Backpacking Southeast Asia

First, a map of where I am:

I can now safely say that I am back to relative normal health. I spent five days in Pushkar, probably a bit too long, but I had a nice room with a balcony and a view of the city, so it was easy to stay there and recover. Pushkar is quite relaxed, which has been tough to find so far.

I arrived in Udaipur last night, and after walking around for a few hours today, I can easily say it's my favourite Indian city so far. Lonely Planet calls it 'the most romantic city in Rajasthan', and I wouldn't disagree. It has very narrow, maze-like streets, so it's easy to get lost, but there are shops everywhere to keep you busy. There's a big lake and rooftop restaurants aplenty, with great views of everything. It seems to be a lot cleaner here than other places I've been, maybe I'm just getting used to it and I don't notice it as much, but it just seems spiffed up a bit. I kind of wish I had spent less time in Pushkar and more time here, but it's no big deal. It's too bad though, just when I'm starting to get into India and enjoy it, I realize I have to leave in six days.

Here are a few pics. Again, I haven't taken nearly as many as I would have liked because I feel self-conscious with my big camera, but I've got a few:

This was the Republic Day celebrations in Pushkar. India officially became a republic on January 26, 1950, and it's one of the few national holidays, so they go all out. The celebrations went all weekend, late into the night. This was the view from my room.

A cow relieving an itch on a footbridge in Udaipur. Cows, like stray dogs, are everwhere.

An elephant roaming the streets.

The view from the rooftop restaurant at my hotel in Udaipur.

Well, only 11 days total left now. The end is very, very near. I'll try and squeeze in another blog from India, and possibly one more before I leave Bangkok. See you all soon!