As if a 65 km ride wasn’t enough we backed it up with a 68 km ride the next day. I thought I hurt before but have now reached new levels. It was a lovely start to the ride though, from the hotel in Pushktar.  We stopped just before we left town to feed the cows, which is supposed to bring good karma on us. Speaking of cows, there are a lot on the road to dodge.  Negotiating a path through a herd of cows is very precarious but a lot of fun – so long as they don’t veer unexpectedly in your direction.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to ride the entire way to Udaipur and we now get to spend two days in this romantic city. Udaipur truly lives up to its nickname, the Venice of the East, with its picturesque lakes. It’s also a hotspot for film enthusiasts. Scenes from the James Bond movie Octopussy were shot here, and we even dined at the restaurant featured in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

On our wanders around the city, we came across a small celebrations with couple of Indians dancing. Naturally I joined in while everybody around us started filming.  I’m probably on YouTube somewhere. I’m sure I impressed them with my Australian dance style. I even threw a bit of kangaroo a la Raygun in there for good measure.

To complete my cultural immersion I went to see a palmist/astrologist who told my past and future.  He was surprisingly accurate – at least about my past. Apparently I have to give sweets to the poor on Saturday to improve my lot in life. Will see how that turns out 🙂

Eat: https://udaigarhudaipur.in/