Maheshwar

Another early start. Today we are heading to Maheshwar. First we caught a bus to Chadawad, along with a few goats and half a school. We then caught a bus to Dhamrod, then another to Maheshwar. At each town the connecting bus was waiting and each time the conductor told the next conductor where we needed to go .

We arrived on Maheshwar around 10am, had a chai and then went in search of accommodation. When we had checked online there wasn't much showing, so we thought we'd take our chances.

We went in separate directions to enquire about rooms. We were quoted prices from £10 to £30. Darryl eventually found a nice little guesthouse with a room above a pharmacy for £6. However there was no sign of Christine. One of the men from the pharmacy took Darryl on his bike to find her and brought her back.

We freshened up and went out in search of food. We met the local policeman who said if we needed him he was outside our hotel every day until 6pm.  Another man, who Darryl had met earlier offered to show us a restaurant.  The price was a little high so we wandered on.  We came to the river and were impressed by the sight of the fort and the palace.  However, food was calling and we wandered on. 

Up through the palace and down the road, we were back at our accommodation.  We decided to walk back towards the main road in our search for food.  We passed a couple of little stalls selling samosa but we wanted something a little more satisfying and not deep fried.  

We reached the main road but alas no food.  We asked a couple of people where the nearest restaurant was and they each pointed us back to the one where we had started. Another man joined us and told us of a restaurant at a nearby hotel. We started walking and then suddenly the man appeared on his motorbike and gave us a lift up the road.

It was quite a fancy hotel and the menu, again, a little pricey.  We walked back to where we came from.  A sweet shop was also selling samosa and chana and as we hadn't found anywhere else we went in. 

We saw a man with a plate of poha and chana so we asked for the same.  It obviously isn't a 'thing' as he was reluctant to let us have it.  He wanted us to have samosa or kachori  - each of which are deep fried, which we were trying to avoid.    He eventually did us a dish of poha and chana and one of kachori and chana - the chana was particularly spicy!  

We needed something sweet so ordered some jalebi and a chai.  Outside the cafe was a man selling papaya so in order to have something healthy we bought one. The man kindly sliced it for us so we could eat it there and then. 

Our bellies full for now, we walked back towards the river and the palace.  This area is famous for its saris and in part of the old palace they still make the silk material.  It was fascinating to watch the room full of people, with the most complicated looking looms, producing the delicate, intricately designed material.

Inside the palace grounds we were required for many selfies.  At one point there was actually a small queue forming!  Once we had managed to extricate ourselves, we managed a selfie of ourselves and continued looking around.  The detail in the carvings all around the palace are stunning.

We exited the back of the palace, onto the river bank.  In contrast to the beautiful old palace, outside there were brightly decorated tandem bikes, remote controlled cars and revolving, musical selfie stands to amuse the hoards of visitors.

We walked a little way along the river and found a stall for chai.  Whilst there we chatted to a family from Indore who have relatives in Manchester and Chelsea. 

We then headed back to the palace for a beautiful sunset over the river. There were a group of people sitting on the floor playing traditional India instruments whilst others clapped along and danced.

It was time to search for food and again so we headed up the road.  At the main junction we went in the opposite direction to where we had gone earlier and were excited to see a big steamer on a stall, which meant only one thing ....steamed momos!  We ordered a plate and enjoyed the non-fried food!  We found another little place which we checked out for tomorrow, pleased that we had now got found the only couple of eateries in town!  

Over the road we spotted a fancy looking chai place.  We crossed and found a lovely young man running the cafe and eager to serve us.  He has various flavours of chai and we both settled on the rose one which was beautifully served in a khullad, sprinkled with chocolate.  We had a few obligatory selfies before heading back to our accommodation.