Hello, February!💖 Since Valentine’s Day is coming soon, I’ll take you to Udaipur, the Venice of the East. Aand… it’s located in India!
Alright, I know Italy and India are totally different.
I love Venice, it’s charming and exudes a lovey-dovey vibe, with romantic gondola rides and fancy restaurants near the canals…
What about Udaipur?
I also love Udaipur, but I don’t know how to describe it in words. Udaipur has a different charm… it’s exotic.
The calm, serene city walk… My lovely heritage-style hotel, the delicious lunch at a cute cafe near the lake, the amazing architecture and interior design, and the sunset boat ride are 😍😍😍
Ah, right! I haven’t told you the reason why Udaipur is dubbed as ‘the Venice of the East’.
Udaipur has several lakes and narrow lanes which are surrounded by beautiful, historic buildings. There’s no gondola, but you can opt for a boat ride or cruise across Pichola Lake (sunset is the best time).
On top of that, there are many nice cafes, restaurants, and hotels beside the lake – just like Venice!
People say ‘Pictures speak a thousand words’, I hope you’ll get what I mean after reading this blog post.
After all, there’s a reason why the James Bond movie Octopussy was filmed in Udaipur!
The Romantic Hotel Raj Palace by Howard, Udaipur
Okay, first let me rave about my hotel room at Raj Palace by Howard, Udaipur 😆
I’m not sure if other travellers in my group got the same room as mine, but I like my room! What I like the most is the colourful windows at the back of the bed.
We reached Udaipur in the afternoon, so when I opened the door, the sun rays shone upon the bed through the colourful windows…
And the next day, I woke up to the beautiful, colourful lights in my bedroom. It was very romantic ❤️❤️❤️
I thought to myself, ‘This room sets the mood right, it’s great for couples!’ 😸❤️😸
Besides the room, the interior design of this 3-star hotel is also beautiful. I was so happy that Anuj, my local tour leader, gave us 1 hour to freshen up before our city tour.
Yaaay! It’s time to take some photos for my blog!
I love the heritage-style interior design. There are carvings but the corridors and rooms aren’t heavily decorated. It’s simple, traditional, and elegant!
By the way, when writing this blog post, I googled Raj Palace by Howard and found the photos that they posted on hotel-booking websites are the same as what I saw in real life 😉
If this beautiful building is a 3-star hotel, the luxury hotels in Udaipur must be very charming!
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Vegetarian Lunch and Udaipur the Venice of the East Orientation Walk
In the previous blog post, I mentioned that some restaurants in India serve Western, Chinese, and Middle Eastern food as well.
For our first lunch in Udaipur, Anuj took us to a cute cafe beside the lake. The cute cafe served only Western food, it had a dome-shaped oven for pizza and a long list of drinks!
Did I mention that they serve reaaally good coffee and Nutella hot chocolate? ✨✨✨
My background song when sipping this Nutella hot chocolate with froth milk: “Ooh heaven is a place on earth!”
Afterwards, we walked around the city and visitted Udaipur City Palace. In Udaipur, the roads are clean and there aren’t many people.
Maybe because I went there during winter, but it was nice to walk around under the sun and with cold breeze. Remember to bring your down jacket when travelling to India during winter!
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Visitting the Beautiful Udaipur City Palace
After the orientation walk, we didn’t have much time to explore the Udaipur City Palace. So, I didn’t take many photos as I wanted to hear Anuj’s explanation about the palace.
Our visit to Udaipur City Palace was a bit rushed but all of us were happy. There were too many beautiful things to admire! For example, the exterior of the palace itself:
If you want to visit the Udaipur City Palace, make sure that you also get a ticket to the City Palace Museum. The museum is inside the palace and full of incredible things!
As you can see from the photos above, the design of Udaipur City Palace is grand and full of carvings. The interior design is also Instagrammable, with different design and decoration.
When you enter, you may see zigzag corridors, which were intentionally designed to avoid surprise attacks by enemies.
By the time we exited the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, it was time for the place to close. Pheew, luckily we made it!
If you like taking photos, make sure you reach Udaipur City Palace and the City Palace Museum early morning to avoid the crowd.
Okay, next is the highlight of the day – a sunset boat ride across Lake Pichola, Udaipur! All of us were excited to experience the Venice of the East ✨✨✨
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Udaipur, the Venice of the East: Lake Pichola Sunset Boat Ride
Ah, the beautiful Lake Pichola sunset boat ride! Udaipur offers a different kind of beauty that would charm couples around the world.
Whether you’re from a far far away country like Europe or America, or from somewhere nearby like Asia, this city will never fail to impress you.
I really enjoyed the Lake Pichola sunset boat ride. I took some photos, waved to the locals who were sitting near the lake, and… stole glances at a cutie 🤭❤️🌅
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After the Lake Pichola sunset boat ride, we returned to our hotel to freshen up.
Next, we headed to a theatre to watch a traditional Indian dance performance and had dinner at a fancy rooftop restaurant.
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Udaipur, the Venice of the East: Watching Traditional Indian Dance
The 1-hour show was entertaining, especially with the detailed costumes, storytelling, and a woman dancing while carrying multiple pots on her head.
The 14-day India tour that I signed up for was a budget tour, but I was so happy that our tour leader, Anuj, took us to nice restaurants.
Whether they were fancy or normal restaurants, the ambience, view, and food were always nice! Since I seldom shop when travelling, it was a pleasure to spend money on delicious food 😍😍😍
Thank you, Anuj!
Alright, that’s my Udaipur, the Venice of the East (Part 1) blog post. Overall, I feel India is a great travel destination.
This country is rich in culture, architecture, history, and art. But I feel the most important thing is… India can help you understand your partner better.
As you already know, India isn’t as advanced as European countries. The roads in some cities can be chaotic and dirty. Someone may face something unpredictable, etc…
But the above are actually good chances to see how your partner reacts when things go wrong. If that person could adapt easily, would take care of you when you need them…
Okay, this single lady got too carried away. I’ll🤐🤐🤐 now, haha…
Whether you’re single or coupled, what about visitting Udaipur, the Venice of the East for Galentine or Valentine’s Day?
Or maybe experience the Holi Festival (25 March 2025) in India? Let me know in the comments! 😊😊😊
💖 15% OFF ALL TOURS! Click below and enter my discount code: 💖
CLARA15
Click “Add Promo Code / Voucher” and enter CLARA15 when you checkout at onelifeadventures.com
