Northern India: Udaipur and Pushkar

Udaipur

We spent three nights in the city of Udaipur which is sometimes called the ‘Venice of the East’ because it is surrounded by lakes. The city is a popular tourist destination for both Indians and foreigners. It is also a popular location for Indian weddings with numerous lavish lakefront venues. Quite a few films have been shot in Udaipur, including scenes from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Darjeeling Unlimited, the James Bond film Octopussy, as well as many Bollywood films. 

One evening we attended the Dharohar Folk Dance performance, which showcased several traditional folk dances and puppet performances. The dancers were females of all ages in beautiful traditional costumes accompanied by a live band on an outdoor stage.

The first act involved dancing with bowls of fire balanced on top of the dancers’ heads. Another dance performance involved a woman balancing eleven stacked pots on top of her head while twirling and dancing and even walking on shards of glass. Another act involved a group of females playing small symbols attached all over their bodies while dancing in a seated position. The puppetry, which was much more comical than the dancing, was performed by a man with puppets of camels and people doing funny things. This show happens every night and almost always sells out so it is quite popular.

Another fun activity we enjoyed in Udaipur is rooftop dining. There are many rooftop restaurants with views of Lake Pichola in Udaipur. We had a lovely meal while enjoying lake views at Hotel Udaigarh’s rooftop restaurant one evening. They also have a rooftop pool area overlooking the lake. Some scenes from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movie were filmed at this hotel.

There are many old havelis that have been converted into hotels in Udaipur. Some are pristinely maintained and others are in states of severe disrepair and neglect. The Lake Palace, which covers an entire island, is now an exclusive luxury Taj hotel with access allowed only for hotel guests. Boat tours around Lake Pichola are offered every day and provide a chance to view the scenery and architecture surrounding the lake area. We took a lake cruise at sunset and it was pleasant. The air was rather hazy as it has been everywhere we’ve been in India so far so the visibility for long range views was not the best. 

We took a guided tour of the impressive City Palace, which is a grand complex that was built over many years starting around 1553. The complex includes eleven small separate palaces all built primarily with granite and marble. There are beautiful paintings, colored glass, marble-work, and murals throughout the complex.

We also visited the Gangaur Ghat along the lake where we saw people washing laundry in the lake water. In India a ghat is a flight of steps leading down to water that is often used for washing, bathing, and ceremonies. 

Rob and I also visited Animal Aid, which is an animal emergency treatment hospital and sanctuary about thirty minutes outside of central Udaipur. There are many animals, especially cows and dogs, living on the streets in India. People usually feed street animals but will not pay for them to receive medical care. Animal Aid provides medical care to sick or injured street animals and then if possible releases them back to the same spot where they were picked up once they are well enough to survive. Some animals stay at their center permanently in a sanctuary area. They have ambulances that will pick injured and sick animals up when needed and bring them to their center for treatment. For various reasons, street dogs are not appropriate to adopt out as pets. Unfortunately many street dogs have rabies but Animal Aid gives vaccinations when they treat animals. They also perform spaying and neutering and education about animal welfare in the community.

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During our visit we were given a tour and learned the back stories of some of the animals at the sanctuary. They have cows, goats, donkeys, dogs, birds, cats, chickens, and bulls in their care. We enjoyed spending time with the orphaned baby cows petting and brushing them. They were so sweet and and full of personality. There was a special section for animals who are handicapped where they receive special care and treatments, including hydrotherapy. It was sad to see so many animals that required treatment because they had been intentionally harmed by people. It was also quite heartwarming to see the love and care being given to the animals by the Animal Aid staff and volunteers. They are working hard to help animals in need. 

We enjoyed lovely meals and good conversations at some of the local cafes in Udaipur. We met one restaurant owner who has a pay it forward program to buy coffee, chai, and meals for the needy by matching donations given by customers. We also chatted with a lovely mother / daughter team in their cafe about vegan cooking and how they find new cooking ideas on You Tube. We enjoyed the most beautiful and delicious chocolate tart with fresh pomegranate in their shop.

Pushkar

From Udaipur we traveled a few hours by train to Pushkar. The town of Pushkar is centered around the Pushkar Lake and is home to many temples. The city is considered sacred by Hindus and there is no consumption of meat, eggs, or alcohol allowed at any restaurants within the city. There are endless shops selling jewelry, clothes, and souvenirs. Our time in Pushkar coincided with the last few days of the Pushkar Camel Fair, which from what I understand used to be a big camel trading event in the region but has devolved into a tourist-centric event that draws huge crowds. Because of this the city was extremely crowded with people. 

We decided to walk to the Camel Fair to see what it was all about. On our way there the streets were so crowded with people in places that we were often crammed shoulder to shoulder as we walked. I am not sure how many people attend the fair but it seemed like there were 100,000 people walking through town with us to get there. There also did not seem to be many foreigners in the large crowd.

Once we reached the fair we found carnival style rides and many food vendors set up in a large outdoor space. The crowd was massive and there were camels dressed up and giving rides to people for entertainment. The environment with so many people and loud noises seemed most unhealthy for the camels and we found the whole scene rather disturbing. Some of the camels had open sores and did not look well. We found the fair to be an unpleasant event that was not worth going to. We also were bombarded by people wanting to take their photo with us at the fair, which became rather overwhelming. Many people in India seem to want to take photos of themselves with foreigners they do not know for some reason. We will be in so many photos with people from India that we do not know after this trip. 

We watched a Hindu ceremony involving music, fire, and dancing one evening beside the lake which was interesting. We also enjoyed several nice meals at Nature’s Blessing, a lovely little restaurant near our hotel that served healthy, fresh food and was an oasis from the crowds. Unfortunately, Pushkar was one of those places where most people who spoke to us seemed to either only want to sell us something or get a tip from us for something we didn’t actually want. I suspect Pushkar would have been much nicer to visit when the fair was not happening and it was less crowded. We were quite happy to move on after two nights there.