Udaipur
By Lokesh
1. There is a boat ride from the Udaipur palace to Jag mandir palace where they allow you to spend 1 hour before the boat takes you back. Here's the catch. No one foreces you to leave you exactly after one hour, so take the last boat ride which starts from Udaipur palace at 5 pm and do not take the return boat at 6 pm. Instead stay there till 7-7:20pm, that is when the last boat from Jag Mandir leaves for Udaipur Palace. This way you will be able to savour both thte day and and night view from Jag Mandir palace. If you are fortunate there may even be a wedding of some big hotshot there and if you have some contacts, maybe you can find a way in (The son of the President of some country got married there while I was in Udaipur).
2. Try to reach mosoon palace, which is atop a hill (can be seen from Udaipur). Better still if you can trek to it. If you are beer lover (like I am) then take 2 cans along and you must enter before 5 pm. Once you enter, stay there till late and do not open the beer now. Let it get dark, sit, enjoy the panoramic view of Udaipur and yeah, now is the time for beer!!!!
3. There is a trolley/cable cab to some temple at some height. Totally a waste of time as trolley is a big attraction for local people there for whom it is quite a ride. If you are traveller then there it is a small joy ride for you for which you wil have to queue for atleast an hour. The view from top is good but then if you plan for monsoon palace then you would anyway see something much better than this.
4. There is a one-hour evening show at Bagore ki haveli at 7 pm in Udaipur...it is very economical and has refreshing traditional katputli show.
5. Skip Kumbhalgarh, it is not worth the time and effort...rather cover Chittorgarh Fort which is equally big and has a lot of history attached to it. Also it lies on the way to Udaipur hence no extra travelling time. Plus the view of the city from this fort after dark is amazing.
6. Skip Haldighati, if at all you have planned for it. There is nothing to see there apart from a small museum where they tell the glory tale of Maharana Pratap. If at all you go there, do buy concentrates they make from rose which you can use to make drinks (it’s like natural Rohafza) and buy candies they make from orange
7. Do not visit the CIty palace museum on weekend as it will be very crowded and you will waste a lot of time and come out exhausted. If weekend is all you have, I would say skip it. It's not that great. If you really have to, go early because the crowd increases as the day passes.
8. If you are a solo traveller, stay at Zostel's dormitory. From Zostel you get amazing views of the Pichola Lake. At night, sit at the roof top and enjoy your pre-bought beer (Zostel sells it for 200) and you will easily make friends with other foreign travellers....spne desi wale issi chakkar mein reh jaate hain ki pehle main hello bolun ya woh boley.
9. 9. Visit Bahubali Hills..... breathtaking