Abhaneri and its step well

Our digs were in the Abhaneri Niwas which was a very interesting and luxurious hotel out in the middle of nowhere.

This hotel was definitely the most deluxe hotel we had stayed in so far. Look at the link above to get some idea of the rooms.

Posh toiletries were provided.

Getting ready for lunch.

My bedroom occupied the entire top floor of the building on the right. The bathroom was enormous.

Plenty of dogs lying about.

After lunch we walked to the nearby step-well.

Wheat which would be consumed locally.

The jeeps that took us to the hotel from the local bus.

First we visited a temple.

We each received a dot on our forehead from the monk.

Ray with dot. I don't think it does too much for me.

Goats were everywhere.

This wall encloses the step-well.

Monk praying beside the step-well.

And here it is. A step-well is simply a well with steps leading down to the water. However, this one is quite elaborate and you can read about it here.

The pattern is mesmerizing. The well was constructed between 800 and 900 AD.

The air near the bottom is much cooler than at the surface so people would gather there on hot days in summer.

Not particularly inviting water at the bottom.

This photo shows what it is like when it rains.

I like the splosh of colour and the stance.

It's a fantastic structure and has been used as a location in several films.

We also made a brief visit to a clay pot maker but since we had already seen this done during the remote village visit, most of us were not too interested. Johanna had a go however.

There really is not too much money in these poor remote villages, even one like this that attracts tourists.

Barber shop.

We went back to the hotel and I took some photos of other rooms.

Spa bath. However, water and electricity only operate for a few hours a day. There is no internet.

A storm started to brew to the north.

A fire was prepared for the evening's entertainment.

Heena for two of the ladies.

The fire was lit to keep mosquitoes away.

A huge drum about four feet across was brought over for the ceremony later that evening.

A troupe of local men appeared who were to perform a ceremony.

The drum started up and one man stood up and chanted while the others beat on smaller drums or blocks.

Two of the men started to dance and eventually invited us to get up and join him which most of us did. It turned into a fun time as we tried to imitate their dance steps and the men seemed to enjoy having audience participation. They would have been paid to do the performance and it would bring much needed money into the community.

The storm started to produce lightning and eventually a few drops of rain. One of our group took a photo showing the lightning.

Video of the singing. It was somewhat repetitious.

Alejandro and Peter up dancing. It was a fun evening and we all really enjoyed ourselves. The next day we traveled in a north east direction and we could see puddles of water beside the road.