bicrom abroad

after the disappointment of jaipur, udaipur restored our faith in the beauty of rajasthan. our stay was peppered with vistas of sundappled fairytale turrets dreamily reflected on the lazily shimmering lakes which are so central to the city. the famous lake palace itself, whilst retaining a novelty value, was outshone somewhat by the palaces on the shores, sheer walls and finely detailed ramparts perched perilously over the water. moreover, whilst the narrow lanes of the old city were suitably chaotic, with feet and elbows under constant threat from manic autowallahs and young lads teetering on scooters veering around the inevitable cows in the road, it did not feel anywhere near as busy or congested as jaipur, retaining instead a certain meandering charm.
we took the obligatory boatride at sunset and spent a few hours wandering around the maharana's palace, resplendent with fine detailing and lake views; beyond that however we entertained ourselves happily mooching around the alleys doing very little beyond giving shopkeepers undue hope and photographing cows.
we also spent a lot of time appreciating the delights of our hotel. expensive it may have been but from the postcard views from our balcony, to the sometimes frighteningly attentive service, to the bar which was brand new but filled with enough olde paraphernalia to give it a vintage comfort (as well as mixing up a passion fruit chilli cocktail so spicy it made even me gasp), the leela palace was absolutely perfect: making the step back down to normal hotels in the next few days is going to be depressing.
as such, it was a slightly gloomy couple who checked out, waved on by a mindboggling array of staff (i think we had a leaving committee of at least eight people). a short night in a grotty hotel in delhi before heading off to nepal tomorrow for hopefully some five star himalayan views.