After a few hours in transit on day 2 of our trip in India, we arrived in beautiful Rajasthan.  Our 45 minute drive into Udaipur from the airport provided some gorgeous views of the landscape of the area, crowned with mountains and adorned with lakes.  Udaipur ended up being one of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve seen in all my travels.  We fell in love with it immediately and I know we’ll be back many times in our lives.

Our driver from the hotel that picked us up from the airport drove us through the town, weaving us along roads beside beautiful blue lakes and finally stopping at a dock on Lake Pichola.  He told us that the hotel wanted to show us something special on our way in and was going to take us to the hotel via boat.  We left our luggage with him to drive to the hotel and hopped in a boat to be whisked over Lake Pichola as the sun set, taking in the mountains surrounding us, the City Palace shining on the shore and eventually arriving at the incredibly stunning Oberoi Udaivilas.

Upon arrival at the hotel, we didn’t think our trip could get any better, but oh how we were wrong.  We were met at the hotel’s dock, walked up through the insanely beautiful grounds of the hotel and then as we walked into the hotel, rose petals fell over our heads (this is how they greet every guest), proceeded by walking into a gorgeous lobby and a quick tour of the hotel.  We were shown to our room and while I had high expectations for this hotel beforehand, I was in no way ready for how much I would fall in love with it.  Our upgraded room was complete with a gorgeous 4 poster bed, a giant bathroom with a claw foot tub and marble flooring.  Our private patio, complete with 2 lounge chairs, an umbrella and a beautiful marble table was nothing compared to the immaculate semi-private infinity pool that flowed just outside our room.

We spent our first night in Udaipur in awe of our surroundings, of the beautiful landscape around us, sitting on the edge of our pool overlooking Lake Pichola, the City Palace and a wildlife sanctuary behind the hotel, watching the sun set and feeling like life couldn’t get a whole lot better than that.

The following morning, we slept in, enjoyed a delicious breakfast and then headed into town to explore.  We fell even more in love with the town of Udaipur, full of shops selling sari’s, elephants carved from wood and silver.  We meandered through the tiny streets, winding ourselves through the city toward the magnificent City Palace on the shores of Lake Pichola.  We explored the thousands of rooms in the palace for most of the day, did a little shopping in town and then jumped in a tuk tuk to take us back to our hotel, speeding through the tiny streets in the back of the rickshaw with Hindi music blaring.  It was one of those moments that makes you feel so connected to the country you’re in, that moment when you see it through new eyes, taking it all in.  After we returned to the hotel, we spent the evening by our pool, taking in the stunning landscape and relaxing a bit after a hectic first few days.

I’ve had a lot of “awe” moments in my life, but not many of them have come close to our time in Udaipur.  This magical place created a spot in my heart, it’s a place that I connected with, a place where I felt peace unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been in my life, a place that I’ll always remember and count the days until my return.