Luxury Rajasthan

Sadly, my first trip to India was a short one and I wanted to combine Delhi with somewhere a bit different. Most visitors to Delhi will then head off to Agra and Jaipur to see the Taj Mahal and the Palace of the Winds but I was travelling alone and thought those places would be best seen at some time in the future. Plus the fact it's where everyone goes and I was looking for something else.

So I decided to travel to Udaipur. Often referred to as the City of Lakes it is somewhere that I'd been looking at in guidebooks for years and seemed to be a perfect destination to relax after the chaos of Delhi. Set around two main lakes - Pichola and Fateh Sagar the city is dominated by the City Palace which is the largest palace complex in Rajasthan.

Half of the palace is still the private residence of the royal family but the remainder is open to the public and well worth a visit - the views are spectacular and it is reasonably compact. I used one of the local guides to show me around - they are cheap, informative and will go at a pace to suit you.

For me, Udaipur epitomised everything I expected from India - elephants bathing in the lakes, cows wandering the streets, stalls with mountains of brightly coloured sweets and narrow alleys filled with humanity. It's a fairytale city that is often overlooked by visitors.

I made the effort to walk the 9km around Fateh Sagar, one of the two main lakes. It takes about two hours although you need to allow a bit more time if you visit Nehru Park which is an island in the middle of the lake named after prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. You take a small ferry from the jetty area which costs a few rupees. The lake is surrounded by hills and gardens and is a pleasant and worthwhile walk.

There was another attraction which led me to Udaipur - The Oberoi Udaivilas Hotel. Staying in one of the best hotels in the world might seem to defeat the object of visiting India at all but being a Travel Agent, I had to see what all the fuss was about. I've stayed in some fabulous hotels over the years in many parts of the world but this hotel was in a different league. It's impossibly luxurious - a fantasy hotel set on the shores of Lake Pichola. The buildings look like an old palace, but it was custom built and is the flagship of the Oberoi group. Impeccable service in beautiful natural surroundings with huge rooms and fabulous public areas. It boasts a spa operated by Banyan Tree and most suites have semi-private pools. It even has it's own clean water supply. If you only ever stay in one luxury hotel, make it this one.

Udaipur was the highlight of my first trip to India and I would urge anyone who loves travel to visit.