Dec. 28 Jaipur to Udaipur

Krishna Palace Heritage Hotel

Still trying to get to Udaipur for New Year's eve with my friends!  On arrival in Jaipur, I headed for a hotel located close to the train station in Bani Park.  The Krishna Palace was a historic old mansion that had been converted into a beautiful hotel.  After negotiations, I checked in and was shown to my room, a very large room with a western style bath (both a western toilet and a squat toilet), seating area, kingsize bed, 2 closets, and shuttered windows that opened onto a lovely garden area.  The rooftop cafe overlooked the residential neighborhood, which was clean and quiet compared to the rest of this approx. 3 mil population city.  Both peaceful and unpolluted, nice!  I tested the bed and was immediately sorry I could not spend the night in this comfortable room!  I settled for a hot shower, lunch on the rooftop, and a few hours rest.

After multiple traffic jams, I barely made it to the train station on time.  The rickshaw pulled up, signaled for a porter, gave him directions in Hindi.  Placing my heavy bag on his head and carrying the other, we were off in a dead run for the Mewar Express.  I thought I would die as I ran up 2 flights of steps to the crossover to my platform.  I had to stop twice to breathe as he ran on.  Oh my goodness!  We made it to my berth with barely a minute to spare...now to catch my breath! 

I am getting further into the state of Rajasthan and it is beginning to warm up, which should do a world of good for this cough I have developed.  Max form The Little Prince Guest House, is picking me up at 6:30 am in Udaipur - woohoo!  I can't wait to see my friends!