UDAIPUR TO PUSHKAR VIA MOTORCYCLE

While we were on a boat cruise in Udaipur, we met a nice Australian fellow who said that Pushkar (a town bordering the Thar Desert) would be a great place to celebrate Holi, an important Hindu festival that was coming up.

So we mapped out a trip, rented a Royal-Enfield motorcycle and rode 170 miles to Pushkar.

Shout out to my Auntie Donna for giving me the scarf Scott’s wearing as a face mask a few Christmases ago. It really completed the look. And protected his lungs.

Uber pool

Gas pit stop.

I think these decorated cargo trucks were my favorite things in India. They’re everywhere on the highways and they’re decorated with the enthusiasm of a 7th graders locker. From what I learned, they’re owned by families and are decorated so beautifully because they ensure the entire family’s livelihood. So, the owners decorate them with “jewelry” kind of like the way you would adorn your wife for all of her hard work. These are the trucks where you would see the “HORN OK PLEASE” written, as referenced here, too.

Curious on-lookers.

Fellow commuters.

Jay walkers.

All about the accessories.

I had never been on a motorcycle before (only scooters) so I sort of accepted my death prior to hopping on the back (“It’ll be unfortunate, but what a way to go”) but we arrived in Pushkar safe and sound and only almost hit a cow once. Okay, twice.

SHOTS AROUND UDAIPUR, INDIA

Inside Jagdish Temple

Now smoking isn’t cool but this guy is smoking 2 cigarettes at the same time so he’s the coolest

View from the boat cruise on Lake Pichola. Udaipur is known as the “Venice of the East”.

City Palace from a boat cruise.

View over Udaipur from inside City Palace.

Setting up for an event. FUN FACT: There was a wedding here in December that Beyonce performed at.

Our favorite rooftop restaurant in Udaipur. I don’t remember the name but it had excellent views, veggie burgers, curries, special lassies AND lounge furniture.

Nightime shopping.

ENTREPRENEURS OF UDAIPUR

The experience of creating and running EditMate has given me a newfound appreciation for entrepreneurs. I never thought about the work that goes into a starting, maintaining and growing a business before but now I do.

Whether someone is a running a massive corporation, a local neighborhood business or selling bracelets on a beach… I notice them now in a way I didn’t before.

I think about what their day to day looks like, what got them to where they are now and take note of the little things they do for their business… like how they approach a sale or the way they set up their shop.

This was an especially fun exercise to do in Udaipur, where there are entrepreneurs around every corner who love to show off their products and tell you their history.

AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD IN UDAIPUR

The Jagdish Temple, which was in the middle of Mumbai and just a few minutes away from where we stayed in central Udaipur.

There are lots of stray dogs in India, which you’re obviously supposed to not touch or play with.

But I 100% ignored that rule and immediately took a liking to this little guy who often tanned outside the cafe I’d get coffee at in the mornings. The owner of the cafe bandaged his leg one day so he just kept coming back and stealing my heart.

When you’re high up looking over Udaipur, it feels tranquil and spacious… but when you’re down in the streets, you navigate narrow and curvy lanes, amid brightly colored, slightly old-world feeling buildings.

I liked peeking in all of the shops (they serve you free chai tea in order to get you to stick around longer) and eating street food while looking up at the assortment of windows that looked like they were constructed in completely different centuries. And the city was founded in 1559, so they probably were.

Friendly, neighborhood cows. Around sunset one night, the cows started walking through the streets together so we asked someone where they were going and they replied “Oh they go back home now. They’ll be back tomorrow”.

Note the Baskin Robbins.

“I’m in the market for some delights.”

UDAIPUR, RAJASTHAN

At the Mehndi, a friend of TJ’s spoke highly of a recent trip to Udaipur (a city in Rajasthan, north of Mumbai) so after the wedding ended, Scott and I booked a flight.

After being in buzzing, urban Mumbai, Udaipur felt like a resort village. The city surrounds 7 beautiful man-made lakes and is filled with forts and palaces you can climb to see sweeping views of the water and mountains in the distance.

We stayed at Nukkad Guest House, a colorful multi-level little palace for $6 a night each.

It was owned by a sweet family, headed up by a man named Raju who seemed to be very popular around Udaipur. Every time we mentioned where we were staying we would hear “Ah, yes Raju’s place! He is my friend. Very good man.”

Family photos decorated every level of guest house with 4 generations of Raju’s family running day to day operations. His son handled the check-in desk, his wife ran the roof top restaurant, his daughter taught yoga in the mornings while his daughter-in-law did laundry and the grandmother looked after the little baby.

Checking in.

The view from the top of Nukkad.

Destiny’s Child Junior, humoring the street-style paparazzi (me).

Udaipur was the perfect place to re-charge after the wedding and gear up for the rest of our Indian adventure.