Swoon, sigh . . Udaipur is, without doubt, the most romantic place I’ve ever visited.  I thought I was just coming for a couple of days, but fell head-over-heels in love with the city on the day I arrived.  Five days later, I’m already feeling nostalgic for this glorious, dreamy lake city as I prepare to jump on the night train to Delhi.

Flowers in the lake

There’s been a fair amount of sitting in lovely lakeside or rooftop restaurants, gazing at the lake and its palaces:

Lake Palace hotel

City Palace

I’ve also made like a Maharaja, exploring the palaces belonging to the Mewar dynasty and enjoying a truly delightful “fake it till you make it” few hours at the Shiv Niwas Palace Hotel’s marble outdoor swimming pool (which I had all to myself for the afternoon!)

“My” swimming pool

On Jagmandir Island

Bagore-ki-haveli

Me & the Maharaja’s MG

Back in the real world, I’ve got lost in the overgrown Sajjan Niwas Gardens (where I briefly became a celebrity as lots of excited children decided to try out their English on me: “Hel-lo!  Hel-lo!  Hel-lo!”)

Sajjan Niwas Gardens

Continuing on this theme, I then went and got lost in the city’s colourful bazaars, until the nice boys in Udaipur’s premier brass instrument shop set me on my way via some delicious jalebi sweets, a cup of chai and a coconut juice.

Udaipur bazaars

Brassed off

Memorably, I also stumbled upon an evening of dancing at the fairy-light-tastic Jagdish Temple, which was just amazing – seemingly the whole city was gathered in the courtyard, singing along and clapping as the DJ spun tracks and a few brave souls got up to dance in front of the crowd.

Jagdish Temple

And that’s without even mentioning the, um, significant contribution I’ve made to the local economy.  Sigh, swoon . . . Udaipur, miss you already.