I stayed in a very friendly guest house just below the fort, and spent a couple of days doing absolutely nothing: lying on the roof, drinking chai, and watching the world go by. Finally I summoned up the energy to climb to the fort, and was rewarded with a staggering view from the ramparts.
After achieving very little in Jodhpur, I boarded a bus to Udaipur, which I found quite disappointing. All through my trip, I'd heard Udaipur referred to as a fairytale city, and more than a couple of travellers told me it had been one of their favourite experiences. I didn't really get either vibe.
For one thing, Udaipur is really, really touristy. After Rajasthan, you'd think I'd be used to that, but I wasn't. I think it might have been the type of tourism; Udaipur is aimed at rich Westerners rather than backpackers. The all-bells-and-whistles ticket for the City Palace was 800 rupees, a ridiculous figure by anyone's measure, especially when one considers that the Taj freaking Mahal costs 750 (and is in much better condition).
It's also not, on the face of it, all that pretty. The drought-stricken lake is full of green slime, and the haze was prohibitive - to the point that you almost can't even see the city from the infamous Monsoon Palace (look at the pictures above to see what I mean). But, when the sun sets, almost anywhere can look decent, and Udaipur is no exception.
Anyway, I definitely didn't have a bad time in Udaipur, but it wasn't stunningly good. So, there wasn't much regret when I boarded a metre-gauge stopping-all-stations train down through the Rajasthan trible area into Gujurat (a beautiful journey that, like almost everything in India, would be even better if you could see the sky).
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