My experience in Udaipur 💙
Khamma Ganni to all.
Recently, I posted about visiting Udaipur, asking for suggestions, so here is my review.
First of all, a lot of the suggestions were very helpful, so thank you for that. The weather was tolerable, although my stomach got affected due to heat. I couldn't eat as much as I wanted to.
The overall experience was bittersweet (I will explain the bitter part later).
The stay at Sterling was amazing, esp being off season, they upgraded us to a suite room, which was super comfortable.
The biggest shocker was time. We are early morning people when it comes to travelling but shops, eateries don't open till noon here. Even shilpgram opens at 11am??? Nothing happens early morning and it threw my whole itinerary off.
I did not shop at Hathipole, shopped at Maldas street instead (suggested by a random store person while I was walking). Vimal Cloth was one place I stumbled upon & shopped for like 25k from there. It was fixed price but he was selling dressed that other shops were selling for 2x-3x his price, so we didn't really force any discounts on him. The owner is gem of a person and I am so glad we came across him, he treated us like family. I also shopped from stores around city palace & Jagdish Mandir and yes, bargained a lot.
Loved the overall views of Udaipur from every angle- Gangaur Ghat, boat ride at lake Pichola, Karni Mata, sunrise from Rayta hills, badi lake views from Bahubali Hills, sunset at FatehSagar lake, views from City palace, etc. Experienced an evening of rain. I honestly loved how beautiful the nature around Udaipur is but it drove me crazy the way every around was so littered, especially the forest areas. There was plastic all around and I wish people were more conscious.
Ate at (good spots)- Traditional Khana, Paliwal kachori, Jodhana, Jagdish Shree, Sai Sagar, Deep Dish, 15Ad, Bake affair, Kanak dining, Trivedi Uphar, Aasavara chat. (Panditji ki lemon tea was over rated btw).
Now the bitter part is the travel. AWFUL EXPERIENCE on all fronts. I booked a cab for Nathdwara & return using MMT, after researching all my options, it seemed the most reasonable one as it was charging me Rs. 2800 + parking , toll, starting at 6am with 250kms and till 9.45pm. I have it all in written. Others were charging the same rate but with lesser inclusions (Uber was the cheapest at Rs. 1,400 but with only 100kms & 5hr trip). I did thorough study of all terms and conditions. When we started off, I asked to him to stop at Eklingji temple, which he had no issue with. Somewhere around that time, a discussion happened & I casually happened to mention that I have 250kms till 9.45pm in this trip. He didn't say anything. He talked us into hiring a panditji for Nathdwara darshan and Giriraj parikrama, we paid Panditji Rs. 2,100 for darshan (he was upset about the low amount), panditji in turn made us do some seva (cash) at mandir and buy prasad (I am not complaining about it, because i don't know what is real there or not). I wanted to buy a few things from shops at Nathdwara but both panditji & driver said it is expensive here and that the driver will take us to shops at Udaipur, which will be cheaper. Driver did not stop at Hanuman statue during parikrama, despite me asking about it & said 'it is closed'. I wanted to visit Statue of belief but he talked me out of it saying how it is a waste to visit. So even though I had the trip planned till at least 4 pm, we were done by 2pm. I had to insist him to take to Ganesh Tekri, which he wasnt willing to. He didn't even take the cab till Mandir saying it is not allowed and dropped us parking asking us to take auto till mandir which Rs. 100 for one way. Since I had the cab till 9.45pm and we hardly covered 120kms, we decided to utilise the remaining time at Udaipur as we wanted to shop. He asked us what all we wanted us to visit, showing no signs of objection. I honestly listed out all the shopping i planned to do & he agreed. He first took us to Rajwada, saying it is a govt shop. When we went in, it was clear it wasn't a govt shop and their items were at least 2x-3x expensive because I already bought something they had at much cheaper price. So we decided to move on from there. I didn't hold it against the driver even though I figured he had massive commission there, because this pretty normal everywhere. But his attitude changed after that. He immediately goes 'the cab is booked only till 6pm' & i showed him my booking till 9.45pm. Then he goes, Udaipur is not covered & i am like wdym udaipur is not covered? I have the cab till 9.45pm & 250kms, he says local sightseeing isn't covered. I said 'you didn't have a problem when I mentioned this while leaving Nathdwara' & he says 'boss isn't allowing'. I obviously said that if I don't get full service, I will not make the full payment (I already paid Rs. 800 advance btw). Then we heard his boss on the phone, saying 'hold the ladies in the car and dont let them or their belongings out, I am sending the guys'. He stopped the car at Bada Bazaar and we legit got scared for our lives. I called MMT and they said it is between you & driver. My mom, a senior citizen, threatened to call the police and that is when he took the vehicle towards the hotel. There was a lot of back & forth obviously but he refused to give us our belongings that HE insisted to keep in the trunk of this car at start of journey. No way I was gonna pay Rs. 3200 for 110kms and 8 hours for a mid hatchback (Rs. 30/km?? udaipur needs a reality check).The hotel manager came and saw my booking deets & agreed with us. The cab driver's owner came to the hotel and started abusing us. I told them to call the police because I was confident of my evidence. They didn't, they simply wanted to intimidate us & extort money. I said 'I will pay but first give the luggage' and after a lot of arguments, he opened the trunk, I took my luggage and paid them another Rs. 850, which brings to Rs. 1650 for the trip. Not only were they extremely abusive, the driver recorded me in his cab & at the hotel, without my consent, & has put up a reel on insta using my & my mom's video defaming us & spreading lies and comments on there are as usual abusive. I saw a nice glimpse of misogyny that is rampant in the state. Comments saying 'inko aukat dikhao' like yea, I spent my hard earned money on flight tickets and hotel for my enjoyment but here you are scamming people for Rs. 500-1000, we all can see 'kiski kitni aukat hain'. I was told on my first day that 'yahan 'tu' ki bhasha nahi chalti' & that everyone is very respectful, unlike Delhi Haryana. But 'aap' bol kar gala kaatna is not a flex or hospitality. And I cannot get started on how chindi they are. I booked early morning Uber for Rayta hills, which came to Rs. 885 for 3hrs & 50kms. The driver didn't take us till the spot it was booked to but I let it go because I didn't wanna ruin my mood & enjoyed whatever I got to see. Then on return, I asked to go to Bahubali hills & will add a stop but he tried to talk me out of it saying it is far & all, & I was like it is not too far, & I have time & distance left. I wanted to stop at Badi lake for some views & photos but he didn't. Our trip ended 30mins before time and he demanded Rs 2,500 for a Rs. 885 trip. I paid Rs. 900 & then he goes 'I should have demanded before the trip & then you couldn't have refused'.
I don't understand why Udaipur drivers think that other humans are stupid, that we have never travelled or live our lives in other cities. I get overcharging, ie. charging Rs. 60-70 for Rs. 50 ride that is within 2km, it is normal and we usually agree to it anywhere we go, but we were asked to pay Rs. 150-200 for 1.2km rides that were coming to Rs. 50 on Uber/Rapido. This is loot & greed. Why are they even on this app? Just boycott all cab apps and be like Goa & watch your tourism d!e a slow death. No hate to anyone but I really hope this happens to Udaipur because this isn't normal or healthy. I also live in a tourism dependent city, yes tourists are misguided everywhere, but no where I have seen 400% charge on travel and for what? You are not doing anyone a favour, you give us service, we give you money. Just because we come to your city doesn't give you the right to extort us. It is almost like they want to earn the whole day's labour from 1-2 rides.
I had only 1 bad day but it has been traumatising for life. Not something I would wanna come back to. So yea, from safety pov, I would't recommend this place to anyone else. Beautiful sure, but not safe at all.