Ahmedabad

We booked bus tickets to Ahmedabad from a friendly travel agent chap in Diu. He neglected to tell us about the super duper deluxe A/C tourist bus, instead booking us onto the standard sleeper service. We had a great view of other foreign tourists getting on the nice bus from our windowless banger. Shejal was so upset by her cupboard like sleeper birth that she shut the door tight and didn’t say a word to me for the entire twelve hour trip. Strangely I actually found sleep on a bus for the first time in my life. 

Shejals traumatic sleeper cupboard

We went straight to bed after checking into our hotel and surfaced at midday to explore the town. After five minutes in a tuktuk we both felt the sweat building up; the driver noticing informed us that the temperature was 40c! First stop was the Sunday Flee Market where families are out buying all manner of things – tools, gadgets, clothes, food. Locals seemed to be surprised to see us, perhaps because it’s out of season for tourists, perhaps because it was so hot. Lots of people wanted to chat, so I got to try out some of my Gujarati (basic). Most of the attempts are met with pointing and laughter (I think more out of shock that a foreigner is speaking Gujarati rather than what I was saying being incorrect – of course!). 

We killed off the rest of the unbearably hot day in an A/C cafe, before heading back out to the Lawn Garden Market in the evening. It was the weekend so lots of families were out together. The busy children’s amusement area was full of weird rusty rides that didn’t look very safe; everyone seemed to be having a great time nonetheless.  

We got out early on our second day to visit Sabarmati Ashram before it became too hot. This was Gandhi’s headquarters during the the struggle for independence. We visited the museum and took a look around the old living quarters. Ahmedabad is a crazy place, so it was nice to relax in the peaceful grounds of the ashram for a few hours before retreating back to the hotel for a get-out-of-heat nap. 

Gandhi's Room

Once it had cooled down a bit, we went for dinner at the Moti Mahal - Ahmedabad’s oldest restaurant. I got excited because they had ‘cheese burger’ on the menu. Turns out it was actually just a warm cheese sandwich – bugger. 

We rose early on our final day to join a walking tour of Ahmedabad’s old town. We started at the Swaminarayan Temple (just in time to witness early morning darshan). 

The old town is a confusing maze of narrow streets that we wouldn’t have had much chance of navigating without a guide. Along the way, we visited a couple Jain temples, one of them built underground to evade iconoclastic invaders. The best part of the tour wasn’t the temples, but watching the locals go about their business in the busy streets. 

As we now expect of an Indian city, there’s a fair amount of wildlife wandering through the old town. If Cochin is a goat-ghetto, then Ahmedabad is canine-city. There are dogs around every corner. Shejal wasn’t pleased when the tour guide warned of a notorious local hound whose favourite pastime is to rub its mangy arse on tourist’s legs. I got off with a toe licking whist Shejal hid behind me.    

Scootihound

 

We finished the tour at the Jama Masjid Mosque. 

 

For dinner we went to the MG House Hotel restaurant. The place specialises in a posh ‘Gujarati thali experience’. The meal came with an instruction pamphlet and the waiters explained each component of the dish in depth, very scientific. 

Ahmedabad is a mash-up of different cultures (Jain, Hindu, and Muslin) which is obvious in the architecture, markets, and the people. Although the heat almost finished us off, the mix made for an interesting visit.