*Pat and Hea are travelling now and they sent me very interesting travelogue. He did OK to put it on our web page.   I picked some of the pictures that they sent to me.   by Shine

After driving 6 hrs+, we finally arrived at Udaipur. Our chauffeur again told us about his good driving experience that consists of 3 things
1. Good brake, 2. Good horn and 3. Good luck. I told him, with me, I don't need the 3rd element and he laughed and corrected himself that the 3rd element actually is "Good decision making"....
Udaipur is the Dream City of Rajasthan. It is often referred to as the landscaped city and is fondly called the "Venice of the East" .The Palace Museum, Sahelion ki Bari, Jag Mandir, the temples of Nathwada and Eklingji stand as witnesses to the hoary past. Our program today includes an evening boat cruise in the Lake Pichola - will take us around the stupendous forts, grandiose palaces and havelis and this should be an unforgettable fairytale experience.

Call it the land of kings or the land of colors, Rajasthan's heritage, culture, safaris, sand dunes, lush forests and wildlife-makes it a fascinating destinatiion. The desert state is very popular for its rich culture and traditions, a glimpse of which we can see in the music and dances of Rajasthan that allure and soothe our heart. The colorful Pushkar fair adds more beauty to the state and brings alive the rich tradition of Rajasthan enhancing the glory of the golden sand. Our next destination after spending 2 nights in Udaipur will be Pushkar and we'll be staying in something called "Luxury Tent Hotel" that left us curious from the beginning to find out what it would be like.

Rajasthan is a land of romantic palaces and magnificent forts, boasting of tales of courage and sacrifice. A visit to these Forts and Palaces was an altogether new experience The Umaid Bhavan palace is one of the largest royal palaces in the world.

Rajasthan is also noted for national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. There are four national parks and wildlife sanctuaries here. In the next seveal days, we'll spend a night and take a jeep safari ride in Sariska Tiger reserve of Alwar, and this Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary is known worldwide for their tiger population and considered by both wild lovers and photographers as the best places in India to spot tigers.

A must see place in Rajasthan is Udaipur (We arrived here last night)-which is all in praise for its beauty, culture, architectural heritage property and the Udaipur palace. Udaipur, one of the most beautiful cities of Rajasthan, often called 'Venice of the East'. It is also the 'City of Lakes'. The Lake Palace (Jag Niwas) located in the middle of Pichola Lake is the finest example of architectural and cultural marvel. The grand City Palace on the banks of the lake along with the Monsoon Palace (Sajjan Garh) on the hill above enhances the beauty of this magnificent city. Udaipur is also the centre for performing arts, crafts and its famed miniature paintings.

Last night I managed to download my 2 fully exposed memory cards (15GB) from my cameras to my external drive. Since they are in RAW format, I'll find a quiet day to work on converting them into jpg and hopefully send some photos later on in the next few days when we have a chance to rest at Jaipur, the pink city of Rajasthan.

This morning I got up with the breaking sound of the wild swans in the lake in front of our room and cry of the black faced monkeys in the wood. We'll leave our imagination to the capacities of our mind in the hours to follow.

Pat & Hea

email address: joyluckgp@yahoo.com