Mindscape in Words: Udaipur Journals, Part 1 || Celebrating 4th Blogoversary!

Hello Readers!! Today marks the 4th BLOGOVERSARY of MINDSCAPE IN WORDS!! With few postings in a few months & few breaks now & then, somehow, I have successfully completed 4 years of blogging!! And, what's better to celebrate a blogoversary if not with a travel post!? So, here goes my Udaipur trip from my diary to my blog! Hope you enjoy the tour!

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I recently had the chance to go to Udaipur for 2 to 3 days’ visit. The moment it was decided that the destination will be Udaipur, I spent a lot of time planning, scheduling & shortlisting places to visit. Of course, a beautiful city like Udaipur deserves much more than 3 days! In case you are planning to visit just Udaipur, plan a trip for at least 5 days! You can never get bored of this city, because you can find beauty & grace in every nook & corner; literally.

On the first day, I covered 3 places; the City Palace, Monsoon Palace (Sajjangarh Fort) & Fateh Sagar lake. Shall we begin?

~~ City Palace ~~

Entrance to the City Palace!

View on the Left side after entering.

City Palace is in the centre of the Old City in Udaipur. I entered from the Tripoliya Gate which is at the northern side if you check it on Google Maps. It is closer from Jagdish temple as well. It takes about 2 hours to explore the whole place. I entered & roamed around for a bit. It was a huge place with tall towers & big structures. After entering, on the immediate left, there is a view of the city. As the palace is located a bit above the ground, the view looks really nice. There is a garden & fountains in the middle of the stretch for people to take photos. I roamed around some more. There’s a fine restaurant named Palki Khana within the palace which is quite famous. You can try that out as well. I took some rest then headed towards the museum tour! It is at the end of the palace, on the right.

About the museum, you should make up your mind before starting the tour because it takes a lot of time to finish it. There are a lot of hallways, stairs going upwards & downwards & quite a lot of reading about the history & time spent on photography. If you hire a guide (which isn't really necessary) then it may not take too much time as they tell everything & then hurry you up. Also, there isn't an exit midway. You need to go through the entire maze up until you finish the tour. So, if you are with kids or you’re not fit or something of the kind, then you need to re-think about it. Because it sure as hell will end up with you being tired & exhausted.

With that being said, the museum tour is wonderful. There are a lot of beautiful views, detailed architectural works & splendid historical artefacts with stories around it. There is always that feeling you get of how it must have been back then, the thought about the lives of these great kings & queens & warriors, the thought of the whole grandeur & richness of the place. And you get to be where history was created & imagine thinking all these things! It’s really something I feel grateful about.

The things I loved about the tour are in those beautiful photos taken inside the museum! Do check them out on your visit. I will give City Palace a 3.5/5 stars.

Once the museum tour ends, you can go for boating from City Palace itself. This is a better option, because the tours from the palace halt at the Jagmandir Island unlike other private boating tours. And, it is a MUST to go to the Jagmandir Island. Unfortunately, I was way too tired to keep going. So, I decided to skip boating in Lake Pichola & consequentially a visit to Jagmandir Island.

If you are staying for more days, you can book one whole day to cover these 4 places:

Jagdish temple, City Palace, Lake Pichola & Jagmandir Island.

Some Useful Info:

Timings: For City Palace, 7 AM to 11 PM || For City Palace Museum, 9.30 AM to 5.30 PM

How far away: In the Old City

Rates: For City Palace, Rs. 50 || For City Palace Museum, Rs. 250

~~ Monsoon Palace / Sajjangarh Fort ~~

After the exhausting yet amazing tour of City Palace, I went back at the hotel I was staying to freshen up. Soon, I left for Monsoon Palace, which is also known as Sajjangarh Fort. It is located a little bit outside the city. You can go here by a local rickshaw which will drop you at the foot of the fort. From there, you can get on-board with their taxis which take you to the top. The frequency is about 10 minutes & as per the crowd. Personal cars & 2 wheelers are also allowed to the top after paying some charges. Also, another important thing, cameras are not allowed! I know, right? I was totally bummed out when I knew that. I had to take some photos from my phone, which, to be honest, aren't that great. Why would cameras not be allowed from a point that has the view of the entire city!?? Have a look at the LQ photos though-

Climb up to the Sajjangarh Fort

View from the top!

Finally got a decent photo of myself!!

So, once you reach the top, there is an AMAZING VIEW of the entire city! Well, that’s always a given. You may or may not like some local sightseeing places, but the ones at the top with the view are ALWAYS the ones you can count on. After all, they are worth the climb!

You can see the rich white city below with the 2 gorgeous lakes with some palaces within them & it's all just so breath-taking. You can stay here for a beautiful sunset or a sunrise & you won't be disappointed. An hour here will feel like a minute & you will still have time to wonder about all the beauty that reflects from the city onto you. I'll give Monsoon palace 4.5/5 stars.

Some Useful info:

Timings: 9.30 AM to 7 PM

How far away: 20 minutes away from Old City

Rates: Entry fee Rs. 3 || Additional for taxi

~~ Fateh Sagar Lake ~~

I wanted to stay at the Monsoon Palace to watch the sunset, but that was hours away, so I decided to go to the next & last place for the day; Fateh Sagar lake. As I couldn't go at Lake Pichola, I made it a point to not miss out on Fateh Sagar lake. And, let me tell this to you folks right now. No matter how sunny or cloudy or cold it is, no matter how tired or exhausted you are, NO MATTER WHAT, do not miss this place! Fateh Sagar lake was the highlight of my trip. I stepped down at the Fateh Sagar Pal, which is an 800 meters long straight walk by the lake. Quite like Mumbai's Marine Drive. I think these photos will justify my words:

Start of the Fateh Sagar Pal.

That's what I'm talking about!!

I walked all the way till the end & again all the way back. To tell you the truth, it became an impromptu photo walk! There I was, facing the lake, walking upwards & sideways & criss-crossing with my tripod & the camera on top of it! I didn't for once stop to think about 'what people might think'. I didn't for once worry about my work or my friends or their lives. Somehow all the daily drama that I worried about seemed trivial & i was glad for it. That place was for me as I was for it. It had this strong magnetic attraction that left me in awe. I sat for a while taking in the beauty of the place.

Sound of water dancing gracefully..

Colour of the sun painting the sky poetically..

Freeness of the wind musing over & above..

I was truly at peace in this serenity..

If you are in Udaipur, drop your bags & go visit the magical Fateh Sagar lake. I'd surely give it 5/5 stars.

I clicked a lot of amazing photos. Here are a few!