Three brothers and a lake

The first time I watched the film Darjeeling Limited I was starting to think seriously about travelling to India. All my plans were just blurred and undefined: volunteering, travelling..? I was just sure about the huge curiosity I felt to discover India.

Some months later I watched again the Wes Anderson movie about three weird brothers. This time I was already in India and I was also about to go on a journey around Rajasthan, where the films takes place. Surprisingly, I also had two brothers to travel with! They were the lovely volunteers I met in Hyderabad and missed friends now.

Darjeeling Limited became our joke and our goal too, as the last visit we did was to the Jaisamand Lake. In this place is where the last part of the film takes place, as if it was a wicked place around the Himalayas, but it’s not. Jaisamand lake, also known as Dhebar Lake is located near Udaipur (about one hour and a half on a public bus) and is the biggest artificial lake in Asia and the second biggest in the world. Built in the 17th century, is surrounded by marble steps and elephants. The lake also contains three islands and a resort.

The lake was the perfect place to finish a long and amazing journey where we did so many things… We climbed mountains, we slept in the desert, we travelled exhausting journeys fed with ten-rupees-cookies. We took trains, buses, planes and boats (at least one boat on a wild trip around Pichola Lake, in Udapur). We visited colourful cities and astonishing, breathtaking, amazing and stunning forts and temples. We ate delicious random curries and we drank litres of sweet lime soda and ginger lemon honey teas. We looked for the best coffees in every town and we shared chocolate cookies while reading books on hotel beds.

The journey was over and now it seems ages ago. Me and my brothers we are now living in different countries and even different continents, but it doesn’t matter because we all have a shared memory of a perfect journey around India that finished around a lake.

See you soon girls!