End Our Desert Days

After 3 days and 2 nights in the depths of the rough and tumble world of the Thar Desert, we thought a shower and some nice food would do the trick to reassimilate to the metropolitan culture of Jaisalmer. I may be the first to refer to the place as metropolitan but it's got a huge fort and plenty of places to relax in and well anything is metropolitan to the desert.
The camel safari was nice, 'cept for the lower body pain endured. We rode through small villages within 30km of Jaisalmer and out to some nice sand dunes near enough to the Pakistani border to see it. The wildlife was scarce but the stock animals were not; that is plenty of cows, goats, sheep, and camels. While running the camels in the early morning of the 3rd day, we spotted some gazelle running anf jumping. Sadly, no tigers, though most tiger preservation NGO's admit that there quite possibly aren't tigers in Rajasthan anymore so we weren't expecting any miracles.
At 3pm of March 7th we caught the night bus to Udaipur. Due to last minute planning we hadn't the option to get a sleeper, so we were stuck sitting upright on the bumpy road to Udaipur from Jaisalmer for 14 hrs. It wasn't the worst experience of our lives and we managed to get some sleep amid the always chaotic bus aisles of India.
Udaipur, the City of the Lakes, is pure beauty. Nestled within the rising southern desert hills of Rajasthan, it's lakes relfect the regality of an empire lost centuries ago. Palaces, built by eager Maharajas rich from trade, line the lapping but often stagnant water collected from the monsoon season. The City Palace, still the residence of the current Maharaja, is the largest in Rajasthan - it's walls reaching 244 m. Inside is a museum dedicated to the plentiful tigers and leopards hunted, wars won, and mighty Maharajas of the south that bravely stemmed Mughal control. The city is brimming with charm and perfect for sunset.
Sitting atop a nearby peak is the Monsoon Palace. The palace was built as a retreat during the highwaters of the monsoon season and often used by Maharajas to relax in and hunt big cats along the countryside. Today it is widely used by tourists and locals alike to soak up a sunset that rivals any other.
Because time is short and there are places we desire to see more of, today, we take our leave of Udaipur. Yes, a short 1.5 days, but it is required. Making our decision even harder is, Holi, the Hindu holiday that has paint and dye thrown on everything and everyone. Udaipur promises to be a perfect place for the celebration, alas it is not to be. It should be mentioned that children in Jaisalmer jumper the gun a couple of days and squirted dye on us before we left for Udaipur so we can say we did participate a bit.
At 3pm we catch the bus to Mumbai, where we'll hit up Bollywood and skip town as soon as possible to find those beaches in magical Goa...
-sam