We really enjoyed our time in Bundi and Steve suspects that it may turn out to be one of his favourite places on this trip. From Bundi, we took a train to Chittorgarh (aka Chittor) which is only about 150km away (£1.50 each). We had high hopes for this train since it originated only one station up the line a mere 37km away. Despite this, it managed to be over half an hour late, which is quite some achievement!. This was a little local train with only about 4 carriages and it rattled merrily along a single track line through hills and picturesque lake-land. The doors were all left open and Steve took the opportunity to lean out as the train was trundling along, thumbing his nose at health and safety and generally enjoying the view.

Chittor is quite a large town, but most of it is located at the foot of a 5km long hill. On top of the hill is...you guessed it, a fort. The ramparts are constructed around the flat top of the hill and assorted palaces and temples are located within. We had booked to stay in a place called the Padmini Haveli run by Sudhir and Parvati Surkwal. The unique thing about this place is that it is located inside the fort itself. In fact, it is the only place you can stay within the walls of the fort. More than that, we were the only guests so it turned out we were the only non-Indians in the entire fort. The Haveli has been renovated to a high standard and we were made to feel extremely welcome by our hosts. We ate meals with them and they invited us into the kitchen to learn about the preparation of the food. We ate dough balls cooked in cow dung and an unidentified dish prepared by their six year old son. Since we had the hosts to ourselves, we took the opportunity to chat with them at length and to learn more about their culture and way of life. They are Brahmin so are strict vegetarians. For our time there, so were we. We learned how to correctly pronounce ॐ, so that should be useful. We also learned how the arranged marriage system works and that it results in a divorce rate of around 0.5%. Whilst it is not clear whether this is partly down to the taboo surrounding divorce (although it is permitted), in any event, it compares rather favourably with the UK's 42%. Perhaps there is something to be said for allowing objective outsiders a say in matters of the heart!

Of course, we spent a day walking the Chittor fort and exploring the ruins. It was nice to be in a peaceful place with very little in the way of tuk tuks and blaring motorcycle horns. We were able to walk a good few miles in relative tranquillity. Chittor is certainly a throw-back to a bygone age and it was a privilege to be a part of it even for a short time.

The trip from Chittor to Udaipur by bus (120km, £0.85 each) revealed yet another facet of life on the Indian highway. It turns out that elephants, when they use the dual carriageway, will actually stick to the correct lane; namely the "slow", left-hand one. Presumably, if they wish to overtake, then they will move to the right, but we haven't seen that yet.

Udaipur city lies on the side of Lake Pichola, has some rather splendid palaces and is generally known as the Venice of the East due to the beautiful lakes (we thought it was supposed to be canals). The Maharana Mahendra Singh Mewar (the Royal Family of Udaipur) still live here in the City Palace; part of which is open to the public. The locals seem very fond of their forward-looking monarch since he understands the valuable role tourism plays in the city and has spent a lot of time, effort and presumably cash restoring the palace. We were invited by the locals to compare his efforts with those of the government when they are called upon to manage historic treasures. Enough said.

We will take a break here for a week to recharge the batteries a little. We will spend some time wandering the streets and markets just immersing ourselves (and giving us and you a break from the forts).

All along, locals are telling us that the level of tourism in the region has dropped by 60-70% since last year. No one is sure of the cause, but it is generally attributed to fear (Rajasthan borders Pakistan of course) and/or to the European economic climate. By far the most tourists come from France and they seem to have deserted the country. Whilst this is a terrible shame for those trying to make a living in the tourist trade, it does give us a little more space and everyone seems glad to see us and to chat. Of course, they are trying to sell us stuff, but it all seems quite good natured and there is no real pressure. One shop keeper ventured that we could look in his shop for free since it was Sunday. Ever vigilant, Steve inquired as to whether this included using both eyes or just the one (you can't be too careful when negotiating). Jokingly, our host claimed that it was Rs30 just to look during the week! Another shop keeper approached Steve to inquire how difficult it would be to sell something to Megan to which Steve replied that it would be impossible since he had all the money! All good fun! It is worth commenting that, despite all the warnings we received before leaving, dealing with people here is pretty easy - mainly because they have the decency to speak English - to varying degrees. It makes a change not to have our struggles with the local customs exacerbated by difficulties with the language.

Again we are staying in a Haveli, which is all white walls, hand decorated cornices and tiled floors. The roof-top restaurant has views out over the lake. One entire island we can see is occupied by the Lake Palace which is now a hotel (US$850 per night) and its lights shimmer on the water at night. In fact, numerous hotels line and illuminate the Udaipur waterfront. Each seems to have a roof-top restaurant that we will have to try out.

Regarding the food, we have been here four weeks now and have pretty much subsisted on local fare of veg curry and chapatis accompanied by assorted flavours of lassi (yoghurt drink). We have bought fast food from market stalls for next to nothing and found it delicious (and completely harmless). Currently, we are more than happy to continue with the vegetarian diet. We pretty quickly learned that the phrase "Indian Coffee" means Nescafe and "Italian Coffee" means filter coffee (often of Indian origin). Needless to say, we head for the latter where possible. We think we have found the best coffee in Udaipur and have quickly become regulars at Jheel's Ginger Coffee Bar and Bakery.

We have been in Udaipur long enough now to learn that the local square outside the Jagdish Mandir temple descends into absolute chaos at 3pm every day. Due to the etiquette of never giving way to anybody and of driving directly at anyone you require to move whilst blaring the horn, there is total gridlock (and cacophony) for about 15 mins. This fact seems to have escaped the locals who never seem to try and work around the problem or avoid the area at this time. This traffic-related madness is such a shame since otherwise, the towns are fairly quiet. If only they wouldn't blow the horns incessantly, it would be pretty peaceful. It is such a shame since the horns don't actually achieve anything.

As an experiment, here is a recording of street ambiance. This is what we get all day, every day, whilst in town. The sound like a road-drill is the ever present auto-rickshaw aka tuk tuk. Enjoy!

Having been here a while, we thought it would be rude not to visit at least one fort. We hired a driver for the day to hurtle recklessly through the countryside in an attempt to deliver us to the Kumbhalgarh fort about 80km outside Udaipur. On the way we took the mickey out of him for his constant and ineffectual use of the horn. He pointed out that it was the most important feature on an Indian car. He demonstrated a willingness to slow down for cows and monkeys, but not school children. He seemed quite keen on approaching blind summits on the wrong side of the road even when there was nothing to overtake. It's a numbers game really!

Kumbhalgarh fort was constructed in the 15th Century by the same dude who built the Chittor fort. It was only successfully attacked once and that was achieved by poisoning the water supply which is kind of cheating really. The walls around this fort are some 36km long and are claimed to be the second longest wall in the world (after the Great Wall of China). Of course, this is not actually true. Regardless, Kumbhalgarh is a most impressive fort in a spectacular location. The walls are wide enough for six horses and within them are found the palace and numerous temples some of which date from the second century (apparently).

Whilst on this death-defying tour of the local countryside, we took a detour to visit the Jain temple of Ranakpur. This is an extremely ornate marble temple in a fine setting surrounded by mountains. The Jain pursue a kind of animism and are quite ascetic in their approach to life. They are also incredibly mercenary. They charge to enter the temple, they charge to take photos, they charge to say prayers. It is the only place in the world we have visited where they will only let you take the audio guide if you leave your passport as security (even after you have paid for the guide). Even then, there are only parts of the temple you can visit or photograph. Whilst the building is impressive, the people are not and we left with a rather poor impression of the place; which is a shame.

After a week in Udaipur, it is time to move on. From here, we will be heading up into the mountains to the only hill station (and the highest point) in Rajasthan. From there, it will be onwards in search of some amusing trousers. In the meantime, best wishes to everyone back home and thanks for reading!

Some Pictures