FROM DELHI TO MANDAWA WITH MAHENDRA AS DRIVER

Send

Day 3: DELHI - MANDAWA

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Today we have met our Mahendra driver at 7.30 in the morning at the Godwin Deluxe Hotel to begin the journey of Delhi to Mandawa.
After breakfast we met him and before we set off, we decided to change some money.
Mahendra It helps us in this and we are looking for the agency that gives us the best change. To avoid "bargaining" he goes to change the money. In the end we got a change of scandal: 69.7 !!!

Tell you that Mahendra's website is //www.richar.es/web2/index.html and her email is [email protected]. Unfortunately today, in full 2018, many companies have "appropriated" their image and their name to sell trips to India, taking advantage of their good reputation and professionalism.

Years ago in one of our trips, as in the one we did to the West Coast of the US we changed in the bank in Spain, from that occasion, we always do it in the destination country, where we save commissions and find better change.
In google maps we have calculated almost 4 hours of travel from Delhi to Mandawa with car with driver, to which we have added another one knowing the poor state of the roads ...

Well in the end it has been 7 hours of travel! Live Google Maps and ...
At the exit of Delhi We have encountered a traffic jam that has lasted almost 2 hours.
It seemed that we should already be on the outskirts of the city when our Mahendra driver He told us that we were still in Delhi ... and we without taking our heads from the car window.
The truth is that we can not complain, we go in a very large car, with air conditioning, fridge with drinks ... and we are discovering a part of the India that we had not seen yet.
Little by little we are crossing with towns and more and more we are noticing that we leave the big city.
Yes, it is true that car trips prevent contact with people, but at the same time, despite being like a movie ... during these hours you can observe without feeling uncomfortable to bother with your eyes.
And we will not deny that to be the first route in India, we have not been too long.
Halfway we have made a stop for a drink and shortly before 3 pm we have arrived in Mandawa.
Before going to the hotel, today we will stay at the Castle Mandawa Hotel, we will go to the Mandawa Haveli to eat.
We ordered garlin naan, chiken tandori (by the way we warn that this chicken, at least in this restaurant, to avoid future scares: it's pink, yes, yes ... pink!), Curried potatoes and two sodas. The account goes up to 710 rupees, something expensive, but we cannot deny that we are in a haveli hotel and that must be paid.

More practical information to prepare your trip to India
- 10 essential places to visit in India
- 10 essential places to see in New Delhi
- The best travel insurance for India
- 10 essential tips for traveling to India
- The best free tours in Delhi for free in Spanish

Tonight we will go to a restaurant that they recommend in the guide at the end of the town of Mandawa what we hope to find !!
Before we finished eating and although it was already late, we realized that we were eating accompanied ... for a rat!
We have not wanted to give too much importance, so after seeing her run around the dining room, we have turned our eyes and continued eating. This is India!

Mandawa Haveli. From Delhi to Mandawa

After lunch we have already left for the Castle Mandawa Hotel to rest a little before going back to the streets of Mandawa.
We have told Mahendra that this afternoon we were already alone to tour the city and he has warned us that here children and some adults usually speak quite good Spanish and that with any type of excuse they “camel” you to take you to their store or get some rupees We are notified.
After resting for a while, we have left the room to discover the castle where the hotel is located. An experience!
As the guide says, it is easy to get lost in this hotel.

Room at the Castle Mandawa Hotel

Hotel Castle Mandawa

What we had been warned of the children, we discovered it as soon as we left the hotel, well not even that, before leaving, two men with turbans, quite tuned to the hotel, offer to take a picture with Roger ... and see that we supposed it, but nothing… there that has fallen !!
After taking the photo they have demanded if you tip, but not only one of them, but both!

"Tourist" at Hotel Castle Mandawa

We have not set foot outside the hotel grounds that we have around 5 people offering first as guides, then to see their store ... and as a last resort they have chosen to make sure they only wanted to practice Spanish.
We tried not to pay too much attention, but when they had been behind us for more than 15 minutes, talking non-stop, we had to get a little serious. More than anything because we felt uncomfortable ... so we decided to tell them very clearly that we don't want anything and please leave us. In the end it seems that they understand it and leave us alone for a while. And this is when we begin to truly enjoy the city.

Book the best rated tours and excursions in Spanish from India by travelers:
- Taj Mahal and Agra: 1 day from Delhi by express train
- Full day tour of Old and New Delhi private
- Sunrise at the Taj Mahal from Delhi
- Jaipur day trip by car from Delhi
- Many more excursions and tours here

We felt the same thing that happened to us in Morocco not long ago, when we walked through the Marrakech souk that we only found "our place" when we moved away a little from the chaos.

Mandawa

Haveli in Mandawa

Mandawa

We've been going around the main street for more than 1 hour (there's not much more) than Mandawa taking pictures without stopping and soaking up all the things we saw!
An image in India, well in this case more than one, worth a thousand words:

Mandawa streets

Colors after a trip from Delhi to Mandawa

Mandawa streets

Black and white mandawa

It shows that we just "landed" on this trip to india and many things still surprise us, although we have already seen them in Delhi.

Mandawa

When we decided to plan the trip to india stop in Mandawa, we did not find too much information that was not the one offered by the guide and a couple of travel diaries that we found on the net.
The truth is that it even cost us to see some image of the city.
A real shame, because we found it very cozy and a formidable place to start to know the country.

Mandawa

Faces on a bus

Mandawa

Haveli in Mandawa

It is still early for dinner, so we return to the hotel, to have a drink and connect for a while to pass the photos of today and write something from this newspaper.

Door of the Castle Mandawa Hotel

A coke and a water in the hotel bar of Mandawa: 160 rupees !! Live the savings in India!!

Mandawa Hotel Bar

Now we just have to wait for our stomach to start ringing to go to the Bungli Restaurant recommended by the guide India.
And this happens at 8 in the afternoon, which we start again for dinner.
We arrived at the restaurant of Mandawa in less than 5 minutes and we discovered that there is no one !! It is quite hot and between that they bring us the letter, take order and serve us, more than 1 hour passes 🙂 Incredible India!!
We eat a cheese naan, vegetable pakora, finger chips (which turn out to be chips), an omelet sandwich and two coke. The total account 480 rupees. And all great. We have discovered papakoras and they have excited us, especially me 🙂
And with a full stomach we return to Mandawa hotel, the Hotel Mandawa Castle, where we spend a night between music that we don't know where it comes from, something similar to the call to the prayer of the mosques, very hot (and without putting neither the air nor the fan because the noise is killer) and What's worse ... mosquitoes !!! Many mosquitoes !!! Goodnight… :))

Day 4
MANDAWA - KARNI MATA - BIKANER

Send