yoga. a hard morning for me. went to bed with a migraine. woke up in weird sort of disarray. my morning yoga was unfocused and completely disengaged. i just wanted to be sitting. or eating. i wanted to be anywhere but there. sometimes we have those days. days where we just cannot seem to center our mind, stop it from drifting into foreign lands of negativity.

breakfast helps. food always helps.

then we packed up and left our pretty palace to head back out on the road. to udaipur! so far here is our route (mumbai/bombay is next on the list after udaipur).

another six hour trek in the van, but this time on much better roads. driving sort of sucks, but it also a great way to see the land. staring out the window at the people, the sugar cane fields, the colors, the dirt.

the travel is giving me time to get work done, write, and catch up on sleep. but the travel is also more taxing than i thought. it was so nice to have a home base in delhi. now its two days here, two days there. cram in the sights and head out on the road. there is only so much you can see in 25 days. i think we are doing a good job of making the most of our time.

we arrive in udaipur at dark and no one seems to know where the heck our hotel is. every taxi driver we ask shakes his head at us. nope. so, i do what i do best…whipped out my iphone. thanks google maps. you are magical. even though i love the authenticity and simplicity of rolling down your window, sometimes technology makes life easier.

the streets grow narrower and narrower. we literally have an inch on either side of us as we drive through the alleys. nearly knocking over parked motorcycles and scooters. and of course, being slowed down by the cows in the road.

animals roam free here. cows, pigs, dogs, monkeys, horses, donkeys, they walk next to me as i tour the cities. and yet, i rarely see animal poop on the ground. i remember the streets of argentina being cover in dog poop, but here, nothing. maybe it just dissolves into the dirt. who knows.

we finally find our hotel, the little prince. run by a nice young man who tells me his name is eddie. later i find out that it is actually not eddie. of course. he is a cutie though.

this hotel is a definite change of pace from our palace. more like the places i am used to staying in. a sort of hostel kind of feel with only eight rooms. simple and gets the job done. but there is a super cozy lounge area with big futons and pillows. a great space to sit and write this blog.

and then there are the locks. the past two hotels we have stayed at have had these massive padlocks. i kept thinking about how someone could come and lock us inside of our room at any moment. good thing there are not a lot of pesky teenagers running around the hotels causing chaos.

and then, there is the rooftop. i have finally joined the rest of india on the rooftops. you can see it all. i want a rooftop wherever i go from now on. such a great perspective to see from above. and to see the amazing sunsets.

we are now moving south and you can tell. the sun is hot. the mosquitos are alive. the mountains are beautiful. the change of scenery is welcome, but is taking its toll. the sun drains my energy faster than i can replenish. water. i need to drink more water. but then i have to pee more. and peeing is not always easy. if i were a local, i would be fine. pee wherever i want. but finding a proper toilet can sometimes be a task when traveling.

but it is about the halfway mark. i am missing home, but excited to keep heading south. mumbai is sure to be an adventure and then onto ayervedic land for a few days. this will give us all time to recuperate. rejuvenate. relax.