Maharaja's bedroom




Cara in an old tiger trapping cage

We've been in Udaipur the last few days, and have been very busy looking at palaces. Uddaipur is known as the lake city. The palaces are amazing. Three of them were used in the James Bond movie Octopussy! They were built by maharajahs centuries ago. It's really incredible to see the wealth and power the maharajahs had. Two of the palaces are on islands in the middle of the lake. One of those is a working luxury hotel that has rooms starting at over two hundred dollars a night! The only way you can see that one is if you stay there, or eat at the restaurant which costs at least forty dollars a plate! I wouldn't mind working there, I wonder how much they pay their cooks! One of the best things about this town, though is a restaurant we found. It might be the best place to eat in India! We got the recommendation from an old man that we talked to who seemed to know what he was talking about. As soon as we walked in, we knew we were in for a treat. It was a rather dingy looking place almost filled to capacity with Indian families gleefully stuffing their faces. Obviously very popular with the locals. We sat down, and didn't receive any menus, because they only serve one thing, Gujarati thali. There were about six waiters walking around with serving dishes filled with several different items, and they just scoop some onto your plate! Any time your plate runs low, they scoop some more on. Thali is like a little of everything: dhal, curd, potato, vegetables, chipate, rice, or really whatever you want as long as it is a nice round meal. We have gone back every night we've been here, and each night is different. You could conceivably eat there every night of the week and not have the same thing! Oh, and it was only Fifty rupees per person which is roughly a dollar each. Needless to say we are on our way to eat there again tonight, I had a light lunch and I think I'm ready!-ashby