009 in Udaipur

First post since we arrived in Rajasthan - no picture uploads yet, but I wanted to mention that we're here. We spent two days in Jaipur, which is full of extraordinary sights - Amber fort, the Hawa Mahal palace, the surreal Jantar Mantar observatory, and the Pink City - the old town, throbbing with activity and overflowing with color. We're very glad to have seen it but we were also very glad to leave after two days, as it's the most hassle-loaded, annoying place we've been in India thus far.

We're currently in Udaipur, an altogether more laid-back and lovely city, with white buildings tumbling down to a (somewhat dried-up) lake, multitudes of rooftop restaurants, and continuous showings of Octopussy, which was filmed here. Even our room number (noted in the post title) is on-theme. Our guesthouse here is the best we've had since we came to India, and it's going to be hard to leave, but we're off to Jodhpur tomorrow and then to Jaisalmer the day after that, from where we'll be doing as everyone else does and heading off for a camel safari. Will try to post some pics when we have a chance - our two weeks in the north of India are shaping up to be kind of a whirlwind...