Connecting the dots...

Refreshed after a good night’s rest, we were ready for the drive ahead. With Mt. Abu about 85 kms from here, we decided go to Udaipur via Mt. Abu. We decided to visit the famous Jain  “Dilwara Temples”. 

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The drive up Mt Abu is not one for the weak hearted. The road is narrow added to the crazy driving of the tourist vehicles !! keeping in mind that we went during the Diwali vacations, it felt as though the whole of Gujarat was heading to Mt Abu !! For most of the journey we assumed it was a one way until we saw a few cars coming from the opposite direction !  

“Dilwara Temples” are open to the tourists only between 12 pm and 5 pm thereby not hindering the prayer/pooja time. The Dilwara temples is a 11th century temple built entirely in marble. The temple encompasses 5 temples inside its compound. The temple security is very strict in not allowing cameras, cell phones and hand bags. This way actually one gets to enjoy the temple for its sheer beauty. The locker facility is very well organized to keep your belongings safely. We saw one person carrying 10 mobiles in his hand , probably belonging to his group and was kept in the locker facility ! There is a seperate area with a row of cemented shelves meant for keeping your footwear. The amazing part was that though they are unmanned, our pair of shoes was left where it was 

One can visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilwara_Temples#External_links to get a glimpse of the temple’s interior and its history.

It took us an hour to see the temple. Having softies ice cream outside the temple is a must as a part of the visit. We had two softies which turned to be our lunch for the day !! Right next to it is also a chai wala who also serves sandwiches. Crowd was thronging more to both of these places compared to the rest of the shops. Unfortunately since our cell phones and camera was left behind in the car, we do not have any photographs !!

Now we were headed to our last stop of the trip - Udaipur. 

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In this entire journey so far this drive was the best. It was a 4 lane divided highway all the way through. 

It was around 1 PM by the time we left Dilwara temple. After the drive down Mt Abu when we reached the highway to Udaipur, we called up a couple of hotels to make a reservation. Being Diwali vacation, most of the hotels were running full. We finally got our reservation done at Taj Hotel, Lake Pichola. Yes, this is the same hotel that is featured in James Bond movie “Octopussy” :-)

Going to a new place always has a surprise element to it. Lake Pichola is in the heart of the city and we were confident with Google maps giving us directions. As we entered the city, the roads started getting narrower and crowded. The roads were decorated for diwali.

We realised we were driving deeper and deeper into the old parts of the city.  This was confirmed when we ended up entering a local market area !! we reached a junction where we could see the road ahead was so narrow that our Honda Civic would block the incoming traffic and literally there would be no place for even pedestrian to walk alongside the car !! 

Again as if God was watching over us, this good samaritan on a bike ahead of us came to our rescue. He had noticed our car with Tamil Nadu registration plate and out of curiosity had been following us, knowing that we were lost. He waved at us and enquired as to where we were heading. Imagine taking a U-turn in a crowded market place ! He along with the locals, helped us in taking a U-turn and piloted us all the way until we reached a road which would take us straight to our hotel. 

 We emptied the car and checked-in. The fact that we were checked-in for the next few days was such a relief. Taj Lake Palace hotel has a seperate jetty for its guests. The hotel has its own fleet of boats exclusively for shuttling guest to and from the hotel.

The Taj Lake Palace was the Summer Palace of the King of Udaipur. It is still owned by the royal family and is leased to Taj. A sense of royalty is given to the guests from the moment you arrive. At the time of check-in, the guests are welcomed with a shower of rose petals and escorted in a royal style.

We wanted to soak ourselves as much as we could in this royal setup. 

 This was going to be our abode for the next few days. With this thought we rested ourselves for the night.