12: Bundi

Today we are going to a place called Bundi. This is another of Ravi’s recommendations, we’ve never even heard of Bundi!

It’s another long drive, which isn’t great; but we have large distances to cover on this trip and so we have to accept that they’re unavoidable.

What a lovely place it is! The old city is home to an impressive palace and fort. It’s compact and not touristy at all. Beyond its walls the new city sprawls off into the distance.

The fort and palace are on a high rocky outcrop overlooking the old city and the lake below. Much of the old city is painted blue, like Jodhpur, it looks really attractive.

Bundi is small by city standards of most places we’ve been so far, there a bit of tourist infrastructure - a few cafes, tourist shops - but not too much.

The local people are very friendly, the shop keepers not as pushy as most places - and they like to ask about England and hear about our lives.

We stay in the family run Hotel Katkoun Haveli, which has the advantage of overlooking both the lake and the palace.

We have a choice of rooms and select the one with the palace view as it’s away from the road and the palace is gorgeous!

There is a huge monkey population here, everyone has to have monkey- proof grills covering their balconies and nothing can be left on any uncovered areas.

In the evening, you can watch them coming down from the palace and surrounding hills and swarming over the flat - roofed houses.

This morning we walk to the fort and the palace, not a long walk but a VERY hot and steep one!

The fort is higher than the palace and we visit there first, the path is steep and rough. There are signposts along the way but they are broken and covered with vegetation. It looks as though this was once more of a tourist attraction than it is now.

When we reach the fort, it is derelict. There is a warden there who shows us round and despite its rundown state, the place is fascinating.

There are peeling and faded paintings on the walls, vestiges of former grandeur.

If the palace came under attack, the Maharaja would retreat to the safety of the fort, so he had fully up together living accommodation to move straight into.

The fort obtained its water from three massive open air storage tanks, they are still there and have water in them though it is now covered in green weed.

The palace is also gently decaying although in a better state than the fort. There are very few visitors which gives the place quite a romantic feel. We find ourselves trying to imagine how the palace would have been operating in its heyday.

There are some superb murals which although the worse for wear are still  breathtaking in their detail and the vividness of the colours which have stood the test of time and exposure to the elements remarkably well.

As we come back down into the town, we get chatting to a chap called Jay who together with his mother and sister runs Jay Cafe. The cafe is in Jay’s grandfather’s house, it is very old and painted a beautiful vivid blue.

We are promised the best lassi in town and it is certainly delicious.

Jay’s mum presents Janette with some sparkly bindi which is very touching.

We then pass a shop where the owner is sharpening knives. We get chatting and he’s keen to hear about our travels. He spots Nicks rings and shows us his Indian Puzzle Ring.

Ravi has come to meet us in Bundi, Janette would like to have a top made and so he takes us to a workshop cum shop in town where they produce fabric on a handloom.

Many, many fabrics are produced and one finally selected. The tailor is then called in from his shop up the road.

Yes, he can produce the finished garment by midday tomorrow, the cost all in of fabric plus tailoring? Around a tenner!

In need of refreshment we all adjourn to a Ravi recommendation - Krishna Cafe.

It’s been creatively decorated over the years by customers from all around the world.

The owner is passionate about the drinks he sells and spends a lot of time and trouble grinding and mixing the various spices to produce the tastiest tea and coffee ever.

There are a number of  stepwells in Bundi, so we decide to visit two that have been recommended to us.

We take a tuk tuk the suspension of which is so shot that we fear spinal injuries may result as we are shaken and jolted along!

The first stepwell, Raniji Ki Baori, is utterly different from the one we saw in Jodhpur. It was built in 1499 and is known as the Queen’s Stepwell.

It’s really beautiful, it has wonderful columns and carvings and is quite breathtaking.

We are very underwhelmed indeed by the the second stepwel , Dabhai Kund known locally as the Roaring Tiger on account of the tiger that fell into it. We have been told it is large and very impressive but we find it to be rather neglected and sadly gathering rubbish and green algae.

Research after our visits reveal that in both stepwells the water was pretty high which prevented us from seeing them at their best.

We’ve accessed some images which show them when the water is low.

…and it’s obvious that what we saw was just a taster of their full glory.

Our last night in Bundi is also the last time we will see Ravi and Surendra and so we arrange to spend the evening together back at the haveli.

Janette has signed up for a cookery lesson and will help to prepare most of the evening meal… cashew curry, vegetable rice, nan bread and papa dons… what a spread!

and in addition a mutton (goat) curry will be cooked over a wood fire on the roof terrace.

We enjoy a delicious meal with a bit too much to drink (we bought Ravi and Surendra a bottle of whisky and the chaps tuck into that, Janette sticks to beer).

We sit on the terrace overlooking the palace chatting until late, it’s a really special evening.

Tomorrow we’ll head back to Jaipur but we’ll just be staying in a hotel near the airport as we have an early flight to Varanasi tomorrow. We’ll be leaving Rajasthan and heading to a new state - Uttar Pradesh - what a time we’ve had in The Land of Kings, let’s hope the next leg of our trip is just as amazing.