Day 4 (Dec 26, 2010): Ahmadabad – Mount Abu – Udaipur

We finally were able to stick to our 6 am schedule today. We were put up at a hotel close to the highway and hence it took us no time to hit NH8 once again. It was dark yet. We were riding carefully, behind the trucks or other big vehicles. Destination today was Mt. Abu, but there wasn’t any milestone indicating the distance or the direction to Udaipur. We asked a taxi driver who said we need to continue till Himmatnagar from where a diversion would lead us to Mt. Abu. We enjoyed the highway ride to Himmatnagar which lasted for an hour or so.

The road got smaller as we took a diversion and left NH8. The road wasn’t as smooth too, thus reducing our speed drastically. But then it compensated that with the beautiful sights various places had of offer. There were lakes with clear water reflecting the surroundings, temples neatly carved in marble, plenty of lush fields and mountains in the backdrop. At times these mountains got closer while many a times they beckoned us from far off.

Enjoying the sites and with some photography on the way, it took us no time to reach Ambaji – a sacred place where Goddess Amba is worshipped. It also happens to be one of the important Shaktipeethas. We had ridden 180 km and it was time for a break. So we headed towards the temple, parked our bike near a shop and quickly got inside the temple to seek blessings of Ambaji. The marble carved temple that looked striking from a distance, now looked even more beautiful. There was a mob of people who like us were here for the darshan. It thus took us around 45 min to seek the blessings before we got going again. (For more details and photos on Ambaji click here)

Just as we left Ambaji

Abu Road was mere 20 km from Ambaji and we reached in no time. The mountains of the Aravalli range allured us with all their charm.  We couldn’t wait to be atop to enjoy the cold. We had heard the temperature at Mt. Abu had dropped to -3°C a couple of days back. As we started going uphill on the long winding road, we could feel the difference. I had gotten colder. It was about to be noon and though the sun had showed up, it’s attempts to heat up this place seemed to be in vain. There were mountains all around covered with variety of greens to add up.

It had been a great 25 km ride up the ghats to reach Mt. Abu. We headed straight to Nakki lake, the centre of attraction. We had heard of it being frozen due to the temperature drop, but to our surprise it wasn’t so. Boating continued as usual and temperature didn’t really seem to be that low. With tourists galore, Mt. Abu was definitely not our kind of place. We grabbed our lunch and visited a few sites around. They were beautiful but many of them flooded by the tourists. Hence we winded up the site-seeing quickly and got back to Abu Road to head towards Udaipur, though earlier we had planned to stay back here itself. (Photos and info on Mt. Abu click here)

Temple on NH14

We had a burly mindset when we got down the hills. But no sooner we hit the highway (NH14) than we began to feel better. It was a smooth road and helped us cruise over 100 kmph. We were enjoying the ride reached Pindwara in no time from where we diverted on NH76 which connected Pindwara with Allahabad. Things couldn’t have been better than this. The lovely highway helped us cover 120 km and reach Udaipur in an hour and 20 min flat. (Photos and info click here)

Romance by the lakes – Udaipur

As we entered Udaipur, we asked for directions to the Fatehsagar Lake and quickly got there. It was about to be sundown. The sun spread its golden rays on the clear waters of the lake. It was beautiful. We sat besides the lake on the wall cherishing the wonderful ride we just had as we saw the sun go down. There was quietude and the only sound I remember hearing is that of the water lashing against the walls. It was the most romantic evening.

It was getting dark and we suddenly realized that we are yet to look for a hotel to be put up for the night. We were exploring the options in the book I was carrying and had a strong feeling that we should be staying in one on the havelis. But we were in no mood to splurge. As we were on the hotel hunt, we found most of the good ones were booked. With lost hope we happened to finally enter Hotel Gangaur Palace. To our surprise there was a room available. The better part was the room rent the owner quoted – INR 800. It was pilfer for a great room like that.

We quickly freshened up, relaxed a while and went over to the roof top restaurant. It offered great food but more importantly splendid view of the city. The hotel was right next to the Gangaur Ghat at lake Pichola – which was the centre of attraction of the lake city. Thus from it’s rooftop restaurant we could get a view of the illuminated JagMandir and JagNiwas (The lake palace) that stood amidst the waters. There were several other well illuminated monuments, hotels and other landmarks that added to the glory. Basking in this blessed state with the impressive view that surrounded us we had our most memorable dinner. We now felt we were in "Rajasthan". (More photos on Udaipur click here)

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