Ah, the quiet
Trip Start
Oct 21, 2006
1
59
115
Trip End
Mar 21, 2008
Mandhu, India
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Not that many tourists though, we find out. Our preferred accommodation is the Hotel Maharaja, a small motel-style place set back from the road. Two small boys, no older than 11 or 12, greet us and check us in to our very simple room. Our neighbour is a chatty Irish schoolteacher named David who warns us gravely that there is no electricity. (It turns out that there is electricity but that power cuts are common.) Next door to David are two English guys named Rick and Richard, who are on their 10th trip to India. We suspect they are a couple but we don't ask. Richard is recovering from a bout of Delhi Belly but they are still both very engaging guys, very interesting to talk with, or rather listen to, as they do most of the talking. Also staying here are some Koreans, who keep mainly to themselves, and an Irish/English couple who are reaching the end of their own one-year round-the-world trip. We are impressed by their tiny backpacks that are not much more than half the size of ours. There are no TVs in the rooms, or any other distractions, so everyone spends most of their time sitting outside chatting.
As mentioned, the village of Mandhu is very small and all concentrated on two main streets. The children are quite accustomed to white folk and each one yells out a big "Hello!" or "Bye Bye!", both used as greetings. Some of the bolder ones will approach with an outstretched hand and demand "one rupees, sir!" Even the adults are very friendly. As you get near them, they appear very stern and stony-faced, but a simply "Namaste" or "Hello" will immediately elicit a huge, broad smile and a happy "Namaste" in return.
There are only two or three restaurants in Mandhu. One, the 'Relax Point Restaurant' doubles as the general store and is located at the only intersection in town. Their menu, unfortunately, consists of only one item - Thali - making it the sort of place you only visit once. The other restaurant we saw was the Shivani, down one end of the main street. Although David the Irishman gave it a poor review, we really enjoy the food, so we end up eating all our meals there during our time in Mandhu.
One of the boys who seems to run the hotel is also in the bicycle rental business so he convinces us to hire a couple of rusty, one-gear, no suspension bikes; this seems to be the best way to get around in the absence of any rickshaws or taxis. Our first bike excursion is 50 metres or so to the Sunset Point. Here a lovestruck couple can watch the sun go down through the stunning valley scenery that Mandhu overlooks. Our romantic moment is interrupted a little by the arrival of a bunch of chatty teenage boys but the view of the valley is breathtaking. Just as we are leaving, a minibus screeches to a halt and a load of disappointed tourists stare at where the sun had been 15 minutes before.
