19th July approx – After signing up for a 21 day tour with our driver Ramesh, way back in July, our first stop was 5hrs by Ambassador from Delhi in the small town of Mandawa. What a wonderful way to start! We knew we’d paid top dollar for the tour (A$130 per day for car driver, diesel, tolls, aircon hotel room, brekkie etc) but didn’t really know what type of hotel we’d stay in or what quality to expect. In the dim & distant 90s we’d been content with a mat on the floor of a bamboo hut but being 50ish ain’t the same as being 35 as those of you nearer the former than the latter will attest.
We arrived at the Mandawa Heritage Hotel about tea-time after rattling down dusty lanes & past somnambulant donkeys & camels & were greeted with a colourful confection that, if I was 40ft tall, I’d have gone at with a cake slice. The outside is all icing-white with multi-coloured stylized floral & geometric frescoes & murals of dancing nobles. Like many of the traditional hotels in Rajastan it was a beautiful restored ‘haveli’ or mansion. The Marwari people of the these areas (Marwar & Shekawati) built these palaces as a sign of their wealth. They are built around 2 courtyards but the best way to learn about all that is here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haveli .
The lobby of the Heritage moved C to tears, literally. It was so beautiful. We walked in with our bags & looked around & couldn’t quite believe our eyes, have a look at the slides… Our first room was ok but Ramesh wasn’t impressed & got us moved on day 2 to the best room in the house when it became available, again see pics. We really enjoyed Mandawa & I’ve been meaning to write about it for weeks, we got to know many local kids in our 2 ½ days & ate at both of the town restaurants. We toured a couple of other Havelis in the area & loved listening to the temples & mosques competing for the sunset atmospherics as they chanted & cymballed & drummed all around us, magic.
And the mad muezzin? One of the 3 evenings he didn’t stop after calling the faithful to prayer but carried on with a loud, grumpy sounding reading of most of the Qur’an. At one stage we heard other victims shouting at him but the amplified shouting didn’t stop till about 1am. Eventually we slept & dreamt of the desert…
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Small city in Jhunjhunu, Mandawa is packed with Indian Heritage that defines Rajasthan. Hotels in Mandawa offer a variety of options for travellers of all budgets and requirements.
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