Udaipur's best kept secret

So instead of sulking in Delhi we thought we would do a short trip to Udaipur. You will probably have noticed that we seem to be going to Udaipur a lot lately and that's because we are preparing to move there in a bit. But it's too early to talk about that. 

What it's not too early to talk about, on the other hand, is this little Udaipur gem: the Shiv Niwas swimming pool. 

Located in the City Palace Complex on the banks of the lake Pichola, the Shiv Niwas Palace was built in the 1890s as part of the residence of the Maharana (king) of Udaipur. It was designed as a guest house for royal guests before being converted into a heritage hotel in 1982, a hundred years after it was built. 

I would love to tell you we have stayed at the hotel but we haven’t. 

What we have been doing is using their swimming pool. I discovered a few years ago that for a few bucks (literally - Rs 300 or $6) you can relax there the whole day. It's the perfect thing to do after a sweaty day of sightseeing or just as an in-between rest day. 

It’s a hidden little paradise. Don’t tell anyone else about it. 

a delicious lassi to keep us going

and of course the compulsory chai break 

we even had this little guy keeping us company (he did try to steal our meal)

we went to Udaipur in the sleeper train 

- I really recommend it if you have time, it's much more comfortable than the plane

our sleepy train neighbour