The bus ride to Delhi was smooth.  This driver was very good and he didn't make me feel like throwing up.  The bus arrived at Majnu Ka Tilla around 8:00 am.  I went to look for a place to stay and I found out that most hotels were full.  I didn't think this would be the problem, so I didn't make any reservation.  Fortunately, my travel agent was open and Mr. Suman was there.  He found me a room at Peace House.  He said it was the last room left in Majnu Ka Tilla.  I totally believed it. 

I tried to rest, but I felt restless.  I called Hari to say that I have arrived Delhi and I felt sad that I was so far away from him though our voices were near.  I went to ask Mr. Suman to book me a bus ticket to Udaipur and spontaneously I decided to leave the same day.  I didn't like this transient feeling and I wanted to keep moving.

I hung around until 5:00 pm and took auto to a bus stop.  At 7:00 pm my bus to Udaipur took off.  There were only 9-10 people on the bus.  After moving through the heavy traffic of Delhi, the bus hit the highway.  It had four lanes and the road was smooth.  Though I was tired from the last night's bus ride, I was glad that I was moving.  Around 1:00 am we arrived Jaipur, the capital of Rajastan.  Even at night, I could see that the city was busy and dirty.  We stopped at the bus stand for a while and half of the passenger got off. 

Rajastan at night was very cold.  Coming from Himachal, I totally didn't expect this.  I was freezing.  Many people got off on the way and a few got on.  By the time we reached Udaipur, there were about 5 of us on board.

The bus arrived Udaipur around 10:00 am.  I got away from pushy auto drivers and decided to walk.  I kept asking, "Which way is Lake Pichola?" and followed the way people directed me.  It was further than I thought and I cursed myself for packing so much stuff in my bag.  I noticed that people here had profound reactions to my hair style.  I had some comments in McLeod Ganj, but it wasn't like this.  Almost every person I passed by commented about my hair. 

I went up on a hill and saw the lake.  It was beautiful!  I could see the famous Lake Palace Hotel and City Palace from there.  But unfortunately I was way south of the old city, where I was intended to find my room.  As I walked toward the old city, it got touristier.  There were gift shops everywhere and people were kept asking me to stop by.  I found Hotel Raj Palace where Hari worked for 7days before he got married.  Around the famous Jagdish temple, it was so crowded.  I was already sick of being hassled by the shop keepers from every corner.

I tried a couple of guest houses from Lonely Planet, but they were either too expensive or full.  I went over to an area called Hanuman Ghat by crossing a bridge and it was significantly quieter.  A smooth talking man asked me if I was looking for a room and he showed me a room.  He gave me a small room with a nice view for fairly reasonable price, so I took it.  The room was painted in bright color and the bathroom was clean and had hot water.  I went up to the roof top restaurant which had a great view of the city and ordered lunch.  The cook was a 20-year old Nepali boy.  His name was Raju.  We immediately connected.  Most people here were western tourists and as usual they didn't seem to care about locals.  Raju said this year was really bad because of the Mumbai terrorist attack.  Usually this time of a year, every guest house should be full.  I was lucky to get my room so cheap.

I decided to walk around to get know the city.  Munsi, the smooth-talking hotel manager, said I had to go see Monsoon Palace, but I said maybe.  I walked around for a while and got sick and tired of the hassle and went back.  Munsi arranged an auto for me to go see Monsoon Palace.  The auto driver's name was Khan and he was very nice.  Somehow he reminded me of Hair a bit.  Monsoon Palace was on the top of a mountain and the view from there was superb.  One side was the city of Udaipur and the other side was mountains.  I didn't realize that Rajastan was so mountainous.  I watched sunset from there and it was so romantic that I felt a bit silly being there alone, surrounded by couples.

I really like Khan.  He said he would take me around the city tomorrow.  I went back to my hotel and went up to eat.  I ordered Rajastan Thali.  The meal was good, but it was catered for the western tongue and wasn't spicy enough for me.  I wanted to sleep so bad that I ordered a bottle of beer.  Raju was the only person cooking there, so it took long time for my dinner to come.  I ended up ordering another beer and I felt a bit tipsy.  I called Hari at night and he was so sick that he could barely talk.  I felt bad that I was drunk without him. 

It was nice during the day, but it got a bit chilly at night.  There was one blanket in my room and it wasn't enough.  The view of the city at night was just so beautiful and I liked the city.  I thought I stay here for a few days to chill out.