Udaipur, popularly known as the Venice of the East, is a small city in the state of Rajasthan. Its also the historic capital of the former kingdom of Mewar. Having heard about Udaipur from a lot of people and also the fact that it was just an overnight journey away from Ahmedabad, I decided to visit the ‘City of Lakes’.

One of the first things that you notice at Udaipur is the narrow streets and the hilly terrain. The whole city is like a maze with lots of twists and turns and is bustling with people – locals and tourists alike. We hired a scooter, bought a map and decided to venture out and hit all the ‘must-see’ places at Udaipur. At the top of the list and most obvious one at that, was the City Palace.

The City Palace was originally built by Maharana Udai Singh in the 16th century. The present form of the palace was a result of the expansions by later Maharanas. It is touted as being the largest palace in Rajasthan and overlooks the Pichola Lake. Entry into the palace costs Rs.50 per person and if you intend to take photographs, you’d have to shell out an additional Rs.200 for the camera.

The City Palace from the inside is a work of art. Every corner of the palace has intricate details in its architecture, which seems to be a blend of Medieval European and Chinese influences. There are lots of tour guides who converse fluently in English, French and few other european languages, lurking around the palace who are eager to take you around the place for a small fee. Personally, the best part of the palace was at the top in one of the private balconies – you get a panoramic view of the city. After spending about 3 hours exploring the palace, we headed out for refreshments.

Along the road that connects the City Palace and Jagdish Temple, we stopped at a small shop that had a big board of lassi outside it. It was undoubtedly the best lassi I had ever. It was deliciously creamy, thick and had a sprinkle of saffron/rose essence that gave it a unique flavor.

Post lunch, we headed to see the vintage car collection of the maharanas of Udaipur. There were the Rolls Royces, Morrises and Cadillacs of the yesteryears all kept in mint condition. The maharanas had even converted a Rolls Royce into a 4 wheel drive for safaris and game hunting. Entry to the Classic Car museum costs Rs.100 per head and also includes a welcome drink.

Realizing it was getting late, we soon headed to view the sunset at the Pichola lake. The sunset terrace at Shiv Niwas Palace (now a heritage hotel) was the perfect place to be and although we missed the sunset, we did get to experience twilight and that was fantastic. The sky turned from blue to shades of light maroon before gradually fading to black. Both the Shiv Niwas and the Fateh Prakash Palace (which has the famous Durbar Hall and crystal gallery) were beautifully lit at night and was a sight to see.

To catch a view of the city at night, we climbed a hill near the Fateh Sagar Lake and was enthralled to see the lighted city. The Fateh Sagar is an artificial lake built by Mahrana Fateh Singh and stretches to approximately 2.5kms in length. There are quite a few road side eateries that serve nice paav bhajis, dosas and other popular chat items.

The following morning we headed to Sajjangarh or the Monsoon Palace built by Maharana Sajjan Singh in the late 19th century. Located at a height of 3100 feet above sea level, the palace offers a panoramic view of the city and lakes below. The climb to the palace is well laid out and is easily approachable by motor vehicles. The view of the Aravalli mountain range around the palace and the city below was mesmerizing! You can imagine the kind of lifestyles these maharanas had centuries before.

On our descent from the monsoon palace, we came across a few traditional folk artists preparing for a performance for the delegates of the India International Rubber Conference which was happening during that time. Of particular interest to me was this person playing the ‘Ravanhatta’ which sounded like the instrument used in the song ‘Yeh Hosla’ from the movie Dor. I requested him to play ‘Kesariya Balam’, a traditional Rajasthani folk song that I really like and he obliged. I recorded the piece on my cellphone and its now my ringtone!

The last leg of the trip was the boat ride at Pichola Lake. A half hour ride costs Rs.50 and you get to see the Lake Palace and Jag Mandir up close. The ride also offers a venetian view of the city thats simply beautiful. After a pleasant boat ride where I clicked over 100 photos, we returned to the city to catch our train back home.