Mādhogarh

Travelling by bus we headed to Bassi, a small town in the centre of Rajasthan. 

Then on to nearly 400 year old Fort Madhogarh. Owned by the King ( land owner ) of the local area, and converted to a heritage hotel in 2000. It is an imposing site high on the hill top. Sitting on sheer rock and reached by a winding climb circling the hill, we were welcomed by a red carpet. Before we entered our foreheads were anointed with a red dot and garlands of flowers placed around our necks.

Entering we were in awe of the incredible building, it was very simply decorated but very stylish. There were outside areas leading to our rooms all of which were very individual and which were spread throughout the Fort.

We had an amazing room, our bed was set in a raised area with stained glass windows on three sides. 

All the staircases are built unevenly with very high steps to make it more difficult for intruders to run in. The ceilings snd doorways are low for the same reason.

We had a very tasty vegetarian lunch in the courtyard, with very attentive waiters.
The family who owned the Fort were entertaining guests on a higher balcony. There was much laughter.

Later as it cooled down a bit we went for a walk around the village, which was lovely, all the children came to run along with us, smiling and laughing as we went. The adults were also fascinated by us.

We saw piles of broken clay water containers waiting to be recycled. There was disarray everywhere, muck and piles of discarded allsorts, broken down homes, sheds and shacks. It was chaotic as seems the normal here, the local people appeared happy.

A farming community, everyone's  cow or cows were waiting outside their houses to be let in and fed. We brought some bracelets from a lady making them in her tiny shop. Everything is so cheap it was 150 rupees for four bangles. That is £1.50!!

The men were sitting outside here and there gossiping, something they apparently spend a lot of time doing. According to what we have seen and Tony our guide. Who told us that Indian men are experts at gossiping!! 

Tony is a great guide and companion, coming from Rajasthan this area, he is a wealth of local information. He is gentle and quietly spoken and nothing is too much trouble for him. 

He is tolerant of those that don't listen and ask the same thing everyday as they haven't listened! 

We are drip fed information throughout the day so as not to saturate our brains, and to keep us interested. He is happy to talk about life and his family, local customs, religion and anything else we throw into the mix. Occasionally he nods his head side to side and up and down all at once, smiles and changes the subject.

We had drinks watching the sun go down from a tower at the top of the Fort. Followed by another wonderful meal in the courtyard.

Our bed looked lovely, but when we investigated the mattress wasn't much thicker than a camping bed. We had a terrible night's sleep, my feet stuck out and my ankles made a tasty meal for someone. The beautiful stained glass window on three sides of our bed was lit up all night by a bright outside light.Read more