This is the Hotel Ambrai…

…located on the shores of Lake Pichola in Udaipur, overlooking the City Palace…

…and the luxury boutique Lake Palace Hotel, formerly a summer palace built by Maharana Jagat Singh II in 1743. The locals loved to proudly tell us that the James Bond film Octopussy, was shot there. In fact, that was where the infamous character Octopussy herself lived.

This is the teen on the lawns of the Ambrai getting a much needed doggy-romp-fix with Toro and Leo, the dogs of the owners of the hotel.

We’ve had to restrain ourselves from disturbing the street dogs, so this was a welcome treat.

These are the owners of the hotel.

BUT… The teen and I weren’t staying at the Ambrai.

Oomph noooooo, we were staying here…

…at the Little Prince Heritage Hotel.

See the doorway across the gravel pit next to the men and the motorbikes?

Our car couldn’t fit through the narrow, winding narrow alleys of the old city where our hotel was located. So we had to walk, dodging the traffic.

BUT… what the Little Prince Hotel had, that the Ambrai didn’t have, was Addy and Manu, the manager and chef, who welcomed us like long-lost relatives.

And the Ambrai hotel didn’t have the view from our room of the donkeys carting gravel…

…and emptying it onto the pile.

…nor a view of the cow lounging in the sand used to mix with the gravel to make the cement.

Nor a view of the women carrying the gravel and the sand to the mixer…

…to lay the cement on the path which we had to negotiate. And yes, there was a moment of contemplation by the teen as she imagined evil mother falling into the wet cement and being set forever in the back alleys of Udaipur.

Ambrai also didn’t have a view of this woman buying stuff from this street vendor who roamed up and down bellowing his wares from 7am.

Nor did the Ambrai have the view of this street seller shouting about his pani pooris…

…a favourite street snack in India, the puri is deep-fried dough stuffed with a mixture of either sweet or savoury fillings like potato, onion and chickpeas.

The Ambrai didn’t have a view of this old woman peering out through her doorway…

…nor would you have seen this really cool rooster!

The Little Prince Hotel, now apparently featuring a Princess, the title bestowed upon the teen by the effervescent Addy, is actually an old house overlooking Hanuman Ghat (ghat meaning steps leading down to the water).

The hotel has eight charming and clean rooms. Upstairs is a common eating area where everyone hangs out…

…and where Manu concocts the most amazing chocolate pancakes in between chewing your ear off. He’s a wonderful character, widowed with two teenage sons living with his parents in a village 500kms away.

Further up on the roof more spectacular views of the City Palace are offered…

…and of that stunning Lake Palace Hotel…

…and of course, the activity on the roofs below.

This woman bringing in her washing…

A child playing…

A couple of gossips checking out the other neighbours…

Family time…

Goodnight Udaipur…

…we’ll miss you.