Romantic India (?)

Udaipur is generally known as one of the (if not the) most romantic cities in India I wouldn’t deny that it has romantic qualities, but when in India everything is relative to your budget.

More than most destinations, India can be seen from two very different sets of eyes – the budget traveler and the midrange traveler. In many countries there isn’t necessarily a huge gap between these types of travelers. Due to lack of infrastructure in many developing countries the line between midrange and budget is blurred but in India there is every option and spending 1,000 rupees ($20US) rather than the budget of a backpacker, 400 rupees ($8US) can get you a small piece of luxury. In Udaipur you may have to lighten the wallet a bit to appreciate the romanticism of the city.

We kept to our budget on our room, but spent a little more than usual on dinners looking out over the lake to the very famous Lake Palace which is in fact the location of James Bond ‘Octopussy.’ A delicious candle lit tandoori dinner at Armari restaurant, complete with lanterns hanging from trees helps to uphold Udaipur’s reputations as India’s most-romantic.

We also took an art class at Ashoka Art School, which was a great break from the monotonous routine of sightseeing and traveling every other day. I found having a lesson in watercolour painting was similar to when we got surfing lessons in Nicaragua, you need a few pointers to get you started and you can figure out the rest on your own. It was a great experience and we highly recommend it if you have a few hours to spare.

Another great way to end the day is to watch a nightly screening of ‘Octopussy’ while gazing out at the famous landmark that was made famous in the west through the film. We stayed in a very old haveli that felt like a haunted house called Gangaur Palace, and they having a viewing of ‘Octopussy’ every night at 7.