At breakfast I met a very kind local who offered to take me to the Monsoon Palace on his motorcycle. The Palace sits on a mountain high above the lakes and was also used in the James Bond movie. The ride was a little scary but I tried to keep my eyes open as he dodged cows, cars, and tourists. Again the views were extraordinary and made me think of Italy. The palace its self is in disrepair but it's a nice contrast to the opulence of the City Palace. My motorcycle guide drops me off in the market as I need to find a chuni, or scarf, for the party. Most of the vendors cater to tourists and don't have what I'm looking for so they put me into an auto for a sari shop. What's funny is the sari shop shows me the exact same scarfs. So I decide to wander again. In the backstreets, I am ambushed by a bunch of bright wiry kids. After a lunch of greasy mutton biryani with the kids, I go to meet Binny for tea. He shows up with tee shirts (enough for the boys in my family;)), key chains and pens from his company. So thoughtful. And after another dinner on yet another rooftop, I go to bed amazed and in awe of Udaipur ... by far my favorite city in India.
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