Mandawa

After a frantic few days in New Delhi getting out to Mandawa was a breath of fresh air, literally! Mandawa is a small town home to the haveli, huge historic houses belonging to the old families who traded in silk, opium and cotton on the old silk route. Although uninhabited now they are used as holiday homes for the families who own them. After taking a tour of the magnificent historic buildings that night Nicole and I decided to take a walk amongst the village, only to come across a full blown wedding party taking place in the streets complete with fireworks. Apparently one of the local boys was getting married and this was his stag party! Nicole and I were thrust into the limelight and danced with the locals to the drum beat as the procession wound its way down the streets. We were photographed from every angle and probably even filmed for the local tv station. I found this a little unnerving, whereas Nicole seemed to enjoy it. I think this was mainly due to the fact I was constantly being asked if we were married or not? I was met with a few disapproving looks.The next day we decided to go into the market and have a look around as Nicole wanted some bangles and I wanted to get some money out. Almost immediately we were befriended by a local who was kind enough to show us where the nearest atm was (mainly for his own benefit i think though). He chatted with us about the Black Caps and where we were going in India and asked us to have a look at his shop. We were too naive to say no. 30 mins later we both walked out with goods and after chatting with our driver were ripped off to the tune of about $30. It's not so much how good you are at haggling, but where you go to shop as the quality is so variable. I successfully got mine down from about 8000 rupees to 3000 and this was still too much. Mandala itself though was an amazing town and although we only had one night here we would have loved to stay longer.

Stag party

Scarf shopping

Fort in Mandawa

Havelli (homes of wealthy trading families)

The Heritage hotel where we stayed