Udaipur

We returned from Udaipur this morning at 4am and I am paying the price this afternoon. I had to leave class a bit early because I was coming apart at the seams. I ventured out again this afternoon only to make contact with you all, and then I will rush back to the quiet of my room. I am very homesick and sleepy today. Certainly this has to do with that feeling that comes with returning from vacation, and returning to the harsh reality of daily life in a huge polluted and fast paced city. Have I mentioned the traffic? The horns are s constant soundtrack that I have had to learn to not hear.

In Udaipur I had a lovely time, reading for my own work, reading the paper, ordering room service on our balcony, and watching birds and monkeys making their way through the day. There were also sites to see, and I have added a new slideshow, but mostly we read and read and it was wonderful. Udaipur is much smaller than Ahmedabad, and far more beautiful, but also a lot more touristy.

Two of the best things about the trip were that we could have beer at the restaurants (Gujarat is a dry state), and the last hour of the train ride into the city through the Rajasthani countryside. There is one photo of it. That stretch of the ride was very very slow, so I could see well the handful of brightly clad women farmers in the fields already at work early early in the morning. It was breathtaking, particularly after three weeks in one of the largest cities in India.