My last day in Udaipur I shared a cab with three other people out to Kumbalgarh Fort and Ranakpur, about 90 kilometers from Udaipur into the countryside. It was an incredibly beautiful drive through scrubby, dry rolling hills, and then seemingly in the middle of nowhere were these beautiful temple complexes. The Jain temple at Ranakpur was one of the most detailed and exquisite temples I have ever seen.


Ranakpur


Ranakpur


Jain temple detail


detail


detail Jain temple


Ranakpur Jain temple


Ranakpur Jain Temple


Kumbalgarh fort


Kumbalgarh fort

Kumbalgarh fort


view from Kumbalgarh


Kumbalgarh fort


Udaipur at dusk


Lake Palace Hotel, Udaipur






Udaipur


Lake Palace at night


dusk in Udaipur


bathers in Udaipur at dusk


City Palace


my hotel in Udaipur (from the water)

Udaipur is my favorite Indian city so far. I have a hotel that overlooks lake Pichola, and there is a beautiful white palace on the water that looks different and glorious in every light. I have spent many long hours staring out across the lake.



City Palace, Udaipur


Udaipur


City Palace museum exhibit (very strange)


City Palace


crush of Indian humanity in the City Palace--wall to wall pushy people


City Palace interior, Udaipur


City Palace interior, Udaipur


Udaipur




Lake Palace Hotel, Udaipur


people waiting at train station


Raj Mandir cinema


Raj Mandir Cinema interior lobby







My last day in Jaipur I spent wandering around the old town, visiting the museum at Albert Hall, and then going to see a bollywood movie at the famous Raj Mandir cinema. I saw "Lady in Blue," which was sort of like "Too Fast Too Furious" meets some treasure hunting movie. It was terrible, really, but tons of fun anyway, even though it was entirely in Hindi. I was shocked at how sexualized the women in the movie were; it was in stark contrast to the way women dress in India in general. It was aggregiously sexual/racy even by Hollywood standards. All the female characters were wearing tiny dresses, and there were lots of underwater bikini butt shots.

I took a night train to Udaipur.

Notes:

Upon request, I have posed for dozens of photos with Indian families. I do not pose for groups of men.

On my next trip to Asia, I will bring W-D 40 as my gift to this continent, for every lock and door and gate.

Women in India dress in the tradional saree, which is sort of timeless. The men dress like they just stepped out of a John Travolta movie, complete with the swagger and highwaisted bellbottoms.