the best place in Rajasthan from whichever angle you can think of - Palaces, lake, aravalis, food, handicrafts etc.... To top it all, it still retains old world laid back style and charm. Another good thing with this place is you can spend days exploring different places around it as day trips - Chittorgarh, Ranakpur, Kumbhalgarh, Mt Abu, Nathdwara to name the few. Udaipur looks lovely at night. Last time when we were there, we were staying in Jagat Niwas palace and could not see the beautifully lit palaces at night as the hotel was on the same side of the palaces. I am not sure whether there are any boat rides at night. If there is one, please don't miss the chance to take it!! This time, staying in Amet Haveli gave us an opprtunity to enjoy the skyline of the lake city in full glory. As we move on i will add photographs from our trip to this region in 2009 when we spent four days here. Hope that will be helpful for anyone who is planning to explore the region. After sipping the masala chai, we move up the terrace to see the skyline of the city. Amet Haveli is located at vantage point and provides excellent views of the skyline. The lake is full and the hills are green. It is evening and the palaces and buildings glow in the golden rays of the sun. We see odd boats with tourists moving in the lake. without wasting time, we start clicking pictures before the sun start settng behind aravalis. Let me now take you through the spectacle of beautifully lit palaces as seen from Amet Haveli. The Udaipur skyline as seen from Amet Haveli. You can see gopuram of Jagdeesh temple in background. The white building is Jagat Niwas Palace hotel.   Palace from close   Odd boats on the lake  Lake palace glowing in evening sun   Sunset over Aravali mountains. Sunset in Udaipur is just beautiful. The best place to view sunset is from the Sunset terrace restraurant in Shiv Niwas palace hotel. The restaurant is located on the bank of the lake and very romantic. Book table in advance during season       Sunset Terrace restuarant (pics from our previous trip)     Sunset from the restaurant (pic from our previous trip)  Cable car to the top of the hill and fort - This is installed a year back and should provide a beautiful view of the lake and surroundings. We could not go in this as it was late . A lovely boat in the middle of lake  The palace glows in the night       Domes of Leela Palace looks lovely when lit at night   To be continued - Exploring Udaipur..... |
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24th January 2012, 17:00
| #123 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Re: Fauji's Drivologues - Fascinating Fortnight in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh Poorna Sir, Nice updates on your TL, appears that you have toured a lot recently which is making the postings go slow  When is Leh Coming up for you? |
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3rd February 2012, 13:48
| #124 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,471
Thanked: 994 Times
| Exploring Udaipur - The romantic city of Rajasthan Anyone exploring Udaipur and surroundings should not miss out the following a) Visit to the palace complex. Very well organised tour with audio guide. b) Visit to the Jagmandir lake Palace - not the one run by Taj where non residential guests are not allowed - which is run by Maharaja. You can buy tickets for boat ride and visit to the palace at the same counter where tickets for palace complex is also issued. c) Sajjangarh - The hill palace which is the monsoon palace of Maharaja provides specatacular view of the lake and city. The hill is also surrounded by reserve forests which is good for birding in the morning. d) Fatehsagar lake - The second lake in Udaipur which is beautiful with Chattris and very quiet. e) Shilpgram for handicraft and folk dances/music. During season there will be programs in the evening as well. f) Folk dance and puppettry in Bagore Ki Haveli - a charming haveli museum nicely restored. Every evening at 7 PM, The western India regional Culture centre organises excellent folk dance and puppetry programme of the region. Well compered with Informal seating, this is not be mised. g) Jagadeesh temple which is close to palace complex. h) Boat ride in Lake Pichola. i) Cocktails in Sunset terrace restuarant in Shiv Niwas Palace hotel overlooking the lake. j) Dinner in Ambrai restuarant in Amet Haveli. Outstanding Rajasthani food on the banks of lake with a beautiful view of palace lit at night. Book table in advance. Dinner on the roof top restaurant of Jagat Niwas Palace - excellent food again -with nice view of the Lake palace. Book table in advance. k) Cable car ride to the fort. l) Dal - Bhati lunch in Santosh Dal - Bhati. m) Vintage car museum of Maharaja. n) Mawa Kachoris in down town Udaipur. o) Stroll in the narrow streets of Udaipur p) Shop for antiques, handicrafts and silver inlaid swords of Udaipur. q) Ahar Museum - Cenotaphs or Royal Chhatris r) Sound and light show on Mewar kingdom in palace q) Day trips i) Chittorgarh and ii) Nathdwara and Devigarh palace hotel where Big B's Ekalavya picturised. Have lunch here overlooking Aravali mountains - iii) Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur iv) Mount Abu Here are some pictures and videos of our trip to the place in 2009 Jagat Niwas Palace hotel. An excellent hotel which is not expensive. Choose lake facing room.  Breakfast in Jagat Niwas Palace. One can see Amet Haveli on the corner of the opposite bank. Another nice hotel.  Shiv Niwas Palace   Sunset terrace restuarant in Shiv Niwas Palace Street view in front of Jagadeesh temple  Sajjangarh Palace - It was under renovation in 2009  View of Udaipur from Sjjangarh.  Shilpgram  Folkdance and Folk Music in Shilp Gram   Fatehsagar lake  Folk dance and puppet shows in Bagore Ki Haveli       Dal Bhati in Santosh Dal Bhati hotel     View of Udaipur during boat ride in Pichola     Lake palace hotel of Taj  Leela palace hotel. Notice Sajjangarh fort on the hill in the background  Jagmandir Lake Palace     To be continued - Exploring places around Udaipur |
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6th February 2012, 04:53
| #125 |
| Newbie  Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 17
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6th February 2012, 16:28
| #126 |
| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 99
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1st March 2012, 12:36
| #127 | ||
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,471
Thanked: 994 Times
| Places around Udaipur Quote:
Quote:
Places around Udaipur There are many places to visit around Udaipur and one can get the details from any travel website. However, i would recommend the following places which are not to be missed. These places can be either clubbed as a part of transit to other places in Rajasthan or can be done as a day trip from Udaipur. Chittorgarh Massive fort known for the valour of Mewar Rajputs. For more details on Chittrogarh, here is the wikilink Chittorgarh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia HOME :: THE OFFICIAL WEB PORTAL OF CHITTORGARH DISTRICT (RAJASTHAN) You need minimum of half a day to explore the fort. Here are some pictures. Shrine for Mirabai  Kalimata temple  Glimpses of fort  Temple of Trimurti  Rani Padmini Palace  In front of Vijay Sthamb  Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur Not to be missed at all. Massive fort - longest fort wall after Great Wall of China - and the largest and most beautiful of all the Jain temples in the country. This can be seen on the way to Jodhpur from Udaipur. But the beauty of Kumbhalgarh is at night when the fort is lit up. This means one has to stay put at night there. The forest around the fort is rich in bio diversity. One can go for safaris as well. Kumbhalgarh - Kumbhalgarh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ranakpur - Ranakpur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In front of Ranakpur temple  Exquisite carvings inside the temple       Kumbhalgarh fort  View from the top   Fort illuminated at night    Sunrise @ Kumbhalgarh  Devigarh The fort palace at Devigarh is now a expensive and beautiful boutique hotel. Big B's "Ekalavya" was shot here. Very nicely restored with an amazing location. One can visit the hotel after visiting the famous Srinathji temple at Nathdwara and Ek Lingji temple which is on the way. Hotels in Jaipur | Hotels in Udaipur | Hotels Udaipur | Udaipur Hotels | Hotels in india Fine view of aravali mountains on the way to Devigarh   Devigarh palace from distance  Devigarh Palace   The Lounge in the palace  Durbar hall  Hills around the palace  Panoramic View of hills from the restuarant To be concluded - Dinner in Agashye restuarant in Ahmedabad back home and meeting with HV Kumar on the way back home Last edited by Fauji : 1st March 2012 at 12:43. | ||
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11th March 2013, 12:00
| #128 | |
| Senior - BHPian | Re: Day 13 - Beautiful drive to Udaipur and exploring the "Romantic city" Quote:
Was just tracing this travelogue for a friend of mine and it appears that you have stranded us in Udaipur. Would this be completed or am I missing something? | |
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13th March 2013, 20:48
| #129 | |
| BHPian  Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Indore MP India
Posts: 64
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| Re: Welcome to city of Foodies - Indore Quote:
Also all the roads leading in and out of Indore (Except NH 59, which is being 4-laned) are extremely good. So do come and visit Indore any time. You would love the food. (and hate the traffic) | |
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