Udaipur - girl

On first sight I wasn’t keen on Udaipur and I don’t think C was either. I had certainly built it up in my mind to be something maybe a bit more special than it actually is. What it isn’t is the Venice of India. What it is is a typical Indian city with a lake that happens to have a couple of islands. It is also more hectic than anywhere we’ve seen since Delhi: more tourists, more cars, more rickshaws, more motorbikes, more cows and more dogs - all trying to fit down narrow un-pavement-ed roads en masse. The area in which everyone stays in extremely touristy since it’s next to the lake and the palace (largest in India they say, we wouldn’t know as we opted not to visit) - tourist shops mingle with tourist restaurants and tourist henna places. In photos this place looks just magnificent but I think we’re here at the wrong time of year since the lake is dry in many places and cows and kids graze on the grassy sections of the lake bed. We did take a cable car up a hill and witness something of the beauty of the city at sunset but unlike Jaisalmer, this feels like a city whose beauty can only be seen from afar.

There’s also more hassle here; I guess that goes with the larger numbers of tourists. C just pointed out that although Jodhpur wasn’t beautiful it did seem to be a purely functional city. This is a tourist city (at least in the old part) that isn’t beautiful. Perhaps rather than being referred to as the ‘Venice of India’ it should be the ‘almost Cairo of India’ for the level of hassle from beggars and shop vendors.

One of the primary items on sale in the city is traditional Rajasthani art - I think it dates from the C16 or so and they’ve made a craft out of replicating the style for tourists here. It’s quite pretty and I was certainly tempted until I saw some modern artists’ work, which reminded me not to buy mass produced stuff. After going to a photography exhibition in Windhoek we didn’t hold out much hope for a similar exhibition here but were pleasantly surprised to find some really beautiful pictures. I’ll be checking out the guy’s website for sure. I wonder if his work is in my price range.

One reason we decided to spend a few days in Udaipur was a cookery class that got rave reviews. I think we were spoiled in Oaxaca though as this course felt a bit perfunctory. We still learned how to make delicious food but with none of the finesse we saw in Mexico - there, the guy did it for the love of food, I definitely felt this was a job rather than a passion. No matter, we came away with new knowledge.

This place, so full of tourists, has really made me question travelling. Why are we doing it? Why is anyone doing it? Is there a difference between tourists and travellers? Was there ever? At 18, I was travelling to find space to become independent and to meet the grown-up me. At 30 I don’t need to do that. While it doesn’t de-legitimise what we’re doing it does make me realise that simply travelling around isn’t enough for me. I enjoy seeing and being but as C. put it, perhaps I can’t enjoy the enjoying as I don’t think I’m bettering myself or anyone else with my actions. We agreed that I need to find a way to fix this. He thinks I’m in quite a fortunate position since I know what I’m doing with my life and know where I want to go. I’m not so sure as I’m impatient to get there and while a few months is only a few months, there’s still a lot I need to do - study, find a new job etc.

Travelling doesn’t actually give one an insight into a country in the way that living somewhere can and I find being on the outside a bit frustrating. I want to understand India (particularly its development - human, economic and political) and am going to try and find a way to do this.

I’m glad to see India but am shocked at how touristy it is. While some people we’re meeting are honest and good, many seem to be involved in trying to rip off visitors. It’s a vicious cycle: get ripped off, don’t trust, feel untrusted, rip off and so on... I don’t like being a part of this.

Thankfully I have C to listen to me wax lyrical about all this nonsense. He’s also wise enough to realise that women often don’t want a concrete answer to problems, just someone to listen and sympathise. This time though, I do want to find a solution and he’s helping me to do so.