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| Everyone needs one of these studying-abroad balcony pics |
Can you believe it? I’ve now been in India for over a month, with exactly one month to go! I feel like I say this all the time, but it’s insane how fast time flies.
Clearly I’ve not been diligent with my blogging over the past few weeks, so rather than chronologically, I’ll order the next few posts thematically. This week’s theme? Perhaps the most daunting to record: tourist and/or historical sites that I’ve visited over the past few weeks. I’ll try my best to keep it snappy though.
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| Sajjangarh |
Sajjangarh Fort [Jan. 18]: It’s one of the former ruler’s forts during monsoon season. Situated on a hill (as most things are around here, as Udaipur is situated in a valley between mountains), it is worth the terrifying drive up [read: rushed drivers speeding through hairpin turns at breakneck speeds]. Why? The view alone is worth it – it’s GORGEOUS (I now realize these beautiful mountaintop views are not in short supply around here – I’m so lucky!).
This particular fort palace was cool because it was a few stories tall, which meant it had quite a few rooms with great views. I can’t even imagine how people lived there.
Fateh Sagar [every few days!]: Just one of Udaipur’s lakes, this is located a 15-minute walk away from our school. It’s a pretty place to just walk around or, as we had the privilege of finding out one day, boating through. There’s a small island garden located in the center of the lake, which itself isn’t particularly stunning. (But that’s the point, right? While you’re there, you don’t look at the garden, you look out at everything around the lake!) Anyway, near the lake is a cool little hangout spot that reminds me of something out of Lake George, NY – food vendors and people lounging out around the lake. We like it because it’s one of the few places nearby where you can get good cold coffee and listen to the sweet sounds of Justin Beiber (because the coffee stall owners blast about 5 American tunes when they see us approaching). 
Chittorgarh [Jan. 21]: This fort was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Half in ruins, it has such history – somewhat romantic, somewhat gruesome (but hey, what love story isn’t, right?) As I understand it, an invading Muslim force's army commander was crazy about the in-house princess at the time. Long story short, there were some pretty intense battles that resulted in several thousand women jumping into a fire rather than be taken by the invading soldiers in order to protect their innocence. It sprawls across several kilometers of land and contains a number of palaces (one for ladies, one for gents; both for monkeys and dogs of course) and a well-preserved tower. The tower was an awesome climb up – although similar to the one I climbed up with a cousin in Poland last summer, it was much more haphazardly constructed. All the stairs, marble cutouts, were of different heights and widths. Some stairwells were so dark, you basically resorted to crossing your fingers and hoping for the best on the way up/down. The ceilings in other stairwells were so low, you had to sort of crawl your way through. Again, it was worth the adventure up for bragging rights, if for nothing else. Situated on its own little late, the queen’s palace was gorgeous.
Kumbhalgarh [Feb. 5]: Yes, another fort. But it’s particularly notable because it’s the second-longest length of wall in the world (after the Great Wall of China, of course – going there at some point too!) This place is crawling with them because Rajasthan (the Northwestern Indian state where my host city, Udaipur, is located) was a princely state (in that it was ruled by regional rulers) until fairly recently in the country’s history. The Rajputs, a specific caste that’s still located in the area, were those rulers. Anyway, this was honestly one of my favorite sight-seeing days thus far. A smaller group of us went out, had a great lunch (what a great naan moment that was!), and then stopped by the fort. 
As with the other forts, it was built on a hill because that’s the smart thing to do strategically – then you’ve got the upper hand on your enemies (literally). Upon climbing the road up the fort, we then climbed some more up some of the scariest stairs I’ve ever attempted to scale. Apparently they ran out of money before they thought to install rails on these things. As with the other old forts like this, some areas were more akin to ruins, while some were well-preserved. Either way, you feel like you’ve just stepped out of a time machine when you walk around this place.
City Palace [Feb. 12]: Well, pretty self-explanatory – a palace in the city. It’s the home of the local royal family (once actual rulers, now merely figureheads). It was somehow comforting to visit a museum after all those forts and this museum was a lot less stressful inside than the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata. Because this palace is not that old comparatively (although construction started in the 1500s, it had continuously been renovated into the 1900s), it has some pretty well-preserved architectural and design elements. It was funny too see these eclectic elements – including blue and white floral British tiles and colorful Swiss mirrors – all together in one place. 
Lake Palace [Feb. 12]: Located in (yes IN) Lake Pichola, this place apparently continues to remain very well-guarded [aka exclusive] because you can’t get in unless you have the right connections. Bummer. However, we did go on another boatride around this lake, so as far as I’m concerned, we saw Lake Palace. (When I retell this story back home, I’ll tell people we managed to sneak in or something.)
Cable car Ride [Feb. 12]: Okay, this is not so much a tourist site as it is a tourist sight! We rode cable cars up to the top of one of the hills near Lake Pichola. As I’ve said before – and I’m sure I’ll say again – WHAT A SIGHT! You look out over the lake and, with the mountains in the background, it was very reminiscent of the sight from the top of one of the hills in St. Thomas, strangely enough. This experience was a good reminder of two things I’ve already learned in the past: (1) That, although I’m no physics expert, I’m convinced cable cars defy every law out there and (2) That you should always take care to charge your camera battery before such excursions. My battery ran out just as I reached the top – I was only able to snap one or two shots! However, I’m sure it was for the best because it required me to just enjoy the view and I need to be reminded to do that every once in a while.
Okay, well, that’s all I’ve got on sightseeing updates so far. You can bet there will be more to come about some more interesting topics – including cultural observations and village life – in the near future! Until then, we’re in Ahmedabad – the capital city of the local state of Gujarat – on a field trip!
