Desert Poetics

From the airport we're driven straight to the Lake Palace Hotel in Pichola Lake-surely one of the most picturesque, romantic settings for a hotel anywhere. It has just turned dark. The sky is a striking dark blue. A silver of the moon and the evening star, Venus, hangs just above the hotel as the ferry takes us across the lake. Two other palaces, the Jagmandir, also within the lake, and the Monsoon Palace, atop a nearby hill are lit up. With the brooding backdrop of the Aravalli hills, it's an unforgettable, magical sight.