upon awaking, bryndia found that the hotel room they had found was, ahem, incredibly out of their price range. they apologized and made a hasty exit to find a new place to stay. stepping into the street, the two were met by a scrawny indian teen wearing thick glasses. my name is krishna, he said, and i know a cheaper place you can stay. how could they refuse? krishna led them through the winding streets of ganjaur ghat to a bright room with a wrought iron bed, bejeweled mirrors, and an inlet leading to the window, padded with a bright pillow.
bryndia's first afternoon was spent exploring the old city, often referred to as 'the venice of india.' the cobble stoned streets were lined with closet sized shops with men sitting barefoot, spitting red tobacco, coaxing them inside to purchase sparkling jewelry and brass statues. they walked hand in hand, refusing custom made suits, accepting melting chocolates, and headed towards the large lake pichola. stepping through a sand stone archway and onto a rickety wooden bridge, bryn & india found that, of course, there was very little lake to be seen. the monsoon was weeks away, and the dry heat of june had sucked most of the water right up. there was the famous floating lake palace, not so much floating, as standing, in the middle of an expansive muddy dessert, puddles of mucky water dotting the horizon. but the pair was not phased! they followed the example of a group of indian boys, slipped out of their flip flops, and descended down into the basin for a walk.
here is where a monumental indian moment occured: bryn & india saw their first elephant. the gigantic female swung her trunk back and fourth leisurely as her owner (driver? master? human homie?) snored loudly from atop her back. more walking revealed this as the dry lakes primary purpose: an animal grazing ground. herds of buffalo and goats, cows and sheep, were wandering in groups around the lake palace in the center. women in bright saris followed, bent on their haunches, picking and packing dung into cow patties.
that evening, bryndia met up with their new friend krishna, who hooked them up with some bizarre indian herbal massages at his spa. after an hour of being rubbed at by stale smelling but sweet indians, bryndia emerged dripping with oil, feeling relaxed. that night, they ate stuffed tomato curry on a candle lit patio overlooking the lake, the city palace and lake palace spotlighted like two nightclub singers on stage. as their dinner ended, fireworks erupted out of no where, and a lengthy show of exploding colors completed their night.
the next morning, bryndia put on their tourist faces, and walked through the entirety of the city palace, the most elaborately decorated maze of mirrors and courtyards. here, they saw panoramic views of all of udaipur, and learned about the long line of kings, their favorite of which had been in cripple, his extravagant wheel chairs and complicated toilet system on display. hours of walking and the heat had gotten to them, so bryndia crossed the lake to find a hotel with a rooftop swimming pool, where they lounged in the sun, alone, and bryn taught india how to do a handstand under water.
feeling refreshed (and bronzed!), bryn & india chose one of the many rooftop restaurants that advertised 'octopussy' showings over dinner. being in the city where the famed james bond was filmed decades ago, it seemed wrong that neither had ever seen it. they watched the sun set, they ate dinner, and they drank kingfisher beer that was served to them, discreetly, in a tea pot, as the restaurant did not have a liquor license. here, they met an australian couple who shared their appreciation of the 'special tea' and the four compared travel stories and dished out advice. bryndia's walk back to their hotel was spent dodging cows in the dark, the animals wandering everywhere, without care, without any sign of ownership.
the next morning, the two ate muesli and drank cappuccinos and wrote and wrote and wrote in their journals because, even if the frequency of their blogposts doesn't show it, writing is IMPORTANT. they had a lot to process. plus, they wanted to be well rested for their big adventure of the night: their first ever cooking class.
sashi, a tiny, beautiful indian woman with the most endearingly simple english, welcomed them into her two room home to teach them how to cook an indian feast. and what a feast it was. bryndia learned how to make everything from fresh paneer, to hot garlic naan, to complex masala curry, all from scratch, all the while listening to sashi's intensely tragic but inspiring life story. throughout the five hour class, sashi's mother, sister, children, nieces and nephews, were rushing in and out of the kitchen, rinsing the dirty dishes, bringing bottles of fresh water, bundles of fresh vegetables, and feeding sliced tomatoes to their large pet turtles who crawled slowly along the connected balcony. with the entire house smelling intoxicatingly of cinnamon, pepper, and onions, bryn & india sat on the couch with a meal fit for six in front of them. 'now,' said sashi, 'if you can finish all that, your class for free!' bryn made a valiant attempt and the rest was shared with sashi's young nephew. they hung their flour covered aprons up and hugged sashi goodbye. she stuck a bindi on both bryn & india's foreheads and tied a red bracelet with bells around india's wrist. 'a bracelet of friendship,' she said, 'that you must never take off.'
the next morning, bryn and india left udaipur reluctantly, romanticized to the extreme.
ps. are you going to udaipur? you must meet sashi! check out her blogspot and make sure to give her hugs for us. http://shashicookingclasses.blogspot.com/
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