A day in Bundi

Bundi 3-4 March 2011

I arrive late without any booking and knock at random guest houses recommended by LP….only to hear, “not available”. I don’t like the way they say it, from behind the doors without asking me to sit down or offer water. It’s kind of a culture shock for me. I thought we are “the” hosts.

I am hauling a huge back-pack am hungry and tired. I check out a few more hostels around and they show me most horrible of rooms L. As I walk in the streets populated by hundreds of monkeys, people ogle as if I am a new species and make weird sounds. I hate the city.

If I don’t eat anything am going to collapse, I need to put my bag down and breathe. I enter a haveli guest house and ask if I can have lunch there and if there is any room available. They show me the room first, a characterless dark ground floor room for Rs250. “Nahi chahiye”, “ khana milega or ek chai please”, I said.

The owner of the hotel sits with me to talk. Oh no! And he bitches about every hotel I call to book. I hate the city even more.

Finally I call R.N. Haveli highly recommended for solo female travelers as its run by all women. As I walk down to the haveli I see an old rambling house in the middle of others equally rambling houses. I almost scream….NO!! Bundi was one place I had imagined to be the best, where I could simple lay back and write in the beauty of the lake and fort. Not in my dreams I had imagined a densely populated, manner less city. Foreigners like it a lot as they think they get to see “real” India here. I don’t understand the term “real India”. It is such a big and diverse country, people have different lifestyles in different states, different languages, different occupation, different geography, you can’t just tag one place as real India.

A room on the ground floor (Rs200 p/n) is given to me and auntiji is super-fast in getting friendly with me and telling all about herself, her family, her neighbors and their lifetime woes. That is it! I decide to skip the fort and take a direct train to Udaipur the next day.

Early morning takes me towards the fort and the city actually looks pretty minus people. It’s surrounded by green hills and fort view from any elevated space is to die for. I have a little talk with myself and we agree to not run-away but face the city together.

Bundi morning

My hostel has a homelike feel, the meals are cooked by the owner itself (Mama) and she has magic in her hands! Her daughter is visiting her with her daughter and there are all day long conversations over tea with dropping-in neighbors. There is a beautiful garden in the backyard, a big neem tree and a swing. It is a great place for home sick people.

Bundi Palace

Entry 25, Camera 50

Fort view from the street

The Fort

Door

Love Doves

Beauty

Gate1

Gate2

Interior

A beautiful palace decorated with paintings in Indian traditional colors. The palace is perched on a hill overlooking the city and has a very picturesque view. But it’s upsetting to see such beautiful paintings scarred by the locals. The guard tells me they no more open the painting room for Indians as they destroy the paintings. Appalling!

Taragarh Fort

Entry 25, Camera 50

Taragarh Fort Climb

Bundi City

On the top

wilderness

calm

bandar

Taragarh fort is a rambling mammoth. It is the most wild, mystic and un-restored of forts I have seen. It is 2km steep hiking with hundreds of monkeys, so keep your glucose water and a stick handy. It is sad to see plastic littered around and monkey and goat shit all over. I so hope they restore it in a better manner.

Am happy that I stayed but I can’t stay for longer. I catch a train to Udaipur the next morning.