Udaipur and onwards

Chittaurgarh to Udaipur took just one day. I even stopped half-way at a small town called Mangalwar, having been invited the previous day by a couple of guys who stopped their car and flagged me down for a chai en route to Chittaurgarh. In their home town they introduced me to the locals and bought me lunch and snacks.

With Udaipur the day's goal, I couldn't linger too long though. I got into Udaipur before sunset and after being quoted 20,000 rupees (something lost - or added - in translation, presumably!) for a night in one hotel, found a cheaper room with the help of an amiable auto-rickshaw driver.

As the sun set I ventured out on my bicycle in search of my usual local thali and supplies. The traffic on the disorientating narrow lanes was overwhelming, and as always the constant honking hurt my ears. That evening it was too late to see the city's attractions, but the next morning I hazarded my way across several of them as I was leaving. From all accounts I did not do the city justice, but sometimes I am just not in the mood, and besides I had a date in the neighbouring state of Gujarat, where I'd been invited to give a talk about my journey to children at a couple of schools.

Finally, India showed me its hills and thankfully my legs had not withered too much for the constant ups and downs. In such promising terrain, I had resolved to finally get my tent out and do a night of camping and so was keeping a lookout for spots. As night fell, I spotted a path leading into some hills and, after waiting for the road to clear of vehicles, speedily rolled my bike up there. Looking behind me though, I saw that I was being watched by a family on the other side of the highway with some amusement, and they were shouting something. I stubbornly pushed on, passing a small mud farmhouse and some buffalo before I was caught up by my observers. They told me I could not camp there, and as we descended to the highway again they told me there was a hotel 10 km up the road. I was going to ask to camp by their house, but they soon invited me to stay, to my delight.

Rajendra spoke the most English, being a teacher at a local school, and he explained that there were robbers who roamed the hills where I'd intended to camp. I was welcomed by everybody and a bed was laid out for me. Rajendra and I then shared a typical Rajasthani meal, eating with our hands, and after an English-Hindi dictionary was produced we got to work filling some vital gaps in my Hindi vocabulary (which is pretty poor, I must admit). I was particularly interested in the house, which was self-built and had grills instead of window panes (thankfully there didn't seem to be many mosquitoes on the prowl). A rat scurried around in the rafters, and the cat, fearful of my presence, mewed and jumped around up there too but was not motivated to address the rodent issue.

In the morning we again crossed the highway, where we found the father sleeping on the porch of the hut near the animals, on account of the thieves. Rajendra gave the calf to drink at its mother's teat and then continued milking for the family's portion. As well as the animals, the family had a crop of wheat and some other crops. I wondered how there was water enough in these dusty hills for all the crops I'd seen on my way, and for how long, given I have seen rain exactly once in my 2 months in India to date. Hopefully the monsoons are sufficient to replenish these acquifiers...
 
I was invited to stay another night, and was tempted to stay on with these warm hosts, but my appointment in Gujarat was nearing. As usual I found it difficult accepting such generosity from people who clearly had little to spare. All was freely given though, with no expectation of 'repayment', giving me to much reflection as I cycled away.