Mandawa, New Delhi

Oct 21
Mandawa, New Delhi

I cannot believe that two weeks in India is almost gone. Only two more days left.

We left Bikaner early, and wound our way to Mandawa. The roads were generally good, although they were only two lane highways. An advantage of an early start is that India does not appear to be an early country. Highways are generally lightly travelled prior to 11am. Now this does not apply to the major cities where highways are packed from morning to past nightfall. Our journey was planned to be 200+ km at about 5 hours. We have discovered that the agency’s itinerary time estimates have been about right, averaging 50 km per hour taking into account breaks for tea, meals, and refueling.

I forgot to mention that we saw the Palace on Wheels, an extravagant train, while we were in Jodhpur.
It reportedly includes a travelling wine cellar. It travels during the night and gives the clients the day to tour the town at each stop. The best analogy is a cruise ship on wheels.

We arrived in Mandawa early in the afternoon. It is a small town, less than 20k population. We took the bypass around the market area. The driver had to stop more than once to ask for directions.


We finally found the Desert Winds resort. We registered and were escorted by a bellman (yes, we cannot carry our bags here, or for that matter wheel them over the concrete walkways to our individual unit/building). The units’ color melds into the landscape. They are round, brown and have what appears to be a thatched roof. The door has a wooden slide lock. Environmental considerations end here. The A/C is turned on and the lights are turned on (but do not illuminate much because they are so dim).
We take a look at the bathroom, and it is huge, with separate rooms for the sinks, wc, shower, and tub. No individual switch for a hot water heater is available (why heat the water when you are not in the room). We leave the room, but I am unable to figure out how to turn off the A/C.

We go to get lunch at the restaurant. It is 1pm but the snack menu is what is being served. Liz and I chose the vegiburger as we are still not eating meat in Rajasthan. The slaw, cucumbers, and tomatoes look tempting but we are being cautious with raw foods. While we are in the restaurant an Indian couple and small child arrived. They appear to be similarly disarmed by the menu and demand soup, salads and other items.

We tour the property. The is a 1950’s right hand drive Chevrolet pickup truck in the middle of the courtyard, and a swimming pool with sun bathing chairs strewn about. Back in the room there are brochures for various massages, facials and the like.


At 4 the guide appears and we are off with our driver to view Mandawa. As we learn this town was a merchant town on the silk road. There were rich merchants in Mandawa who build elaborate Haveli. These are large two to three storey buildings with a public and a private courtyard. The exteriors are decorated with frescos describing the silk trade, elephants, and other scenes. Most of the haveli appear to have been abandoned by their owner ; they may have caretaker families living in them. Our guide is says “explore” and sits on a chair in the ground floor courtyard. (He is moving to Frankfurt, Germany in late January. The weather will be a shock to him.) Since we indicated we did not wish to purchase any crafts we were spared the trip to the sales room. All in all the town was interesting, and we could have spent the day exploring. We were offered the option to have our dinned in a restaurant in town (in the fort), but we declined since we had booked a reservation for dinner at the Desert Wind.

Back at the hotel we notes all the chairs were being placed in a grassy courtyard – an omen of a dinner buffet (suggesting an under-spiced selection). Tourist buses arrive with French, German, and Italians. This appears to be the first stop on their tour of Rajasthan. Video cameras are glued to their eyes as they move through the facility. Dinner starts are 8PM. The aforementioned Chevrolet Pickup truck is now the bar. A puppet stage has been set up and puppets are strewn out in front for purchase (in the dark). An Indian buffet is laid out. Bland is the name of the game here. Indian rice dishes are replaced by Italian risotto, lentil soups and dal are replaced by cream of chicken soup. Naan is replaced by Italian bread sticks. No fresh fruits are available, but we have ginger cake with kiwi sauce for desert. We leave before the puppet show.

The next morning we check out with the most expensive meal bill of the trip. Our driver tells us this will be a difficult drive back to Delhi. For most of the first two hours the roads have one paved lane winding through rich agricultural areas. We see children going to school and school buses. In some places there is no road at all. About 5 hours later we reach the main highway between Jaipur and Delhi. Throughout our driver has been wonderful, considerate, and helpful. Returning to our friend’s home in Gurgeon is refreshing.

Liz has long wanted some Indian tunics. So with Snehal’s assistance we are off to one of the many shopping malls in Gurgeon. Liz finds several tunics and Indian tights to go with them. We visit an expat grocery store and marvel at the amount of European, Asian and North American foodstuffs available for purchase.

The next morning is our last in India and we decide to do a quick exploration of Delhi. The traffic is heavy and it takes an hour or so on the expressway to reach the city. We stop at a crafts area on the edge of Delhi where groups representing various disability groups from each state in India. The area is run by the Association for the Rehabilitation Under National Trust Initiative of Marketing. We eat a lunch of Delhi style chaat…to hell with not eating raw vegetables, riata, and chutneys. It is all good. From there we spend the next several hours driving through the government sectors of the Indian capital. We end the tour with a stop at the craft stores sponsored by the respective state governments of India. The same puppets sold at the Desert Wind to eager tour groups at 2000Rs are sold here for 200Rs

Finally, we end out sojourn in India be being dropped off at Terminal 3 IGIA. The terminal is new, openeded for the CWG 2010 (Commonwealth Games). Not all the stores are yet open, but the food court has some restaurants.

Check-in at AirAsia is smooth, the various security checks go quickly, and we pass through emigration without a hitch. The flight to Kuala Lumpur leaves on time and we sleep fitfully.


Our trip to India is over. We shall return. We will again focus on one small area within India, most likely Leh and Ladkah during Eid 2011 (late August, early September 2011).