Travel

I woke up before the alarm went off to dash to the bathroom. Had it not been for the necessary trip to toilet, I probably would have woken up shortly after anyways as the same idiot that played Daddy Cool loud last night for a good few minutes was stupid enough to do the same thing (only to a different tune) for a couple of minutes in the morning.

We finished packing our bags, checked out, left our bags with the reception and walked to our Indian cooking instructor, Sashi. We entered the family house (a tiny home of two rooms) where

To congratulate ourselves for our oustanding travelling throughout the Indian subcontinent, we spoiled ourselves with a "breakfast of champions", as the Lonely Planet guide book reports, at the Sunrise Restaurant in Udaipur.

A well deserved sleep in meant that we didn't stick our heads out of our room until well after midday. The day was beautiful and the sun was schorching a sapphire blue sky. We thought that we could have dinner in the hotel restaurant, which was right outside our room.

At lake level, our table was gently graced by a refreshing breeze coming from the lake. This breeze and the shade provided all the refreshing needed to withstand the heat and the spice of the Paneer Saakwala I had with some nice oven fresh Chatpati.

The day started in Kolhpapur and ended in Udaipur.

The morning began with a generous breakfast, followed by a touching checkout from the Hotel Pearl, whose friendly and helpful hosts were insutrumental in ensuring we got to see what we came for and genuinely made us feel welcomed and at home.

During the checkout formalities, we had a chance to discuss Kolhapur changes over the years and got further insight into this thriwing city, the local industries and its inhabitants.

Wala strongly felt that her shawl was on properly and took her time to ensure that she got it right. However, as had happened on numerous occasions before, standing in front of the mirror and shifting it from side to side didn't really produce any changes in its appearance, which in my humble opinion was stunning anyway.

This morning I felt that we shouldn't be wasting time on this ritual, since we were running late for breakfast and for our appointment with our rickshaw driver, who would take us on a tour of Valivade and Kolhapur.

up 6:15

taxi to airport in (semi-deserted) mumbai streets

fav brekkie bread butter jam

flight to kolhapur, air deccan is punctual and efficient, although seats on board its planes are a bit crammed

lovely airport in kolhapur, everything is so green around here

sign for Mr. Matto Vescovi waiting for us outside airport for Hotel Shalini Palace. We non-chalantly ignored it and proceeded to a trendy ape piaggio rickshaw.

Our day began with breakfast on the first floor of our marbly hotel. After a spicy masala omelette, I felt ready to conquer the monkey filled Elephanta Island. A short stroll to the Gateway of India after, we learnt that, due to the morning fog, the island is best seen in the late afternoon, when the day clears out and one can take in the beautiful views of the island and of Mumbai.