utopian udaipur and jodhpur jollies

Udaipur has been described as India's most romantic destination but the paucity of rain - the last monsoon failed - has left much of the lake bare and its premier hotel the Lake Palace showing a rather dirty underskirt. Indeed the other top hotel, the five star Oberoi, now finds itself a mile from the lake shore while it is undergoing refurbishment.

Despite the smell of cows Udaipur was lovely to wander round and we spoke to several shopkeepers - many from Kashmir. Guess what? Their goods are a lot cheaper than they were in Kashmir - we were had again - and a vast number of Kashmiris are descending on Birmingham's NEC next week to exhibit their wares at even cheaper prices. One is even exhibiting in the V & A in London. All are very excited.

We visited the City Palace in the company of a guide where the young Prince was supervising arrangements for a big dinner and foundation awards ceremony to be held that night - rather like the Prince Charles Trust. It commemorated a young wet nurse who sacrificed her own baby in 1535 to save the life of the Crown Prince from marauding Moguls to ensure the unbroken line of the Mewar Dynasty. Sacrifice and devotion to duty is the byeword.

We saw the Maharaja's Classsic and vintage car collection which included the Rolls Royce used in the James Bond movie Octopussy which featured the Lake Palace hotel. We managed to avoid the restaurant which showed the movie every night during dinner! Pity the staff who must know the script off by heart.

We continue to feel sympathy for the cows who may be regarded as holy but are terrorised by cars, trishaws and the like and scavenge for their food. They are lame, underfed and look in terrible shape alongside the dogs. We have seen a few of the faithful purchasing fresh greens to feed them but they could with a lot more nourishment and respect.

We continue to be puzzled by India's lack of equality which extends even to tourists who have to pay 750 rupees to enter the Taj Mahal, for example, while the natives pay only 20 rupees. This applies to many of their tourist monuments. Surely India is not now so poor that the tourist has to be fleeced at every turn. There is even a general lack of respect for women. Colin is always spoken to first and served first. Imagine their shock when Linda produces the moolah to pay for their goods and services and even has control of the passports.


To Jodhpur, the home of the famous breeches designed by Sir Patrap Singh for hunting and polo, a garment which caught on when he wore them in Britain. This is the Blue City where many of the houses are painted indigo as a coolant and insect repellent. It is home to the Meherangarh Fort which is the most impressive we have visited to date and features the best audio guide to boot. There are interviews with the present royals and, judging by his accent, we think the Crown Prince may have been educated at Eton. The family are all involved in the Fort Foundation while Granny was able to describe life in Purdah which continued until the 1960s.

At the second entrance gate you walk past the concrete imprint of 14 sets of hands belonging to the widows and concubines of Maharaja Man Singh who, following his death in 1843, threw themselves on his funeral pyre as an act of Sati. It is sobering to think that this practice continued until the Indian Government banned it in 1847 following the insistence of Queen Victoria (she wasn't all bad). But as recently as 1987 there were cases of Sati in parts of India.

The Maharaja of Jodhpur and his family now live in the splendid Umaid Bhawan Palace constructed between 1929 and 1944 by English architects employing 3,000 men. The art deco furniture was supplied by Maples of London but was lost at sea during the War. Now the palace is part museum, part hotel and part home. Quite magnificent.

After all this driving across bumpy, dusty and hazardous roads we felt we would give Jaisalmeer and its deserts and camels a swerve in favour of some pampering at the five star Ajit Bhawan hotel, another converted palace and previous home to the present Maharaja's brother. It has five star bathrooms and a sensational swimming pool plus wonderful staff. What more could we weary travellers want? We have been staying in some charming havelis which are converted merchants' houses. Almost all have spectacular rooftop restaurants. Happily everything is ground level here and more importantly - everything works. Back to the pool....