Made it to Rajasthan!

Today is Monday, we think. Started out with an early ride to the airport by Uber: early because one of our party is having difficulty walking. We got her a wheelchair at the airport. Then our flight was delayed by an hour, so we had a LOT of time on our hands! Bought myself a shwarma salad for breakfast (international cuisine because it's the airport ) , did a lot of wandering. One of our group members had to go back because she'd packed a power bank in her checked baggage (there was a sign explicitly stating No lighters, No power banks and No coconuts  in checked baggage).

The flight took an hour. We were met at the airport by the hotel minibus and driven the 22 km to Udaipur. The minibus dropped us in a car park and we walked perilously round the corner to the hotel in single file, to prevent losing our feet to motorcyclists. The luggage was then brought up to the door by scooter, two pieces at a time. 

The hotel is traditionally decorated in Rajasthani style. My room is gorgeous, as you can see, and overlooks the Jagdish temple, which means it will always be noisy. The temple is covered in scaffolding. I can hear a lot of singing and chanting going on outside, though the temple has closed for the night. 

There is a rooftop restaurant (vegetarian) which also serves some Western food for those that want it. It's directly above my room, but there's also a cafe/ seating area on the sixth floor. It's several degrees cooler here, so I don't see myself sitting on the Sixth of an evening. 

I haven't been out yet because I needed to sort out my stuff between arrival-tea and supper (palak paneer with Kashmiri rice, which has fruit in it). A bag of linseed had got loose in my luggage. That was fun! Knew there was a reason for bringing a lint roller. 

It's now 10.3O and a loudspeaker has started up outside the temple. I must go to the window to investigate... I thought it closed at 10, but obviously not. People are still mounting the 32 steps and going in. Tomorrow we are going by minibus to see some temples outside the town. That'll be after our rooftop breakfast buffet. 

I seem to be very far behind in my journal! I'll try to catch up. We have hardly had a minute to ourselves in between rushing from pillar to post. I am not the eldest by any means, and I'm finding the pace quite full-on. Have asked for more time for our poor bodies and brains to recover between activities. Also have to remember to eat heartily whenever food is available, because we do not always have a lunch stop. 

Now, back to the Jagdish temple singers....