Skip to main content

Udaipur - Holi Madness



Udaipur was one of my favorite places. With a large lake that splits the town, it is reminiscent of cities such as Venice or Budapest. The city was a relaxing place to hang out, even during Holi.











Breakfast at Udaikoti Hotel.









The man on the left flagged us down when we were paddle boating the lake. Despite warnings not to touch land, we couldn't say no to such a display of enthusiasm, so we stopped and enjoyed his lakeside property while sipping lassis.

The fun begins. There were huge bonfires at night filled with firecrackers. It was deafening. I was told that part of Holi is buring the dead from the winter, hence the bonfires. The colors used to be various minerals to help the dried out winter skin.




I was excited to get in the middle of the action, so I headed out into the streets with the goal of getting colored and picking up some art. It took me walking down the driveway of the hotel in a white shirt to be spotted and I was I was politely painted on my face by a few guys. My favorite sight on the walk was 2 boys up in the 2nd story with a bucket and squirt gun, looking to attack.



I made it to the art dealer without being totally covered, but she still thought I was nuts as she was staying inside for the day. Her neighbors weren't and they invited me upstairs for some more color and pics.







I returned to the hotel and found the owner's party in the backyard: buckets of water, plates of powdered color, a troupe of British actors, a band and food. Karen came down and joined us. She was instantly chased around the yard - fresh meat!






Such fun! This is a holiday I could repeat.



Comments

Unknown said…
Wow.. it's a really lot of fun. I have seen this in a movie where in people are staying in there houses because they are afraid to get colored. The actor in the movie did not know about this festivity and he went out to go to the office but was shocked when people are throwing colored waters at him. At first he got mad but at the he enjoyed it as much as everybody did. haahha


Udaipur Holiday Packages
April 9, 2010 at 2:43 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vizag: clean city by the sea

Visakhapatnam (or Vizag) wasn't on the radar. It is one of the cleanest places we'd been India. I had no idea it was a city in South East India or how to pronounce it. Only learned it existed because when we tried to get our boarding passes in the airport in Sri Lanka to come to India we needed to show an outbound flight. Walking across the boarder to Myanmar wasn't accepted. Next time will remember to book on a site that allows cancellation after 24 hours, but in the early morning panic that didn't happen. Then it turned out to be overly complicated and expensive to cross overland from India to Myanmar, so we decided to use the flights to Kuala Lumpur and come in from the South. Vizag was now in the itinerary. Get there We took a train from Puri to Khurda junction. And then transfered to a sleeper to Vizag. There is a waiting room in Khurda upstairs to charge phones and sit. Eat, drink, sleep - Sree residency was a great spot to sleep. It was cheaper online. G...
Post a Comment
Read more

Konark and Puri: see the Sun temple

A site noted that the sun temple at Konark is in the top 10 architecturally. It was on the way to Vizag, so seemed like a good place to stop and boy was the temple impressive. Get in It's a 8 hour train ride from Kolkata to Puri. Arriving at 12am wasn't ideal as tuk tuk drivers were limited and many guest houses full or closed. Eat, drink, sleep - The Pink House is a relic from the 70s. I'm guessing the cockroach in the bathroom has been there that long as well based on its size. Rooms are very basic, somewhat clean, and ours along the walkway was loud. However for Rs. 600-800, you can't complain too much. We also had decent food there. What we did - Puri beach is sadly a mess. Children playing on the beach and using it as a toilet (you had to watch your step). There is trash all over, the only upside of which is the boys use the styrofoam to make boats. Dude asking for photo on the Puri beach.  Children playing with self-made styrofoam boats ...
1 comment
Read more

Mumbai: Sasson docks and colonial architecture

One of my favorite parts of Mumbai are the Gothic Victorian style buildings that abound the southern part. The Lonely Planet has a walking tour, which we followed part of and it can be combined with a trip to Sasson docks, a bustling fishing port, and Marine drive. To finish off, climb up the intercontinental hotel for a view of Marine drive at night when the Queen's necklace is all lit up. Southern part of Marine drive  There was so much happening at the Sassoon docks: boats being loaded with ice or unloaded of fish, fish being sorted, haircuts, games, children coming from school, and ice being crushed. It was cool to be in the midst of the hustle and bustle. Ice being crushed Loading ice onto the fishing boats Taking a pause from loading ice onto the boat Getting a haircut on the docks Fixing the fishing nets Squid being tossed off the boat Lady strikes a pose Lunch time on the fishing boat Love the brightly colored trucks ...
6 comments
Read more