Udaipur: Travel Hacks for an Awesome Trip

31 Pages·2017·0.26 MB·English

by  Akhil Holden

© 2017 Akhil Holden
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof
in any form whatsoever.
Table of Contents

Introduction

What To Do

Where To Go
Introduction
Udaipur, known as the city of lakes or Venice of the east, is a district in the
Indian state of Rajasthan. This city was built by Udai Singh and has many forts,
palaces, hills, gardens and artificial lakes. The hills aren’t man-made; they are
part of the world’s oldest mountain range Aravalli.
Udaipur is a magical place for a trip.
I have compiled a few travel hacks that would come in handy when travelling
here. They haven’t just been copy pasted from the Internet (I actually went to
Udaipur in the last week of August 2017).
I wrote a travelogue about this trip but since many people don’t have time to
read, thus this crash course type book.
I hope it helps you enjoy more during your trip.
What To Do
Use A Bicycle
Udaipur is a fairly small city and one can cover all the important destinations
easily on a bicycle. Also, the pleasure of sight-seeing on a bicycle is
unmatchable.
The roads are uphill and downhill, and cycling uphill might be a problem for
some but in my opinion it makes matters interesting. The traffic on the roads is
less and it is very safe to cycle if you stay at the extreme left hand side of the
road.
I got a bicycle free of cost from a relative but you can hire one near Jagdish
Temple in the main tourist market.
If you’re travelling on a budget, hiring a bicycle would be much cheaper. The
rent per day would be less and a bicycle doesn’t run on petrol/diesel (that’s why
it is called the noblest human invention).
Having said that, you can also hire a scooty or a motorcycle if you want but I
recommend a bicycle more. Just don’t use a tuk-tuk ; their only aim is to charge
as much as they can from you.
Stay at a Hostel
If you’re travelling solo or with friends, then staying at a hostel is a must.
Hostels are great for meeting new people from India and abroad, and indulging
in friendly conversations.
After staying at a hostel and interacting with a lot of people, I realized that my
confidence levels rose quite a bit.
You can check HostelWorld website to search for hostels in Udaipur. I
personally recommend Zostel. I stayed here for six days; for a 500 Rs per night
dormitory that was meant for six people, you get clean rooms, clean toilets, clean
bedsheet, 24 hour hot water supply and a common room for chilling. I had an
awesome time at Zostel.
Buy Fresh Fruit
This is one of the things I observed people just didn’t do.
Udaipur has a lot of guava and papaya plantations. Early in the morning, fresh
fruit are harvested and sold at tourist areas by local women.
Guava is a speciality at Udaipur and I highly recommend trying them out. Once
you do, you won’t be able to stop. The guava fruit sold here is small and ripe,
and very cheap.
You can easily find women vendors selling fruit at Gulabh Bagh, Fatehsagar
Lake, Saheliyon ki Badi and on the way to Monsoon Palace.
Drink tender coconuts
Tender coconuts sold at Udaipur are supplied from Gujarat, one of the leading
producers of coconuts in India.
Udaipur city is quite close to Gujarat thus most of the produce is fresh. The size
of the coconuts is small compared to coconuts from Kerala, West Bengal and
Tamil Nadu.
The price of an individual coconut depends upon the size. Vendors who keep
smaller kernels charge 25 Rs while those with bigger kernels charge 35 Rs.
Don’t pay more than 35 Rs.
Do drink them; they’re quite tasty. I might have averaged four tender coconuts a
day during my six day trip.
Buy Something from the Main Tourist Bazaar

Buy a book or a handicraft or a hand painted tee shirt from the main tourist
bazaar (there’s only one).
I didn’t buy a tee shirt that seemed expensive at the time. I liked the design
though (it consisted of a Rajasthani turban and a goggle) and later regretted not
buying it.
With time, one tends to forget the money a particular thing cost. The memory
however remains.
That’s why do buy something that lasts for a long time and makes you remind of
your trip whenever you see it.