From the banks of Lake Pichola

Travelled by bus from Jaisalmer to Udaipur - a 14 hour journey by bus on Indian roads, which are mostly unsurfaced, and extremely bumpy. Amazingly we managed to get quite a lot of sleep and arrived at Udaipur at six in the morning. Found the Panorama guesthouse, which is a wonderful place overlooking Lake Pichola, and huddled under a blanket on the terrace until our room became available.
Of Udaipur, it is a gorgeous place, surrounded by rolling misty hills. The lake gives it a kind of Venetian feel, and it is referred to here as the Venice of India. Monsoons of the previous few years have been so bad that the lake has been completely dry but thanks to this years heavy rains it is the fullest it has been for thirty years.
A visit to the City Palace provided much information about Udaipur's history. Founded in 1559, it has been under the rule of successive Maharanas who live in the palace. It has always remained independent of Mughal influence, and is referred to sometimes as The White City. We were surprised to discover that the colours relating to particular towns (such as Jaipur- the Pink City) have a deeper significance and are not simply to do with the colour of the buildings. Jodhpur, for example, is known as The Blue City. This is because the women of Jodhpur are renowned for their beauty and many Maharanas preferred Jodhpur women as their wives. In India, blue is the colour of love.
We have been feeding the chipmunks chips this morning, they're very brave and take food right out of your hand. We were planning to leave tomorrow but have extended our stay as we're having a lot of fun here and have yet to make it to the Monsoon Palace...

For Lawrence, thank you for your message- here are the details of our journey so far:
Arrive Delhi 01/01/07, 11:30. Leave 05/01/07, 17:45
Arrive Jaisalmer 06/01/07, 14:00. Leave 13/01/07, 15:30
Arrive Udaipur 14/01/07, 06:00