This is the end?!?

Yes, can you believe it? My travels (and work, because honestly that’s what allowed my fantastic journeys—thank you MSF!) have come to an end. It has been such a great time and I thank you all for sharing it with me. I know that several of you have tried to send me comments and somehow they have not come through. Drop a line at your convenience: mrellim99@yahoo.com

I wish you all the best!!!!

Maureen

She knows one thing more than the devil

An old Italian proverb to describe one who does something when all others question her sanity and not only does she turn out to be right, the thing turns out to be amazing. Yes folks, I am that devil. After the long slog to Agra to see the Taj Mahal (ho-hum another shiny white tribute to that emperor of the universe Shah Jahan), I made an executive decision. Once I arrived in Udaipur, city on the lake, I would not be moving. Nope. I was NOT going to go traipsing around Rajasthan as planned. Rather, I would set myself up in some old decaying castle and explore my environs from there, since public transportation is not quite what it should be in this part of the world—even the pricy and just as unreliable first class option.

I have to say that this devil is having a BLAST shopping and strolling through castles and temples and marketplaces. When I compared notes with more ambitious travelers, all agreed that Udaipur was probably the best and most relaxing place to be ‘stuck.’ Udaipur or bust. I’m glad I went for it.

Octopussy

Did you know that Octopussy—the absolute WORST James Bond 007 film ever!—was made in Udaipur—and East Berlin, but that no longer exists. To commemorate this famed event, there are daily showings, everywhere!!! Since it was so difficult to avoid, I finally succumbed and went on to some rooftop, curled up with some Indian food and a blanket and watched this awful film to the backdrop of the spectacularly lit castles and havelis that constitute the city of Udaipur. Quite honestly, not much has changed in this town since they made that film in 1980.

The Udaipur County Fair

Who knew they had these kinds of things in India? Four of us squeezed ourselves into one of those tiny green and yellow auto rickshaws that are built for two but I’ve seen hold as many as seven—plus the driver. We took a fantastic tour around first one lake and then another with floating water castles gleaming whitely under a perfect blue sky on our way to the unpromisingly named town of Shilpgram Utsav. Say that three times fast. And what to my wondering eyes should appear but my first Indian drag queen! Yes, indeedy, I did a double take to determine if it could really be true. Not only was there one drag queen, there were two! And a handsome fellow with the ubiquitous Rajasthani mustache being strapped into a horse outfit. These three twirled their little hearts out. Ok, not quite grandma’s county fair.

The place was filled with vendors selling typical arts and crafts of the region, and occasionally plastic goods from China, which seemed to be quite popular. Once I saw a wandering Genghis Khan I knew I was in the right place. The day’s festivities culminated in traditional performances from every province in India. My personal favorite was the ecstatic trance dancers from Manipur. I don’t think I need to say more on that topic…