Bruce and Jennifer met me after breakfast and we set off to the lake to find a tuk-tuk to take us to the Palace. We were accompanied by a young man from Montreal in his twenties who was wandering around India.
I was intrigued by this deserted building by the lake and somehow I suspect it will be an expensive hotel before too long.
This woman kept this pose for quite a while so I managed to take the photo.
The water in the lake is quite still with a few ripples.
We walked along the bank towards the bridge. This day it was the turn of the men to wash. As I passed the man in the distance, he was doing exercises where he was making his stomach roll.
The foot bridge.
We met some others in the group who were having breakfast after a yoga class. They all enjoyed the class and were impressed by the radiance of spirit from the teacher. George and Grace are quite fit and run with others of similar ages a few times a week.
Johanna was showing her heena from the private house dinner in Jailsalmer.
Crossing the bridge.
There is a similar bridge for traffic.
The bridges span a short river between two lakes.
Shortly after we reached the main road, our Montreal friend negotiated a low price for a tuk-tuk to take us to the Palace. Since he had been travelling for some time he was very experienced at negotiating. It was a wider tuk-tuk than normal and all four of us fit in somehow with our man from Montreal up front with the driver.
We reached the bottom gate and then had to buy a ticket for entry and a separate ticket for a jeep to take us to the top of the mountain.
I noticed a man cleaning cobwebs at the top of the gate using a brush tied to a long piece of bamboo.
Our jeep.
A small tower just below the palace.
There are monkeys in this tree but they are hard to see. Click on the photo to enlarge.
The gate to the Palace.
The back of the Palace does not look all that impressive.
Although it was very hazy, the views were impressive.
Inner gate.
These balconies were used in the Bond film Octopussy.
The actual entrance is not grand at all.
Staircase to the upper floor. You realize very quickly that the film used the general outline of the Palace and the concept of the balconies but the insides are nothing like the film.
It is still impressive if a bit worn and in need of work.
Just as a side note. These power connections are common in India. Bring appropriate plugs.
Tigers and panthers used to be common and the area surrounding the Palace is a reserve.
I think this is the roof of the ground floor.
Views to the west away from Udaipur.
I suspect a few million dollars could really transform this Palace. Yes, some repairs are needed but the bones appear to be solid.
The Palace was built as a place to observe the clouds during monsoon season. It was also to be used for astronomy.
I went up the stairs to the top floor.
Whenever I enter an unfamiliar house of building, I always try to pick the room where I would set up my stereo system. It would need some work, but this is it.
Views from the four windows
And door to the outside balcony.
I think this is where the helicopter lands in the film.
I think this is Jennifer.
Aerials on top. You would get good reception this high up but I suspect lightning might be a problem.
Bruce plays the guitar and after dinner the night before we stopped to look at sitars in a shop close to our hotel. The owner gave us a brief lesson in how to play the tabla and Bruce then tried the sitar. I bought a CD of sitar music to play very loud when I get home.
It is apparently fiendishly difficult to play but you might like to watch this.
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