Any state which does not liscence the sale of alcohol is always going to appear strange to a Westerner....especially as its possible to obtain an 'alcohol permit' & have nowhere to use it. However this was the least of our worries over the past week....& I dare not even go into the amount of cows roaming the streets begging for pasture & an afterlife of rump & rib-eye!!! (its a vegetarian state too)
It was all going so well as we departed Mumbai for the state of Gujarat....Ahmedabad being our 1st stop. The train journey turned out to be an anticlimax.....clean, beds, organised & no overcrowding....although the rifle armedguards added a little spice. And so upon arrival started our love-hate relationship with the state. Ahmedabad started well.....as we battled passed rickshaws, scooters, cows, camels & goats to stumble upon the Old City, with numerous temples & baolis....the Swaminarayan Temple being the most majestic & a kind hearted tour by a 70 year old Mr R Modi...good work sir. On the other side of town we were fortunate to observe a service at the Jama Masjid mosque....interesting. This city also hosts Sabarmti Ashram....home to Ghandi from 1918-30. However and even with all its tranquility & spiritualness the hectic streets & horn honking got to us bringing the 1st signs of egginess in the camp.....best we moved on before they boiled over.
A short 5 hour bus ride South brought us to Palitana & a rainsoaked barefoot 3751 step hill climb to Shatrunjaya....1 of Jainisms holiest pilgrimage sites. The rain allowed us to view, almost alone, no more than 863 temples, including the magical Shri Adishwara. This part we loved, however being the only tourists we fell foul to a barage of repetitive questions and staring (mostly towards Martina) & anyone visitng Gujarat should be prepared for; groups of staring men, people standing in your face...then "which country are you? whats your name?....more staring & then off they go before the next group arrives. I am now an adopted Argie seeing how the 1st response to English brought the response "what the hell did you do to our country & whats the deal with your govt!!!!!" Fear not as luck is on my side & the humidity is allowing my hair to develop & curl into a highly respectable Mario Kempes number.
1 day was enough so "an easy" day we thought travelling 150km West to Junagadh. 4 hours waiting for the local bus.....more staring & questions of course.....got us well into the mood. So the bus arrives & in true Indian fashion its rammed!!!....on we squeezed & took refuge in the aisle for the 1st hours or so. My anger almost turned to hatred as Martina decided to share out my sacred Dairy Milk with fellow passengers (all natives), howver its was a stroke of genius as they in turn brought out their newspaper wrapped packed lunches & duly shared them with us. So finally 2 seats...& together...but shit, a roadblock, flooded road!!!! Lets get out and have a look....bad move....as we truned to return to the bus we became surrounded by up to 250 adults & children from the community we were hauled up in. In movie star style we returned to the bus...."we'll be safe there"....no chance. As they followed in Pied Piper fashion the bus became a sea of inquisitive Indians trying to catch a glimps of the albino monkeys. 5 minutes of this was fun but having to ask people to kindly stop filming and capturing photos of us became slightly overwhelming. As always there was a 'ray of sunshine' & a kind hearted c60 year old chap took it upon himself to guard the bus & fend off our hoards of new found admiriers. I now know how Sheriff Bart must hve felt on his 1st day at Rockridge....& we too had our very own Wako Kid.
Anyhow 8 hours later & well fed & we arrive in the jungle of Junagadh.....this they say is a perfect spot for aimless meandering.....which to start with was just that. Beautiful town, happy friendly people & a 10,000 step climb to Girnar Hill.....which we declined....best left for the likes of Ghandi & Moses. A wander round the town & up to Uperkot Fort & 2nd C. AD Bhuddist Caves. En route we found a procession for the birthday of some mad Jainism god....which we then found ourselves taking part in....drums, dancing, sword swinging, the lot....a great experience. Time to slide off & find some peace.....but, were we being followed....indeed we were.....as the procession chairman begged, pleaded, waited & harassed us to join for the evening party...all we wanted was an afternoon to ourselves....so upon finding a few back roads Mr Sorathia @ Relief Hotel was waiting for us. Interested in our day he then informed us that "the whole town is aware you are here & staying in my hotel"....off to the room we went & stayed.
Now having escaped & still surving away from our fanclub & the excessively spiced up food (which became as repetitive as the questioning), 15 hours on an impressive sleeper bus brought to the current destination....Udaipur in Rajasthan.....booze!!....meat!!!.....& too many white faces to look at!!!!....you can never have it all.
Health wise I am still waiting in anticipation for the lower atomic explosion....but not for a few scares.....Martina has been less fortunate but maybe she is unaware of my ability to converse in the local tongue in order for her food to be overly spiced up.
These stories may well be bending a little either side of the truth.....there are no complaints & its all good fun after all.
Tata. X
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