An oasis in a sea of big-city chaos

JAIPUR, India — I've been booking us into family-owned hotels and guesthouses instead of luxury lodgings, and, although I'd heard good things about Jas Vilas, an 11-room inn in a high-class area of this hectic and crowded city and our next stay — for $50 a night, I hadn't expected a palace.

How I love surprises!

Not only did Jas Vilas (www.jasvilas.com) send its driver to meet us at the train station at 5 a.m., the room was ready when we arrived.

If there's a nicer refuge from the modern-day madness in this city of former princes and kings, I can't imagine it.

Lily and Mahendra Singh, who lived for a while in the United States, have restored Mahendra's father's half-century-old home into an elegant guesthouse with courtyard rooms set around peaceful gardens and a pool.

Breakfast our first morning was the best so far in India — fresh papaya, eggs, toast, fresh orange juice and a pot of masala chai.

Marble entryways lead to huge rooms with new, double-sink tile bathrooms, writing desks, plenty of light, cable TV and wi-fi.

After a night spent camping in the desert, two on a train and several more in hotels that sometimes ran short on hot water, staying at Jas Vilas is a treat.

The Singhs offer a buffet dinner of Indian curries, dals, breads and desert for about $6 per person.

Sitting by the pool, eating by candlelight and listening to Indian music, I thought to myself that this is the kind of experience everyone should have at least once or twice during a long trip.

Too much of this kind of thing and you might forget you're in India.

Everything is spotless. It's quiet. High walls shield the four lanes of ear-splitting, exhaust-spewing traffic outside. You can eat the food and not worry.

India, so far, is one of the most fascinating places I've ever been, but it's not the cleanest or most comfortable.

Every now and then, I find it helps to pretend I'm somewhere else.

Jas Vilas, for two nights, is that somewhere.

The house is set back from a main highway in Bani Park, a quiet and green residential area.

A mile away, within the walls of the old city of Jaipur, chaos reigns. Elephants and camels share the roads with motorcycles, cars and bicycle rickshaws.

An intersection is simply a place for every imaginable vehicle and pedestrian to come together in a free-for-all.

Blowing horns is encouraged. Many of the auto rickshaws have signs on the back that say "Please Honk."

Imagine rush hour in Seattle lasting from morning to night, everyone blowing their horns, day, after day, after day.

That's just a little of what being in a big Indian city is like, minus the animals and homeless making their beds on the medians at night.

A retreat such as Jas Vilas makes it a little easier to keep going.

It's not a palace turned into a tourist hotel. It's a real home. And, in that way, it's a part of the real India, too.