I got a real thrill a couple of nights ago, when ITV showed "Octopussy" as part of its backwards-oriented James Bond series (backwards because they started with "Die Another Day" and will no doubt conclude with "Dr No" - backwards also because they interrupted the broadcast, as always, for an hour-long news break. What, is it still 1990?).
The thrill I got was because Bond was sent to Delhi, India, which quickly revealed itself to be Udaipur. Perhaps Delhi was too dingy to have been of any interest for our good spy? Anyway, no sooner had M told Bond to pack his bags for Delhi than we were shown a helicopter languidly floating past the Taj Mahal, Agra, and leading our hero eventually to Udaipur, home of the floating palace over Lake Pichola, and of course everyone's favourite, The Monsoon Palace, pictured here.
Perhaps it was a result of Bond's actions in the palace, when he was taken prisoner there, but the buildings I saw whilst in India, though certainly charming, were nothing like as beautifully presented as they were in the film.
It was almost as if they had used the palace only for its melancholic name.
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