India 2023-Back to India-Camels, Mustard, Safaris and Living like a Maharaja.

[RB]

A rough guide to our planned visit



Our trip to India with Magan Singh of Heritage India Private Tours was all that was promised and so much more.
We are now safely back in Australia after our latest adventure. India has been a place of fascination for us and we have previously visited in 2007 and 2013. One of the drivers from our first trip has become a firm friend and we have now clocked up around 3 months in a car with him and enjoyed every moment. The latest trip was around 4,400km of roads of varying quality and challenges, thousands of photos, countless smiles and polite requests for selfies, forts, castles, temples, camels, horses, tigers, leopards, holy rats, introductions as honoured guests to Maharajas, far too much great food, and let's not forget the cows! India is a country so full of everything that it's almost impossible to describe - you just need to soak it up. We were sorry to leave Magan and his son Sumit - can never thank them both enough for the amazing driving, incredible knowledge, tenacity, storytelling, laughs and friendship, and the warnings to "watch your step, watch your head".

 

[RB]

Our accommodation was a joint choice between ourselves and Magan (driver, guide, adviser, protector) and ranged in price and overall quality but all set out to make us happy and comfortable-we found some beds to be very hard but expected that in spots. The itinerary planning was a joint venture between us and Magan- Feb suited us, the climate suited Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and Magan plotted interesting parts we had not seen previously. Our flights were booked using Velocity points and the Singapore planes ran pretty well to schedule and presented no real surprises.
India has changed substantially since our 2013 trip with the generally improved (not all) roads, advances in electricity supply, more widespread irrigation and improved infrastructure all being a backdrop to our roadtrip. Things don’t always go to plan with blocked roads, slower than expected travel, extra sights to see and the general commotion of a country of over 1.4 billion people, but we are glad we jumped back in.

 

[RB]

Syd-Del SQ242 and SQ402 in J
We were happy to be able to secure seats using Velocity points. At the time, because we were transiting Singapore, we had to submit a negative PCR test- we did the test at Raymond Terrace Histopath drive through where we were the only ones present. We left our car at Lake Macquarie and caught the train down - we did this previously & found it pretty efficient for us coming from the NSW Mid-North Coast. No line at check-in and we were soon getting through to passport control & security. Slightly different to our departure in Sept 2022, both checks had us able to use separate priority lines. We used the Singapore lounge, less crowded being a late Sunday afternoon. Must say I was a little surprised to see party pies on offer here! Pretty quiet in the lounge in Singapore too & no worries getting a shower during the transit. Less fun was the delay at arrivals in Delhi. We joined the designated priority line for customs that had 4 guys working - an hour and a half later we were through! A combination of people having incomplete paperwork & then finishing it while at the counter, fingerprint readers constantly not working & just a maze of paperwork. By the time we arrived at baggage, our bags had been taken off the carousel & were sitting on the floor (in an orderly fashion though). No delay at the green customs area & we exited gate 5 to a crowded maze of people. Magan was there to greet us and we were all set.



Singapore Lounge in Sydney




Lounge in Singapore


Pretty quiet in the airport


Lotte Duty Free

 

[RB]

Delhi to Mahansar
This was a fairly long first day, but it was us who made the call. We have spent time in Delhi previously & seen the main sites so this time it was just a landing point.
Weather was cold & a bit of drizzle for 10 minutes or so and that was to be the last rain we saw on the trip. The traffic soon got us back into the swing of things & we rekindled our love of the mayhem-a good road surface but some lanes flooded and the mix of dogs, cattle, goats sheep all vying for space. Wedding season was also in full swing. We had a quick stop at a Haldiram’s, a local fast food chain store for a snack and then another quick stop near Rani Sati temple in Jhunjhunu-only a stretch of the legs here. Mustard crops abounded and we saw it throughout our trip. Also plenty of Khejri trees that are lopped annually by the farmers. We called ahead to organise a late lunch at the scene of our first stop-Narayan Niwas Castle.

 

[RB]

 

[RooFlyer]

Sensational. Great to see Magan on duty himself

 

[RB]

Sensational. Great to see Magan on duty himself

Yes Magan says that he has completely recovered from the stroke. Seems like a few of the doctors didn't expect him to survive. Covid has been a big challenge but he is getting forward bookings.

 

[RB]

Around Mahansar
Mahansar is a village in the Shekhawati region in Rajasthan. It was founded in 1768 by the Thakurs of one of the branch of Shekhawats and situated on the silk route that connected China with Turkey and Italy. Today there is very little other than the fort/castle, the Sone-Chandi Ki Dukaan (Sone ki Dukaan (golden shop) – (this was a shop constructed in 1850, the interiors of which are abundantly worked in gold leaf. Paintings on the three vaulted ceilings depict reincarnations of Vishnu, Ramayana, and the life of Krishna, and are some of the finest in the area. Also can be spotted are some Sanskrit shlokas written in real gold leaf.), Sahaj Ram Poddar Chhatri, a small hospital and a very small collection of shops. Horse, camel and donkey carts are the main traffic here.

Narayan Niwas Castle.

 

[RB]

Sone-Chandi Ki Dukaan

 

[RB]

Sahaj Ram Poddar Chhatri,





Also seen during our walk of the village

 

[RB]

Narayan Niwas Castle Mahansar Narayan Niwas Castle, Rāmgarh – Updated 2023 Prices
We stayed in the heritage suite. Best described as an authentic stay in the Shekhawati region.This is a quaint place full of atmosphere with beautiful frescoes still preserved. We were met by Thakur Maheshwar Singh himself and given a brief history of the castle (now owned in 2 halves by him and his brother).We found our room to be fine- our suite was very spacious and had all the amenities we needed although the bed was hard. We were warm and comfortable. The staff were exceptional-carried our bags everywhere, served great food and generally looked after us. The food was outstanding for the 3 meals we had and we were offered plenty of choices for breakfast. Two other people stayed that night, an older French lady using buses & trains to get around & a male French backpacker. Be aware that there are a lot of stairs, corners and low head clearances to traverse.

All within the suite







1st hard bed of the trip


Looking out from the bed area


Excellent food


Part of dining area

 

[RB]

Mahansar to Mandawa
Next day was much less time in the car but again full of activity.
We travelled via Ramgarh,(The Most Beautiful Desert Town: Ramgarh, Rajasthan ~ The Land of Wanderlust ) a town that was considered one of the richest in 19th century India. Certainly a much more busy commercial centre and many Havelies, Chattries & frescos.
From Ramgarh we took rural roads & stopped to talk with a farmer re his mustard crop-Mustard Crop | Mustard Crop Farming Punjab. Wheat & chic peas are produced here too.
As we approached Mandawa we spotted reddish purple drains-this was runoff from tie dying activities.

Ramgarh










This mustard crop was being downgraded because of a dry period after planting


Runoff from tie dying activities

 

[RB]

Hotel Mandewa Haveli Hotel Mandawa Haveli, Mandāwa – Updated 2023 Prices
We stayed in a deluxe double room - had a large double plus a single that were both hard. Up on the top floor with plenty of steps but as in all places plenty of staff to carry the bags. The hot water was slow to start & the shower splashed out onto the bathroom floor but the room was comfortable overall & certainly very cheap. Certainly a very nice inner courtyard and some nice district views. Breakfast was included & we also ate a lunch there- food was fine, our staple of an omelette for breakfast was on point. As with most of the hotels a large 650ml bottle of Kingfisher beer set us back 350 rupee (around 120-150 at a bottle shop). Quite a few other guests including some group tours.

Nice entry


Door to our room- a wrestle with the lock each time


Main bed on right


Spare bed & rest of room


View over town

 

[RB]

Hotel Mandewa Haveli continued


Internal area


View down to Courtyard


Hotel library

 

[RB]

Around Mandewa
We visited several more havelies (certainly no longer palatial mansions) in the afternoon. One of the havelis we visited had a souvenir shop and also a trading spot of building relics/adornments. The cost of maintaining these old buildings must be enormous and rather than just abandoning as some have, others have become hotels of varying standards, some are private homes and others have wings for limited numbers of guests. That night we walked & did a self tour of the Mandawa Fort & Castle that is now a hotel run by the Rajasthan Tourism Dept- some impressive parts to the building, good restaurant service ( only a handful of other diners) but the food was so so. Our walk back was livened up by us encountering a marriage parade - complete with groom on a white horse!
Having being in Indian tourism around 30 yrs, Magan has excellent knowledge of where we are touring. We used an “outside” guide in a few spots - there are some attractions where only locals can guide and Magan has a collection of trusted leaders and as with many in India these people have suffered terribly during covid times.

Haveli Wanderings






There are "heritage" restrictions on moving the tree before restorations begin



A labour intensive door restoration underway


The Indians liked including us in photos!

Plenty of stuff being sorted, but this bed was rather impressive

 

[RB]

Mandawa Fort & Castle









Entertainment while we ate-not my style of music


The Groom joining the procession

 

[Stewey]

Excellent TR @RB
Amazing Photos

 

[RB]

Excellent TR @RB
Amazing Photos

Thanks Stewey, I am having a lot of fun piecing the details and mad events together

 

[craven morehead]

A rough guide to our planned visit

View attachment 318125

Our trip to India with Magan Singh of Heritage India Private Tours was all that was promised and so much more.
We are now safely back in Australia after our latest adventure. India has been a place of fascination for us and we have previously visited in 2007 and 2013. One of the drivers from our first trip has become a firm friend and we have now clocked up around 3 months in a car with him and enjoyed every moment. The latest trip was around 4,400km of roads of varying quality and challenges, thousands of photos, countless smiles and polite requests for selfies, forts, castles, temples, camels, horses, tigers, leopards, holy rats, introductions as honoured guests to Maharajas, far too much great food, and let's not forget the cows! India is a country so full of everything that it's almost impossible to describe - you just need to soak it up. We were sorry to leave Magan and his son Sumit - can never thank them both enough for the amazing driving, incredible knowledge, tenacity, storytelling, laughs and friendship, and the warnings to "watch your step, watch your head".

View attachment 318132

Looking forward to this TR

 

[RB]

Mandawa to Bikaner
This day took us into the Thar desert. The road was pretty good although there were the usual hazards- we also encountered a very lengthy camel parade. There were many concrete tanks for water storage to tide the people over between monsoon seasons- this was the start of the enormous progress we saw in availability of electricity, household water supplies, vast farm irrigation systems using dams, rivers & canals and a general improvement in sanitation (still a lot of motorbike riders stop beside the road to pee).
We had lunch at Gallops in Bikaner (GALLOPS RESTAURANT AND COFFEE HOUSE, Bikaner - Updated 2023 Restaurant Reviews, Photos & Phone Number - Tripadvisor) Found the service great, food good, super clean amenities and straight across from the fort. Quite a lot of other non-Indian tourists here as well. I enjoyed the chance to get away from the curries even at this early stage. Mrs RB ordered a coffee & rated it highly

Plenty of water tanks

Prized cargo





American Chicken Chop Suey


The customary chicken curry & naan