When we reached Jaipur we were met by a driver and car to be taken to the hotel. On the way, the driver stopped the car and said "There's my boss." His boss got out of another car and came over and presented me with a lovely flower arrangement with roses and ferns in it. As you can imagine, I was very surprised!
We then went to our hotel for the night - what an amazing place! It was built in the 1940s as a house (haveli) and recently converted into a hotel. It is tradtionally decorated with many colours and decorations and is absolutely stunning!. The colours all seem to fit, even though they ought to clash. No-one would contemplate that mix in NZ.
The next day we moved on to Mandawa with our permanent driver for the trip. On the way we passed through Sekhawati region which is semi-desert and saw some other traditional homes (rich people's) later on. We saw many farms - some poor and some obviously richer, The poor farmers live in hovels and the better off live in brick boxes plastered with concrete. There are often many people from the same family living under one roof. Our guide around Mandawa is obviouslly from a better off farm as there are 40 people living there and they have 6 kitchens. Mind you, their kitchens are very primitive compared to those we are used to. The Hotel we stayed in at Mandawa looked very flash from the outside and was quite good inside except for the lack of hot water! Even in the tropics a cold shower isn't all that nice,
Many of the people we meet who work in hotels and as guides have never been to school but in spite of that have taught themselves to read and write and speak good English.
The next day we travelled on to Bikaner where we only stayed one night. We met a lovely Indian couple who were visiting from Mumbai (Bombay). Smitha is a biology and chemistry teacher and her husband is a corporate banker. they are very keen to keep in touch with us. We also had dinner with a man who had spoken to us at Delhi station. Shiv owns a tour business and wanted to know about how were are travelling etc. He appeared the next morning just before we were leaving for Jaisalmer and took us to a nearby textile warehouse and insisted on buying me a sari. He wanted to buy a kurta for Bill but we couldn't find one big enough. We both keep wondering if he has a hidden agenda, so will forget to email him when we return to Jaipur, where he says he'll be at that time.
Before dinner with Shiv, we went to a temple in Deshnok. Those of you who are squeamish - BRACE YOURSELVES!! The temple is dedicated to rats, yes rats! You have to take your shoes off before you go in, though some tourists wore socks or a kind of soft shoe made of calico. Inside, there are hundreds of rats running around and sometimes they run over people's feet. They don't look particularly healthy even though they are well fed. Apparently they are fed on a lot of sugar and milk and that's the reason why.
The next day we traveled on to Jaisalmer. What a long trip - the speed limit is 80kmph and our driver, Satish, is very good and never breaks the speed limit. We stopped once to visit a small lake where there are a lot of birds and then once for lunch. By the time we reached Jaisalmer, we were very tired but the sight of the hotel was cheering. It is only five years old and very nicely set up with lots of carvings and is made of the local sandstone. The front of it is completely carved in traditional Indian style. As soon as we arrived, the head guy, Krishna, offered us chai and suggested we went up to the roof to sign the register, drink chai and watch the sunset over the desert. Absolutely lovely. We also had dinner up there in the candle-lit dark.
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