Last
week, Nishtha and I celebrated our first anniversary together. We took
our first vacation in a long, long time. Wanting to plan an economy
budget trip, we decided to go somewhere close by - some place that does
not require too much travel, and that would also have cheap avenues of
stay and food. And then it hit us - Udaipur. It is only about 5 hours by
road from Ahmedabad and has lots of great, inexpensive places where we
could go and stay in, without burning holes in our pockets.
Enter Jyoti and Sanal. And a hefty sponsorship for our vacation. A First Anniversary gift to us.
We love such friends!!! It still doesn't sink it - that elation of such an awesome gift from you guys! :) :)
I am eager to show you where we stayed (courtesy, J&S - thank you darlings, you guys are fantastic), but first, let me tell you something about Udaipur. It's a quaint little town, nestled in a tiny valley among the Aravali ranges. The hills themselves are not gigantic, considering that I've seen the Himalayas, but they do seem to have a certain lofted personality of their own, to say so.
Udaipur is not very big, but it has many attractions for visitors. We had a good time visiting many of the palaces and museums in the city. The principal attraction there, the City Palace and Museum is a grand monument built along the shore of the Lake Pichhola, an artificial lake created centuries ago by a Banjara - a wandering nomad tribal. After seeing this lake, the then ruling Mewar King, Maharana Udai Singh ordered the City Palace to be built here and thus was founded Udaipur.
So, when we reached here, owing to the great boom in our budget, we decided to park camp at a tent resort, called The Aravali Tent Resort. A first experience of living in a tent resort, where the tents have electricity, television, air conditioning and a nice tiled bathroom.
The
resort manager tried his best to see that we were comfortable, though I
must say I did expect a bit more from the service. Overall, I'd rate
the resort a 4/5 for stay, and a 3/5 for service. And oh, a 5/5 for the
bonfires that Nishtha and I thoroughly enjoyed a couple of nights.
We visited a lot of places there in Udaipur, but it was more of a relaxing vacation than a "let's see everything today" kind. Nishtha and I are lazy when we're on vacation, and we'd rather flop on the bed and watch TV than go out and roam too much. A few hours of sightseeing, a couple of hours of good cafe food and some cold beer, and long hours of sleep and TV is more how we like it.
Our very first day in Udaipur will stay in our heads and hearts for a very long time. We went to this cafe called Pushkar Cafe, on the first floor of a small shop in the crowded and narrow street of Gangaur Ghaat. And we stepped into an oasis. The walls are painted with lovely paintings of Ganesha, Shiva from Indian Gods, and also along the other walls are paintings by many travelers who've taken a breather here.The food is ordinary here. But the service is good, the owner (Pushkar, who's marriage anniversary is a day after mine) is warm and welcoming, and the beer is cold.
But this is not why we shall remember the place. During the course of our lunch there, I was writing a little something in a diary (remind me to post that poem here too), and Pushkar thought I was painting. He asked me if I was, and that if I wanted to, I could paint something on his walls for him. I immediately looked at Nishtha, and with a little coaxing, she was there, all set with paint brushes, colors and a determined look.
It took a rough pencil drawing, an eraser, an intense discussion on what to paint, and one more rough drawing to finally setup what we thought would be perfect for the place. And Nishtha did it again - she drew and painted the Matsya Nyaya picture perfect to the T.
So now when any of you go to Udaipur, do check out this painting by Nishtha at the Pushkar Cafe, and think of us when you do.
A lot more happened, many more places were visited, I'll leave the rest in just pictures. Some nice, some not so nice, but all definitely ones that Nishtha and I won't forget. And we've kept a few places in Udaipur pending, so that we may go back there some day. And relive the first of many anniversaries to come.
Happy 1st Anniversary Nishtha, my love.
- Vinaykrishnan.
Enter Jyoti and Sanal. And a hefty sponsorship for our vacation. A First Anniversary gift to us.
We love such friends!!! It still doesn't sink it - that elation of such an awesome gift from you guys! :) :)
I am eager to show you where we stayed (courtesy, J&S - thank you darlings, you guys are fantastic), but first, let me tell you something about Udaipur. It's a quaint little town, nestled in a tiny valley among the Aravali ranges. The hills themselves are not gigantic, considering that I've seen the Himalayas, but they do seem to have a certain lofted personality of their own, to say so.
 |
| The Aravali Hills - A view of the hills from atop Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace |
Udaipur is not very big, but it has many attractions for visitors. We had a good time visiting many of the palaces and museums in the city. The principal attraction there, the City Palace and Museum is a grand monument built along the shore of the Lake Pichhola, an artificial lake created centuries ago by a Banjara - a wandering nomad tribal. After seeing this lake, the then ruling Mewar King, Maharana Udai Singh ordered the City Palace to be built here and thus was founded Udaipur.
So, when we reached here, owing to the great boom in our budget, we decided to park camp at a tent resort, called The Aravali Tent Resort. A first experience of living in a tent resort, where the tents have electricity, television, air conditioning and a nice tiled bathroom.
 |
| Outside our Tent at the Aravali Resort |
 |
| Bonfire outside the tent |
We visited a lot of places there in Udaipur, but it was more of a relaxing vacation than a "let's see everything today" kind. Nishtha and I are lazy when we're on vacation, and we'd rather flop on the bed and watch TV than go out and roam too much. A few hours of sightseeing, a couple of hours of good cafe food and some cold beer, and long hours of sleep and TV is more how we like it.
Our very first day in Udaipur will stay in our heads and hearts for a very long time. We went to this cafe called Pushkar Cafe, on the first floor of a small shop in the crowded and narrow street of Gangaur Ghaat. And we stepped into an oasis. The walls are painted with lovely paintings of Ganesha, Shiva from Indian Gods, and also along the other walls are paintings by many travelers who've taken a breather here.The food is ordinary here. But the service is good, the owner (Pushkar, who's marriage anniversary is a day after mine) is warm and welcoming, and the beer is cold.
 |
| At Pushkar Cafe |
 |
| Ganesha the Wise |
But this is not why we shall remember the place. During the course of our lunch there, I was writing a little something in a diary (remind me to post that poem here too), and Pushkar thought I was painting. He asked me if I was, and that if I wanted to, I could paint something on his walls for him. I immediately looked at Nishtha, and with a little coaxing, she was there, all set with paint brushes, colors and a determined look.
It took a rough pencil drawing, an eraser, an intense discussion on what to paint, and one more rough drawing to finally setup what we thought would be perfect for the place. And Nishtha did it again - she drew and painted the Matsya Nyaya picture perfect to the T.
 |
| Painting Her Heart Out |
 |
| Matsya Nyaya - The Law Of The Jungle |
 |
| Matsya Nyaya - The Law Of The Jungle |
 |
| The Artist's Signature |
So now when any of you go to Udaipur, do check out this painting by Nishtha at the Pushkar Cafe, and think of us when you do.
A lot more happened, many more places were visited, I'll leave the rest in just pictures. Some nice, some not so nice, but all definitely ones that Nishtha and I won't forget. And we've kept a few places in Udaipur pending, so that we may go back there some day. And relive the first of many anniversaries to come.
Happy 1st Anniversary Nishtha, my love.
 |
| Lake Pichhola at Sunset - JagMandir in the middle of the lake |
 |
| An outhouse near the Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace |
 |
| The Bagore Ki Haveli (Palace of Bagore) on the banks of the Pichhola |
 |
| Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace |
 |
| Captured |
 |
| From the Top |
 |
| How small the world. |
 |
| Far into the distance my heart lies |
- Vinaykrishnan.
