After Udaipur we went Mount Abu, one of the lesser known colonial-era hill stations. It’s now a weekend tourist destination for Indian families from nearby Gujarat, many of whom come to visit their children at the local boarding schools. It was a refreshing change of pace for us, as we were no longer the intended audience for touts, street merchants, and similar characters. Most of the people there, tourists themselves, looked upon us with amusement.

We spent four nights at a family-run guesthouse and chilled, literally, in the slightly cooler mountain air. One night, a friend of the owner’s led us on a hike along the rocky meandering trails, up to the third highest peak, and then to a dramatic viewpoint overlooking the surrounding countryside at sunset.