A Palace, a Temple, A Garden, and An Island on Lake Pichola were all part of yesterday’s highlight visits in Udaipur.  The air here is clean. I keep mentioning that because the air was not clean in Delhi.  Never take your clean air for granted. The mornings are crisp. The daytime temperatures warm and comfortable. The dry heat of Rajasthan and the way the sun feels here is very pleasant.  This morning sky is pink and Kelley is already out birding.

This post comes out as we get ready to leave Udaipur.  We experienced many beautiful places in Udaipur so hoping the photos below and short commentary will help you, my readers, to travel with us vicariously.

We spent much of the morning at the opulent Udaipur Palace. It is the largest palace in all of India. It was only when we were out on the boat on Lake Pichola at sunset, that I saw the immensity of the palace.  From a distance, we got perspective. The palace looks like a city within a city.  It is gorgeous.  At one point, while out in the vast courtyard, a golf cart came whizzing by and our guide said, “Look, there is the princess!” I looked and saw a little girl, about 7 years old, looking like any other little child that age, being carted to an area of the palace on the electric golf cart.  She was the youngest member of the family who still lives here in one section of the palace.

Our group!  I asked them to act a little wild:

Linda:

ceiling art:

Room of mirrors:

Hana:

A visit to the ancient Shri Jagadish Temple (built in 1651).  Beautiful ornate columns throughout the temple:

Kathy and Lisa taking the three wheeler over to the Garden of the Maidens.

Below is a photo of Sahelion-ki-bari, “the garden of maidens”.  This garden was built by Rana Sangram Singh for his wife the queen, her 48 attendants (which were part of her dowry) , and her royal female friends. The garden is walled in and a green refuge filled with pools, gardens, marble pavilions, lotus ponds, sculpted marble elephants, and fountains. 

As per the legends, the garden was designed by the king himself, built from 1710 to 1734, and he presented this garden to his queen. Actually, the Queen was accompanied by 48 maids in her marriage. To offer all of them pleasurable moments away from the political intrigues of the court, this garden was made. This patterned garden used to be the popular relaxing spot of the royal ladies. The queen with her maids and female companions used to come here for a stroll and spend their time in leisure.

Waiting for the late afternoon ferry to take us to the island in the middle of Lake Pichola.  These two young Sikh men are checking their iPhones before boarding.  Not sure if you can see their traditional shoes.  
Neelesh, our wonderful guide:
On the ferry, Mario and Pia:
Ashley and Arlene, a special Mother-Daughter trip for them:
The most amazing facts I learned about this island:
  • The island was built first and then the man-made Lake Pichola was filled in.
  • Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal as a tribute of love for his wife, sought refuge here. He hid here for a while in order to save his life from his blood-thirsty and warring family members.
  • While hiding out on this island, he fell in love with the unique Indo-Islamic architecture found on this island. It was from this island that he drew his inspiration for the architectural design used for the Taj Mahal!

A couple were there celebrating their first wedding anniversary.  I photographed her henna hands:

Another view looking towards the palace from the island:

And a note on yoga!  Yoga every day has been so inspirational: this environment, this group, the sunrises, the brisk mornings all add to the power of our daily yoga practice.  The yoga practice grounds us and keeps us healthy and present.