O7/31/22 Delhi to Mandawa

 July 31 - Delhi to Mandawa 


We had an early start. We generally pack our gear at night and have our bags ready to go by morning. We leave our bags outside the room and head for breakfast. Our bags magically make their way on to the bus. 


Today I was smarter than usual. I took my Starbucks travel cup to breakfast and filled it with chai. The best start of the day!


Our bus is a mini bus that sits 21 people. We are comfortable in a group of 12 because we each get a seat to ourselves. It means that everyone gets a window to watch the passings. 


We visited Qutb Minar before leaving Delhi. It is the tallest stone tower. It was built by a ruler to honour himself. A later ruler began building a larger minar in the same conplex. It was a “mine’s bigger than yours” type situation. However, he never finished it, as he passed. Emma is quite determined to bring home and India squirrel.


It is quite common for locals to ask us for photos. They will pose with us, ask for selfies or ask to take our picture while holding their babies. It makes me wonder how many Indian families have our portraits stuck in their refrigerators.

We arrived in Mandwala and checked into our hotel. It is my favourite “fun” hotel. We made good use of the daylight hours by going on a brief walking tour of the village. We visited a handful of favelli. These are a two story home, with an interior courtyard.Guests and business transactions would be welcomed in the side the first courtyard, but the interior sanctum was reserved for family. 


The majority of the Havelli are in a terrible state of disrepair and abondomwnt. Most have been empty for 40-70 years. To have experience the “hey day” of this community would have been incredible. One has to work hard to imagine the opulence that once was ….

Our evening wrapped up at the pool and watching a local puppet show. It is heart breaking to hear of the struggles the locals have endured due to Covid. The puppet-master shared that we were his first performance in almost 3 years. The meager $100 we spent collectively on his souvenirs brought tears of gratitude to his face. 


Our privilege has never been more obvious. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

08/02/22 Jaipur Jewels

Image
 August 2nd  Jaipur Jewels It was a long road trip today. Between the colourful trucks, building facades and clothing worn by farm help, the trip was anything but boring.  The road trip was long, so a couple of pit stops were involved. I am grateful to have found a fun skirt at one of the stops. Emma was grateful for some Diet Coke. Upon reaching Jaipur, Bhanu surprised us with a fantastic BBQ lunch. Skewers of veggies, paneer, chicken, fish and shrimp were served over a charcoal rotisserie at our table. There was also a main course buffet. Sooo much good food.  My favourite discovery today was a dessert called kulfi. It is a traditional “ice cream” that tasted like sweetened condensed milk. Absolutely stunning!! After lunch we had a quick walk-about. I checked out the Crocs shop. I find it interesting that “name brand items” (Crocs, Swatches, iPhones etc cost the exact same amount here. For example Crocs run around $35 at home. Here they are around 2100 rupee, whic...
Read more

07/23 - Going to Gagetown

Image
  07/23 - Going to Gagetown We packed up camp this morning and began the drive back to New Brunswick. A stop at Tim Hortons to fuel the passengers and we were on the road! We made a quick stop at the “welcome” centre at the border of NS and NB. Our Baby Trailer tends to attract attention anywhere we go. Especially when we part with “the big kids”. We stopped at one final historic site in NS.  This time we learned about a vibrant Acadian community at Beaubassin. While it has not be excavated or reconstructed, there were information panels explaining the importance of this trading space, the value of the farming techniques employed and the tragedy of the Deportation (again). Emma refueled here, soaking up some vitamin D. Mama was pretty excited about our next stop! I found a good looking soldier to kidnap for 24 hours! we made our way to the historic district of Fredericton and had a walk-around. Cameron steered us to a hand crafted ice cream shop. It was fabulous, but beware …o...
Read more