Delhi to Mandawa to Chomu to Jaipur

There has been little time to write and scarce Internet in the last few very busy days.  I cannot possibly relate all that we have seen and done but here are a few of the most memorable.

The trip from Delhi, southwest to the small city of Mandawa, took about eight hours to cover three hundred kilometers.  We started on freeways, then dual track roads, and finally single-track (give way) country roads.  We went through countless towns and villages; and had front row seats to see rural village life.  At no time was anyone board.

The crazy freeway driving was the same as previously described but with additional herds of roaming cattle and an occasional monkey to contend with.  Assigned lanes were unused and drivers stopped haphazardly at any time.  Trucks and buses carried people sitting cross-legged on the roof with nothing to hold on to, at freeway speeds. 

The dual tracks were also a constant adventure.  Passing is a whenever, wherever driver choice activity.  Vehicles chose to pass simply by honking the horn and going for it.  It is a constant game of chicken where bigger is usually rewarded.  Three vehicles in two lanes is the norm with the loser hitting the shoulder.  Passing on blind corners is also a given and as a result, the roads are littered with the vehicle remains.  Motorcycles (carrying anywhere from one to four people) are treated no better than insects.  Cars traveling in both directions combine to force cyclists off the road.  Horn honking is constant.  Our driver told us Indian drivers must replace their horns every three months. 

After a while headon no longer scared us.

Stuff Happens

Every Vehicle is a Bus.

Cattle Rule - especially when you meet a Bull in an Alley.

Toll Booths are every few miles

The final section was single track.  Our driver had won most one on one battles to that point but this time he chose to hit the ditch at the very last second.  The vehicle was a comparable size but much newer.  We think he lost in deference to someone he perceived to be important.

The first thing we noticed on the drive is the huge number of roaming cattle.  Cattle are sacred and communities provide them food and water.  All cattle have some value as they eat the endless streams of garbage found everywhere.  Families for milk keep females but males simply take up residence anywhere they want.  Cow patties are used to heat homes in the winters.  Stacks of cow patties can be seen everywhere drying in the sun.  We are creating a list of the “top ten least favorite jobs” in India and cow patty stacker is right up there with “patty wacker” and “patty porter”.

Cow Patty Resource Center

Our drive traversed different kinds of countryside.  It is spring in northern India and the trees were full of the new green that comes with first growth.  It took us a few hours to see the trees through the smog after leaving Delhi but the blue sky eventually showed itself.  Mandawa is in a desert.

Loads of Gound Acacia Tree - Camel Food

Rural Indian Children Hung Up to Dry After Bath

Harvested Acacia Branches

Camels Do All the Work

The depth of the poverty became more evident the further we traveled into the countryside.  You have to steel you emotions in India.  Your heart goes out to those that have so little.  You want to give constantly but realize it would make little difference.  Those having travelled in rural Mexico would see similarities in the poverty but India’ is a little deeper and on a much larger scale.

Beggars Being Shooed Away from Restaurant

In contrast to the poverty there are also signs of the emerging economy.  We saw new construction including railways, roads, subdivision and new business centers, in many of the small villages. 

As we entered the state of Rajasthan our focus turned to competing for the best “working camel” photo.  Between four cameras we got a lot of heads, midsections, and butts but no complete shots. 

Mandawa was a very pleasant surprise.  It is a small rural town of only 25,000 people and very few tourists.  Mandawa was once a thriving town that served as a stopover along the Spice/silk route from China to Europe.  When the British left in 1947 many of the town’s business families also left the village to take up new businesses and residences in the cities vacated by the Brits. 

Our Mandawa Hotel Haveli - Open to the Sky

We took a walking tour of he villages many frescos painted Havelis (ornate courtyards in Hindi).  They are still owned by the city folks but have fallen into disrepair.  Our hotel, a former family mansion built in the 1800’s, probably had the best frescos in the village.  We dined on the roof with a canopy of the desert stars.  Deborah entertained us by dancing with the locals.

The main reasons for our visit to Mandawa were the camels.  We mounted up in a small alley behind the hotel.  This was a very basic operation and there were no stands to allow easy mounting.  Stan and Doreen went first and showed us the way.  The camel dropped to its knees as the rider(s) mounted and places his/her feet in the stirrups.  After everyone is on, the camel whisperer gives the command to rise.  It is a long way to the ground when a camel rises to its full height.  The others followed and mounted without incident.  Deborah and I were last.  I knew something was up when the man in charge looked at the two of us and waved off the next camel in line.  He said something about needing a stronger animal.  Deborah has been enjoying her butter chicken but I don’t think she was the problem.  After a few minutes of waiting a rather large, unhappy looking camel emerged from the paddock.  He dropped to his knees on command and I attempted to mount.  After swinging my leg part way across and before Deborah had a chance, he suddenly rose up.  Deborah jumped out of the way as his legs splayed out behind him.  I thought I was going to be launched over a nearby wall and got skin burn on my legs from squeezing so hard.  Eventually he settled down but he wasn’t happy being put to work. 

Talking to Mum on Cell

The ride took about an hour as we meandered out of town on to the sand desert.  We got the hang of rolling with the camel and enjoyed the ride.  I phoned my mother back in Abbotsford when we hit the sand.  Our activity was about as ancient as it gets in this area and I thought cell phoning across the world would be a great contrast.  We had further problems at the end of the ride as the camel chose to drop down for dismount only to jump back up as we were letting go.  Scary but we managed successfully a second time.

After a good nights sleep we traveled about 180 kms to Chomu.  More interesting scenery and more sights of families making do with what they have.  Every village had a vacant patch of dirt filled with children playing cricket.  Cricket is the most popular sport in India.

We stayed in the walled Chomu Palace Hotel.  It is a beautiful 58-room hotel that had its beginnings as a grand residence but like other smaller cities, the family moved away and it became a factory until recent times and its conversion to a hotel.  Unfortunately for the owners there were only two rooms rented the night we were there.  For the most part of our evening meal in the grand dinning room, staff outnumbered our party of seven.  The meal was superb and we finished with our usual Masala Chai tea.

We travelled for about an hour before reaching our next destination, the Amber Fort.  Mounted on the hill just outside of Jaipur it was once home to the royal family that ruled the region.  We hired a guide and had a very interesting tour that gave us a good idea of what ideal life would have been like 400 years ago.  The King had 12 wives and 97 concubines so there were a lot of rooms to go through.  It was in the high twenties outside but very cool and comfortable outside.  The architecture was a fusion of Hindu and Muslim styles.  The King who built the fort was a strategist and wanted to appeal to the majority.  The region did not produce wealth.  Soldiering and warring was the purpose of the area.

Amber Fort

Hall Of Mirrors

Royal Bath Tub

While our mission was to see the Amber Fort, our primary objective was to ride the elephants from the base to the top of the mountain.  This time there was a tower to mount.  Two at time we rode the narrow stone pathway to the top.  Many pictures were taken with both Stan and Jinder donning Maharaja turbans for the duration of the stay.

Elephant Loading Zone

Picture Courtesy of Doreen Photography Ltd.

After the elephants we toured jewelry manufacture plant specialized in precious and semi precious stones of India.  All the ladies participated and India is now down a considerable number of rubies and sapphires.  The men signed a lot of autographs.

The Shop Owner Can Now Retire

The Boys are Tired from Signing Visa Autographs

We ended the night in Jaipur with a dinner at a neighborhood restaurant.  Until you have been there you cannot really imagine a night street scene.  There is dust everywhere and walking is dangerous on broken sidewalks and roads.  The smog is intense in the city and the honking never stops.  These are not negatives; we came to India to experience something completely different.  Typical of most things in India, you find a gem or great experience where you least expect it.  As we waited to go in to the restaurant, Sting walked out.  He and his wife posed for a few pictures and we were placed at the table his party just vacated.  The fusion meal of Chinese, Italian and Indian was fabulous.

On the way home we got another unexpected thrill.  We were about 5 km from the hotel and our party of six jumped into two tuk tuks.  Our driver looked to be in his late 80’s with a maniacal smile, long grey hair and beard.  His partner took the lead on the relatively quiet streets but seconds later he cranked the throttle and flew blew past Stan, Doreen and Jinder with high speed.  Jinder was not about to be beaten so a few placed words had his man at full speed.  The two tuk tuks raced through the dark streets.  Kal, Deborah and I had to hang on with all our might.  I am convinced our driver was mostly blind because he nearly hit two vehicles as well as drove us directly into oncoming traffic.  Like the Red Sea they magically parted and we went shooting through the gap.  We separated at one point as both teams raced down alleys to get back to the hotel.  We were convinced our guy was a former Afghani terrorist because while Jinder team got to the hotel first, out guy drove right through security and aimed for the door first.

Deborah reminded me we should say something about the food.  We are eating Indian most of the time.  Breakfasts are similar to home with cereal, yogurt, fresh fruit, omelets, and Indian parantha (stuffed pancakes) and sholay (chickpeas).  Without a doubt I am gaining weight and it has only been one week.  No Delhi belly so far. 

We are also learning a little Hindi.  At the end of most dinners we order coffee or masala chai.   We often heard Jinder telling the waiter, “coffee shitty”.  We were a little taken aback and a little embarrassed when we thought he was complaining on behalf of the coffee drinkers.  Someone finally asked Jinder, “Why are you complaining about the coffee before we even get it?”   It turns out that in Hindi, “kofi shitty” means, “very quickly”.  The coffee was actually very good.

Off to Agra and the Taj Mahal.

Ps.  we saw a little Indian justice on the freeway today.  We came upon a large transport stopped and blocking the road.  As we inched by we saw two young men run across the front of our bus.  They had just got out of a new SUV that had been hit by the truck.  We looked across the freeway and saw the two young men join some others and they appeared to be chasing two more.  Our driver surmised that the truck drivers had rear ended the SUV and ran from the scene.  He suspected that if they could make the long grass they could hide from the pursuing accident victims.  If they were undetected they would likely wait to see if the SUV left.  If the SUV didn’t leave they would probably abandon the truck and walk to a different state and get a new job.  When we asked what would happen if they caught him, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said, “they will beat him”.  We don’t know what happened next.