We have flown southwest to Udaipur in the state of Rajasthan.   A city on two lakes.  Hotter and drier here.  This is a popular tourist destination because of the beautiful setting of the old city and the castle.  Here are some pictures around the lake area.

We spend much of today touring the Castle of the Mewar, an independent dynasty for over 1600 years.  This “new” castle was built in the mid 1500’s and expanded and continuously occupied until the 1930’s when it was divided into a museum, two hotels and a home for the current maharana, Arvind Singh.  He is still around and enjoys going to auto shows around the world to display samples from his extensive collection of antique automobiles.

 

Being an old Engineer I though that this little article in the living quarters was amazing:  an Italian built steam driven fan !!

Of course this is India and the town is rough.  Here are some street pictures.

Our hotel is across the lake from the castle. We have a very nice rooftop restaurant with a great view of the old city.  But it is a bit chilly at night. The hotel is a comfortable but very strange place, and I decided to add some pictures to this post.

Notice the door to our rooms where you lock a big padlock when you leave !!