The end of a memorable visit to India

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We loved Jaipur and were lucky to see so much of it. Our journey to Delhi was broken by a night in the village of Patan. After a 4 hour road journey we turned off down a more rural road leading through typical villages with stalls, local shops and, of course, animals wandering around; cows, pigs, goats and camels pulling carts along non-tarmaced roads. We travelled deep into the village wondering where on earth our hotel could possibly be.... Suddenly we found ourselves at Patan Mahal, our heritage hotel for the night. It had such character. We were treated like royalty by the attentive staff. What a contrast to the adjacent village! The rooms were really suites and had amazing character with heavy furniture. We dined that evening in the courtyard outside by a bonfire.

The following morning we're left this oasis and travelled along the busy, dusty road towards Delhi .This was our final stop on our fabulous visit to India.

We eventually reached the capital and were greeted by unbelievable traffic congestion. More cars here than in Mumbai but this newer part of Delhi has wider roads. Friday is very busy as it is the Muslim holy day also.

We then drove through the heavy traffic to the old market area. It is very old and compact with v narrow lanes and alleyways, full of people and rickshaws. Our rickshaw driver fought the other rickshaws, motorbikes, bikes, people and 'tuktuks'and dropped us at the spice market area. There were lots of stalls selling a huge range of Indian spices and teas etc. this area had a sweet smell of them. We bought some tea to bring home, as you do! We returned to our waiting rickshaw and we were driven inside the markets narrow alleys. It was interesting how the market was divided up into specialised areas such as footwear, optics, paper and wedding invitations, car parts etc bangle shops also.

We also saw the largest mosque .

We returned to our hotel and we delighted to receive our Shabbat food delivered plus hot plate from chabad. Meat!

After preparing for Shabbat we walked to the small shul, about ten mins. Sadly, they rarely get a minyan but the Friday night service was pleasant, especially as Paul was invited up to participate in part of it.

Back at the hotel we enjoyed our kiddush, challah and lovely food together with our 3 other companions. It had been a great trip and we toasted it with the table wine also provided.

Shabbat morning we took a walk around the local area, past museums and other large properties and visited the India Gate memorial to the fallen.

We enjoyed Shabbat lunch round the swimming pool. After which we went , with our guide, to the mausoleum where Ghandi had been assassinated. It was an interesting museum about his life and death.

Well, that was the end of our memorable and fascinating visit to a country full of contrasts, sensory experiences and beauty. The Jewish heritage was interesting and we were pleased to have learned so much about our Indian brothers and sisters' lives since they arrived in India after Temple times. Sad that the communities are , apart from Mumbai, no longer but pleased that there was and still is a positive relationship between Jewish people and Indian Nation.

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Photos

Patan Mahal hotel
True luxury 'oasis' adjacent to the rural village

Camel cart
A common sight in Indian villages. In Patan they also use them to transport coach passengers to the hotel as the roads are to narrow and poor for the coach.

Patan village
A village view

Delhi spice market
A couple of shops in the old spice market which we saw during our rickshaw trip there.

Old Delhi market
The very busy Delhi market with rickshaws, tuktuks and motorbikes