Mandu

We both were pretty tired last night after a very very long drive but it was up as usual, breakfast and then a drive to Mandu. I'm glad that Tarun was with me this morning as the breakfast menu was rather hard for me to decipher. I can understand many Hindi words but only in the spoken form.

Mandu was very close so we arrived mid morning. It is an old fortified town that dates back to about the 6th century I believe. It is very scenic with several lakes and it looks down into a river valley. It is an archeological wonder with old monuments, mosques, palaces and water systems popping up around every corner. The surrounding wall is evidently about 13 kms long and there are some very impressive gates in it. It would take several days to see all of them but we just picked a couple and drove past others.

The area is also very scenic, surrounded by hills. There's an amazing view down into the valley.

Just outside the town there was a rural village. This was one of the most interesting villages I have seen while in India. The village houses in this area are usually made of mud brick but sometimes the walls have a framework made of wooden branches intertwined with leaves .

I'm impressed with the inventiveness of the people, especially when it comes to the roof. It's usually a wooden framework covered with whatever they can find and held down with big stones . There's often a sheet or two of corrugated  iron, lots of plastic, sacks, sticks, leaves, grass ... They are excellent recyclers here!

Lots of people around the village today, all going about their daily chores. Lots of kids too... They all like to wave and either say hello or bye bye.

Today is the last day of Navaratre. This is a nine day Hindu Festival which culminates in people taking 7 little girls off the street and feeding them. I guess this was the reason that there were so many people out today. I saw people handing out little dishes of food. 

As usual, I watch them and they watch me! It's going to be hard when I go home and aren't the centre of attention  any more. Now I know what it's like being a celebrity. For some crazy reason they like having their photos taken with foreigners.They are always very polite about asking and thanking me.

 

Back to the hotel for a rest. This is a Government Tourist resort. Lovely setting overlooking a lake on one side and a river on the other.