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| Ruins of Lake Pichola Palace |
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| Boats on Palolem Beach |
Not much of anything to note for the past 3 weeks here in Udaipur. I have looked at a couple of houses with awesome views from the rooftop, which is where one spends a lot of time here. Both were more than I want to pay, so I am thinking about a flat/apartment with a balcony as the flats are usually more modern, but in the newer part of town. I think I would like living in the older part of the city, but it will be a challenge to find something that has been updated with modern facilities such as running water, a kitchen sink, and a western toilet with shower. I would probably still have to install a small hot water heater...I could do that!
Jan. 26th/27th - After a 12 hour night train from Udaipur to Ahmedabad, an eight hour wait in the airport, then 2 hour flight to Goa on the 27th, I caught the local bus for a 1 hour ride to the bus station where I got another bus for a 2.5 hour stint to Palolem beach - altogether a 25 1/2 hr. trip. Upon arrival I began my search for a hotel with a referral I had gotten to the Dreamcatcher Bungalows near the beach. Upon hearing the price of 1500 rupees per night, I immediately departed as that was about 3x what I was ready to pay! Pulling my suitcase through sand (an almost impossible task and missing my backpack) for quite some way, I was back on the main road. After 3-4 hotels, which either had no hot water, were overpriced or dirty, I finally settled on a rather nice, large room with bath & tv, no AC, for 600 rupees per night. That's a bit better!
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| Street leading to Palolem Beach |
Jan. 28-30th - I had been anxious to leave the cold weather as I had gotten a very nasty cold which had settled in my chest and it felt like my lungs were quickly filling up with the yellow/green sputum I coughed up and blew out regularly. By the morning after my arrival (28th), I could barely make it down the stairs to ask the owner of the hotel to call me a doctor to my room as I was unable to go to him. A very nice doctor with impeccable English, arrived within 20 min. Thank heavens I had no fever or he would have put me in the hospital! The owner took my prescription to the pharmacy and brought me a regimen of antobiotics, cough syrup with expectorate, and something to break down the mucus. The hotel delivered my meals & water for that day and I was only able to get out the next day to eat. Now here it is the 30th and I am going to try to make it to the pharmacy for more antibiotics, to the ATM, and hopefully to the beach, which I have yet to see!
After walking 2 km in the heat, it dawned on my that I could hitchhike to town and back! Waving my hand at the single men on bikes, it didn't take long for one to stop to let me on behind him on his motorcycle. Wind in my hair, I whizzed the 3rd km to the middle of town, which held the pharmacy and the atm. It took 2 atm's & 2 pharmacies to conclude my business then I took advantage of the nearby bakery & fruitstand. Now to hitch back to the hotel, change into my swimsuit and hit the beach! Woo Hoo!!!
