A lovely wander at the mercy of the wind in this amazing Rajasthan (page 4 of 11)

It’s true that 15–20 years ago, Bundi was *the* off-the-beaten-path destination. But in your itinerary, Bundi’s basically a tourist hotspot now!

Too bad the (surprising) circumstances didn’t let you visit the stunning palace. Though it’s not every day that maharajas shut things down just to reclaim their property! Being part of history instead of just a distant observer—what could be better?

I really love the idea of "being part of the story," Pagal, but in this case, I only saw 20 cops parked in front of the fort who told me to move along 😅. It was at the hotel that they explained the details to us, but I asked elsewhere too (because I thought it was a joke), and they all told me the same story!

But Bundi is super pleasant and still far from "mass tourism." It’s just that we hadn’t seen a French person in 10 days, and then we ran into a bunch—some really friendly, but not all. Lulu got a major "cold shoulder" when trying to chat with our first fellow countrymen. I laughed so hard at their reaction, which was basically, "Help, a French person!" 😅.

I must say, if it was still all colorful, they must’ve thought I was some kind of weirdo: 😉😛

Hi there! During my first visit to Bundi, there were no tourists, and the palace was closed to the public. Another time, all we had to do was sign a register at the palace entrance, and we could wander from room to room. There were three of us French travelers—a couple and me. Every room was open; the palace was ours—it was magnificent. I’ve been back twice since then, and entry is now paid, and I don’t think all the rooms are open to the public anymore. I was there once for the Bundi Festival, where the city offered two evenings of performances, dances at the 87-pillar cenotaph, and even provided a meal—thali and dessert—for the entire population and tourists. I’m not sure if that still happens today. Since then, all visits (baori, cenotaph) have become paid. Still, Bundi wasn’t overrun with tourists during my last visit in November 2022.

In March 2015, the palace was open when we visited and still free. This doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, as Marie Jo (aleph) mentioned. I have a wonderful memory of the magnificent frescoes, though I regret that nothing was being done to preserve them. That said, I read that restoration work might have started in 2020? We’ll be in Bundi in a few weeks. I just hope the Maharaja doesn’t stop us from visiting his beautiful palace!😅

We’re counting on you to tell us all about Bundi in 2025, Gabriele! 😊

So before heading off to new horizons, I’ll tell you a bit about Bundi mornings 😊



Because life in Bundi also happens on the rooftops, in what looks a lot like a medina.

At sunrise, it’s a real spectacle: - the macaques leaping from roof to roof, on the lookout for the slightest scrap of food, - the guy who does his slingshot practice every morning 😄 - the mom giving her little one a bucket bath, - those praying everywhere facing the sunrise, - and those doing their morning workout, like our cook, following the Hindu Toutouyoutou collective session on his phone 😆.



All of this is punctuated by a chant/prayer broadcast throughout the neighborhood—the same one women sing in the temples 🙌!

And when you head down to street level, you discover the wonderfully misnamed world of "odd jobs": barbers, of course, but also weavers, "chai wallahs," millers, jewelers, tailors (working on my grandma’s pedal sewing machine),



not to mention the milkmen who go door-to-door on their motorbikes, adorned with beautiful copper urns 🥛.



It really feels like stepping back into the beloved "good old days."



The only difference today? These ancestral artisans often have a smartphone glued to their ear 😆.

Well, it’s time to leave beautiful Bundi behind and head to a place that had me dreaming on my couch during those chilly winter days.

The magical find while scouring the web for a stop between Bundi and Udaipur: a palace in the middle of a lake!! For those who know, it’s a bit like Udaipur’s "Taj Lake Palace"—but for the budget-conscious, given the price difference (560 € a night vs. 70 bucks)... and you’ll quickly see why 😆.

The day before we arrive, we message them to ask where to catch the boat.

Lulu gets the reply in a minute, and judging by her disappointed face, I think the hotel must’ve burned down!!

But no. The answer is that we can reach the lake by road just fine since the JUSTA LAKE is basically just dry 💀. Oh, the joke!!

When you go from dream...

to reality 😱!

I know the climate here means everything dries up before the monsoon, but since all the other lakes we’d seen still had water, it hadn’t even crossed my mind that this could happen 😆.

The hotel turns out to be pure Rajasthani-style: stunning from afar but so run-down up close it’s heartbreaking 😱.

But there’s something absolutely rare and precious here—something we haven’t experienced in 12 days of traveling: even if you strain your ears, you can’t hear a single honk! We’re truly in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature, lulled only by birdsong 🙌!

And then you might ask: "Yeah, but what do you *do* in the middle of nowhere?" Well, we observe: - the royal chamber reserved for swallows,



- the many birds coming to drink from the palace pool, - the dad and his two kids casting a net to catch the few fish left at the bottom of the lake, - the neighbors next door tending their wheat field,



- the "trains" of Langur monkeys passing in the distance at dusk, - the Maharaja’s horse training at dawn, - and, of course, the sunrise and sunset with our friend the sun.



It was truly an original and welcome stop before diving into the mass tourism of the "Venice of India." Here, in this 40-room hotel, there were two Indian guests... and us 😅! Needless to say, we were *very* well taken care of 😊

I just love these scenes of daily life 🤔 but is this really how they work, the old-fashioned way?

That hotel in the middle of the dried-up lake really isn’t appealing 😅

Hi Christelle,

Just back from southern India and I’ve stumbled on your travel journal. I’ll go through it from the start while I start prepping mine... I’ve already looked into the lost suitcase thing! Ugh, that’s the worst! It’s happened to me twice. Long live shopping! (It’s a great excuse )

Hi Solene.

Since we're talking about palaces and I didn’t quite follow your whole report, I was wondering if you’d been to Udaipur? When it comes to palaces, my memories (from 1980) are a bit fuzzy... Your "palace in the middle of the dried-up lake" reminds me of another palace that looks strangely similar because it was also in the middle of a lake (not dried up, this one) in Udaipur. Was it this one? https://www.tajhotels.com/en-in/hotels/taj-lake-palace-udaipur?utm_medium=Local&utm-source=Google&utm-campaign=Taj-Lake-Palace-Udaipur Or this one: https://www.hrhhotels.com/hotels/jagmandir_island_palace/ I don’t know... it was so long ago! Back then, you could take a boat to visit it, and of course, it cost money... Unless you booked a table for lunch! (There was a restaurant.) The guy selling tickets for the visit picked up his phone to call the restaurant and reserve a table for us... It rang for ages, but no answer. The guy looked really embarrassed... We insisted, and since he couldn’t reach the restaurant, he finally let us take the boat without spending a single rupee. 😉 So we got a free tour of the palace, and we thought about having lunch there since the restaurant prices were more than reasonable, but there was way too much of a wait for our liking. Staying overnight was still a bit pricey, though! 😏

I really love these scenes of life 🤔 but is this really how they work, the old-fashioned way?

Yep, yep, Isabelle, no staging here... well, except maybe the weaver. He seemed authentic, but who knows, the scarf I bought might’ve come straight from China 😄

It’s mostly a great excuse to learn about downsizing, Catherine 😊. I’m so glad you’re putting together a travel journal. Your FB posts were a bit too brief for my taste 😄

Hi Solene.

Since it’s about palaces and I didn’t quite follow your whole travel journal, I wanted to ask if you’d been to Udaipur? In terms of palaces, my memories (from 1980) are a bit fuzzy... Your "palace in the middle of a dried-up lake" reminds me of another palace that looks strangely similar because it was also in the middle of a lake (not dried up, though) in Udaipur. Was it this one? https://www.tajhotels.com/en-in/hotels/taj-lake-palace-udaipur?utm_medium=Local&utm-source=Google&utm-campaign=Taj-Lake-Palace-Udaipur Or this one: https://www.hrhhotels.com/hotels/jagmandir_island_palace/

You’re exaggerating, Jean Michel, just looking at the pictures 😄. I explained it right here:

"For those who know, it’s kind of a ‘Taj Lake Palace’ for budget travelers, given the price difference (560 € per night vs. 70 bucks)... and you’ll quickly see why 😄"

But you’re the perfect person to ask since we’re heading to Udaipur... just not the Taj Lake Palace because our wallet wasn’t quite full enough 😢

Well, then there's Jagmandir😏

And here we are, finally arriving in the famous Udaipur, a major tourist spot in Rajasthan—if not the whole country! They often call it the "Venice of India," and even though we’ve never seen the Italian one, we quickly understand why 😄.



But before discovering this precious gem, I was a bit nervous about reaching this big city: 600,000 people live here, and thousands of tourists pass through every year!

Yet, right from the start, a huge and very pleasant surprise hits us: Incredible but true... There’s not a single piece of trash on the ground 🎉🍾🙌😂 And that’s when you realize they haven’t shown you everything 😏.

Anyway, we head to our lodging for 3 days, which doesn’t look like much at the edge of a slightly sketchy alley...



...until we reach its rooftop 😲 And then—just wow, it’s *so* beautiful!



Everywhere we look, white and ochre palaces sit at the foot of the Aravalli hills, bordered by the famous Lake Pichola and its "confetti islands."



It’s so stunning, we were glued there for hours! And if you think the delicious cocktails had something to do with it, well, you’d be partly right—we *did* celebrate our reunion with evening aperitifs 🍸🍷🥂.



By 10 PM, we’re itching to check out the neighborhood’s vibe.

And then—*bam!*—stepping out of the rooftop’s tranquility, the shock hits us!

It’s Friday night, and squeezing through the main street of the district is *really* tough!



Total chaos: honking everywhere, traffic jams so bad you have to weave between stopped scooters and tuk-tuks 😲! And when things *do* move, you feel like you’re in the middle of a bull run—you’ve gotta dodge to let them pass!

But luckily, we quickly reach a cute little pedestrian bridge where we finally take the time to soak in the "local wildlife" that’s taken over the area 😏: 95% of them are young Indians out for a party, often Dilliwalahs (yes, I *love* learning new words 😄—that’s what people from Delhi are called 😊).

What a change for us—these crowds of young people, guys and girls mixed, and *so* Westernized! Lulu’s thrilled to see all those mini-shorts 😄.

But we soon notice their faith is still very much alive. We settle into a busy pedestrian street facing a temple where a small chanting Puja is taking place.



And we see 80% of these kids stop for a few seconds, pressing their hands to their foreheads in a quick prayer 🙏.

Of course, no wild partying here. It stays pretty tame—they hang out, stroll around, and do a little shopping in the neighborhood’s many boutiques 🛍️... though we have no idea what happened after we went to bed 😄.

I'm really disappointed 🙁 I thought you'd finally go for the Lake Palace hotel. Come on! 1700 €! Christelle, seriously!

White palaces everywhere before our eyes

Well, there you go, Christelle... you’ve got at least one photo 😉



This photo is gorgeous 🙂

I'm really disappointed :( I thought you'd finally given in to the Lake Palace hotel. Come on! 1700 €! Christelle, seriously!

Missed it, Kate—I blew our budget on shopping 😅

White palaces everywhere before our eyes

Well, there you go, Christelle... you’ve got at least one photo 😉

Yes, I found it quickly in the end, Isabelle, but I’ll be disqualified for lack of white if I post this one 😄

The next morning, we had to wake up at the crack of dawn to go admire the city as it wakes up.



A few men are doing their ablutions by the lake, and I discover the almost twin of St. Mark’s Square 😲: Gangour Ghat. Old buildings that have aged beautifully, faded painted frescoes, and lovers everywhere!



I have no idea if we were just lucky or if it’s always like this, but on the two mornings we passed by, it was practically Bollywood cinema.



About ten couples in their finest attire, arriving with their photographer/assistant/wedding planner and more, to take super romantic photos in this chic setting. It was truly a feast for the eyes and a bit of a laugh too, seeing these staged scenes that looked like a contest for who’d get the most beautiful photo 😄.



Next up, a boat gliding across Lake Pichola to reach Jagmandir Island, the Maharaja of Udaipur’s holiday retreat (and no, he didn’t put us up either 😏).



A really nice little tour of the Old City market,



wandering here and there, wherever the wind took us,



and a beautiful show in the purest Rajasthani style.



This Indian Venice was truly another incredible stop, and it’s easy to see why you really need to visit Udaipur 🤩.