Do you know what we did this November? — p4
<< p3
Chandigarh
It’s time to take a break from break and to keep up the word! Finally, we landed in our friend’s place in Chandigarh ( The ones who invited us. Remember?). We relaxed for a while with hot idly and crispy dosas. We set out again to get a feel of the city.
Chandigarh is the most planned city in India. It’s an UT and a shared capital between Punjab and Haryana. Each sector is self-equipped for the people living there with a beautiful park. Roads are wide and we heard that the traffic violations are not tolerated. Weathers are extreme. If it’s not, this must be the dream city for everyone i guess.
It’s been a week into the trip now. I was already longing for rasam rice. Our friends took us to this great place worth mentioning which serves authentic south indian . I hogged (as much as possible) for the week went by and for the week ahead.
We went to Rose garden and watched Sun set from Sukhna Lake. The lake area has nice walking/jogging tracks.
Next stop — Udaipur.
Udaipur
Udaipur is part of the earlier Mewar Kingdom. We stayed in a place called “Boheda palace”. Nice and comfy with a roof top restaurant.
We covered the tourist attractions around Lake Pichola. From the city palace, you can get a steam boat ride in the Lake Pichola. We saw the famous “Lake Palace” which is the summer palace for the royals now converted into a hotel under “Taj” groups. Boat ride dropped us in the Jag mandir which is also in the lake. This place was getting ready for wedding. We roamed around, clicked pics and waited for the boat to pick us up. After the boat ride, we went into the city palace. It is also converted into a gallery of paintings, royal jewelries, armoury etc.
Don’t miss to try out the food at “Natraj Dining hall and restaurant”. We tried this place for both lunch and dinner. We were very happy with the food and service.
There are some places around Udaipur worth visiting.
Dilwara temples
Dilwara temples is located on Mt. Abu about 163 km from Udaipur. We drove down ourselves. The road up the hill is good enough and the drive was comfortable. We had planned only to visit the Dilwara temples as we had to return to Udaipur. It is a Jain temple known for it’s artistic marble work inside. Photography is not allowed inside. We were asked to keep all our bags and phones outside in the baggage counter itself. There are five temples inside each dedicated to a Jain Tirthankara. It was purposefully made to look simple from outside in order to avoid destruction by the invaders. But, the inside of the temple will WOW you. There are temple appointed guides who take people in batches inside and explain about the temple.
Ranakpur
Ranakpur is about 93 kms from Udaipur and is also known for the Jain temple. The drive to the place is little adventurous. This place also has some fine carvings in the pillars and ceilings of the temple. They serve lunch here. Food was simple and delicious with a reasonable price.
It ends here. It’s a trip we are going to relish for a very long time. :)