Roop Niwas Palace Shekhawati

What a night! The air conditioning went off at 6am and didn't come back on again at all. Not what you need in the middle of the desert in the height of summer. Same with the electricity. That meant there was no light in the bathroom when we got up and so we had to shower and get ready in the dark. Totally ridiculous. You would think that in the middle of the desert the hotel would at least have a generator to control the electricity as they know it goes off every day at 6am. Electricity ...

We were picked up by our driver, Sanjay, at 8am, and after stopping at the office to pick up some tickets we set off for Mandawa. We drove through some beautiful countryside, hit a rainstorm (well it is Monsoon season!), and passed through some really lovely little villages en route. At the moment we heading for desert land so everything is pretty sandy and dusty. The driving is ...

... the early 1600's as part of the now famous silk rates, they were a place of commerce and trade and constructed around a central courtyard. To the right is the meeting room where trades would be made, a room with shining walls made from lime mortar, shells, and egg white, and buffed to acquire the sheen surround a matted area with white mattress and pillows. This enabled the merchants to ensure that no money was left behind after the negotiations ...

... to museums and we were able to access them. A guide at one haveli museum explained the layout of the haveli to us; open platform outside the entrance gate, main decorated gates with wooden carving, two open courtyards and living rooms with windows for proper air and light. The haveli walls were covered with frescoes (decorated art) and the level of detail in the drawings and architecture was ...

... it was amazing, inside are 2 courtyards with the sky above, open roofed, the stars are the celing at night. To me the house resembled a persian palace, and as we sat on the roof at night, staring at the midnight skies silhuetting the fort that once defended this grandeos place a hindu priest from the nearby temple warbled a lulaby over a speaker, filling the night with atmosphere beneith the moonlight. It takes time ...

... so anyway fireworks are pretty from the relative safety of restaurant....but the walk home...fireworks and confined spaces dont mix...they jus light em and in front of you and run....we couldnt get to our hotel for like 5 mins cos the kids thought it was hilarious the stupid western people were afraid of the bangs....it was really bad....we were walkin down a small street and this BANG! my hearing was all bubbly, echoey, like at the start of savin private ryan on the beach when ...

... nicht wirklich laut gewesen und seine zweite Begruendung, dass wir den Wasserhahn offengelassen haetten und am Morgen der Tank leer gewesen sei war einfach laecherlich. Wir sagten ihm dann, so behandelt wuerden wir das Hotel zwar verlassen, aber die beiden Naechte nicht zahlen und das schien dann Konsens zu sein und wurde auch durchgefuehrt. Ein weiters tolles Erlebnis war es, dass wir in ein Hilton ...

... aren't even allowed to sit at the desks! They are forced each day to push the chairs and tables to the side to make space for their lively little bodies on the friggin' floor! On my first day I chose to obs**ve a few lessons as I wanted to get a feel for the ethos of the school before diving in. The kids all scrambled around to pull out their pencils while the teach** shouted 'A, B, C!' at them repeatedly. I picked up one of their books to find page aft** page of just ...

... Thus enlightened, I've spent many hours over the past days finishing "City of Djinns", which has lain half-read at the bottom of my bag almost since arrival in India. That finished, I found a second-hand bookstore and made a start on Kushwant Singh's "Delhi". I now feel relaxed and sane again, and find the hours I do spend walking around more enjoyable and interesting. This morning I was up early enough to walk up the hill to the fort before the day's ...

... was getting annoyed now at his snake's collective failure to please his audience (me) and he had to shake the basket until one of the cobras popped its head up a few inches. He then propped it up by grabbing it around the neck, stretching it out and then slapped it around a bit to get it good and feisty. He only then commenced playing his instrument a second time. The other Cobra stayed in the basket (probably trying to hit the snooze button). A few more good slaps and the second one ...