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Sunday, July 29, 2007
Driving deeper into the heart of India, we arrived in Deogarh after quite a tumultuous journey. Outside,t he city turned to country and eventually to a desert, with miles of sand bordered by hills stretched out in front of us. Quite spectacular (and boring), really. Since the scenary was pretty much constant, our driver attempted to entertain us by driving REALLY crazily. To be fair to him, it was unintentional and he tried his best to get us to Deogarh ASAP, even if that meant having to swerve around oncoming trucks that were approaching us head on at full speed. Who needs 6 Flags when you have thoughtful bus drivers like that!! Nevertheless, his efforts brought us safely to the tiny rural community where our first heritage hotel stay would take place, perched atop a mini hill.


The roads leading to the hotel were exactly what you would picture out of a documentary on India. Tiny, crowded, with shops flanking both sides. People - young and old sat outside, cows roaming aimlessly, bugs buzzing, women balancing large pails on their heads, walking... Big Blue will not do. Thus, the hotel sent a couple of open-top jeeps to escort us there, which of course turned our entrance into the village into a huge procession, with villagers waving and asking us to come back to buy things from them.



Deogarh Mahal - our residence for 2 nights, used to be the Palace of the Maharajah of Deogarh, one of the oldest families in the old (only to be disputed with the Japanese royal family). The current custodian of the Palace is the 15th in line, and very coincidentally was the former History teacher of Dr. Singh at Mayo College in the 1970s. Mayo College, where we failed to visit this time round, we later learnt was a prestigious boarding school in Jaipur, which was first created by the British as a school for Royal sons to learn Western cultures and teachings.


Unlike the other heritage hotels that we've visited which are professionally run by hotel companies, the Deogarh Mahal is a family business with the villagers employed as hotel associates. ... And it shows. In Delhi and Jaipur, the staff were skilled, elolquent, and eager to please. In Deogarh, however, the staff were slightly awkward and shy.





Getting to our rooms proved to be the hardest thing we have had to do thus far, as the steps within the Palace were left untouched for a good 400 years. In the center of these large, uneven stone steps were craters from the hundreds of thousands feet that had stepped on it. Therefore, in order to avoid falling, or tripping, or twisting your ankle, one had to step carefully. Really carefully. And watch your head, because just as a defensive mechanism, corridors had low ceilings and were built super narrow, so that enemies will have to essentially bow before entering your Palace, and could only move in single file. It was like a maze within the Palace, and you never knew where which staircase would lead up to. Keeping it true to its historical roots, their rooms had gigantic padlocks, and there were no TVs. Yes, no Tvs!!


Honestly, my first impression of the Hotel was - very cute, very quaint.. but severely lacking in comfort levels. I mean, NO TV?! Bathrooms resembled cleaner versions of the maid's bathroom at 51 Wilkinson Rd, and ants were invading our room cos there was a tree positioned right next to our door! But after a personal tour by the custodian's son (the 16th in line) of the Mahal, I got to understand that that is the reason why we're here. .. Not for the fancy bath amenities or the 500 thread count sheets.. .but for the history and culture of the place which you will never find elsewhere. We later found out that our rooms were servant quarters....either that or stables for the horses...whatever. Haha.

The next morning, we set off for a train ride through Monkey Valley. The train was probably circa 1940s (WORLD WAR 2, to be honest), and not at all comfortable. Just steel benches and thats it. Fans to help ventilation, a hole leading to out of the train as a bathroom. The train ride was a long 1.5hours cos it was gutting along super slowly, for us to catch glimpses of monkeys. Monkeys, I don't understand the fascination...seriously they are everywhere along Macritchie!!




At night, we were invited to dinner on the terrace on a separate, smaller residence of the Maharajah which was a scenic jeep ride away. It felt like we were on a safari ride really. The sky was clear that evening, and we basically watched the sun set, before sitting down to yet another tribal dance performance, and then dinner on the terrace. Dining under moonlight, it was beautiful. I swear every girl on the trip was swooning about how the property- with the property surrounded by a small lake and mountains on the horizon - would be their ideal wedding location. Haha, I still prefer airconditioning.



Next morning, we set off once again. Deogarh was a nice change from Delhi and Jaipur, because it is a village, and we stayed at a heritage hotel which is really the aim of our trip. Now I can appreciate historical hotels better, though I still wish they had TVS, and bath bubbles. =P


What can I say, city girl through and through.


Next stop: Devigarh and Udaipur

Labels: Study Abroad 2007

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