Mandawa and on the Road

First day of our driving tour we checked out of the Imperial hotel

and met our driver Anil who was young, gentile, and quite. I had been

up all night getting sicker and sicker so I just ran to the car and laid down.

The car that we would be traveling in was a mini van, I was so grateful

for the extra legroom and space to lay down. We planned to drive about

5-6 hours a day for 10 days stopping at 4 designated villages and towns

for half day excursions and then to spend the night. Our tour made a

large circle throughout Ragasthan, ending in the last two of the golden

triangle cities. Jaipur and Agra. Most of our driving was through dusty

desserts, once out of the city our sight and photographs were tinted with

the color of dust blowing through the air. Rivers of sand could be

seen blowing across the road. It never ceased to amaze me to see spots

of color, painted doors or the womens' saris, popping out of the dessert

landscape.

Our first destination was the dessert city of Mandawa, and we

stayed at Castle Mandawa. The town and area are known for

their miniature paintings that adorn many houses and

buildings, these buildings are called Havalis. Our hotel being

one of the most extensive and best preserved Havali in town.

Good thing, since I was in no shape to go out walking around

and touring the town.

This is me trying to focus on getting better. Our room was

quaint, with small but beautifully carved beds, and no

airconditioning. Just a ceiling fan. The temp during night and

day was in the 90s. It was horrible. I would get up every 30 min,

drench myself in the shower, and then lay under the ceiling fan

just for some very short reprieve. I would be dry again in 10 min.

I couldnt eat anything, I just drank luke warm pepsi. Poor Reece

had to fend for himself that night and go beg the bar downstairs

for some food he could take up to our room. Luckly Reece had

downloaded some of our movies onto our laptop. I had never

seen Fantastic Mr. Fox and so Reece put it on for me as a

distraction. It worked for the most part. I even giggled at a few

parts, (smiling was rare for me during that night and day)

so that was a life saver. I will always appreciate that movie

from now on, crazy I know, but Im now bonded to it.

The next morning at 6 am the temp went down to the 80s and it

was such a relief. I stepped out of the room, fragile, but willing

to push to see what I had traveled so far to see. We toured the

hotel grounds and had breakfast.

Since we were traveling in the off season we felt

like we were staying at abandoned resorts, beautiful

but empty. As the days went by the lonelier we got,

strange as it sounds we welcomed the slightest crowd.

It made us feel safe, and not alone.

As a photographer I am grateful for the people-less photographs

but in a place where so much is different, I did wish we were

traveling with a few more people. But my husband was amazing.

I was so grateful for him every step of the way. Patient and

was always researching to help the trip go smoothly.

I love this man.

The pool, not cleaned during the season, but I can picture

how stunning it would be if it was.

Back on the road again. Still getting used to the culture on the

roads. Cows roaming free stopping traffic laying everywhere,

camels, horses, or mules pulling carts in the bike lane,

tractors loaded with tons of people all wrapped up

in protection from the dust in the air, woman and children

balancing "side saddle" on motor bikes,

woman traveling to get water balancing large pots on their heads,

market stalls, then there are all of the painted trucks we would pass.

Fantastically painted. Driving is crazy. Fast, horns blowing

people passing constantly even with head-on traffic coming

full speed. There would sometimes be 3-4 cars wide across

the road for instantaneous moments as multiple people tried to

pass in all lanes. I was so grateful for Anil, he was calm, patient,

and conservative. He never tried to pull any crazy moves, we always

felt safe with him behind the wheel.