Gujurat - Ahmedabad to Bhuj

---

So we are heading South. Originally we were trying to get to the former Portugese colony of Diu but due to the extortionate prices being demanded for accommodation over Christmas we changed tack and ventured out into the Kuutch area of North-Western Gujurat. We passed through Ahmedabad and after visiting Gandhi's famous Sagarmati Ashram made our way west towards Bhuj which was so horrifically destroyed by a huge earthquake back in 2001.

We stopped at Mandvi for a few days before going to a Nature Cure centre called 'Navjivan' for 10 days. Yes, we are really slowing our pace of travel down after Nepal where we were constantly on the move. Mandvi was just lovely. We met so many really genuine and friendly people there and enjoyed just hanging out on the uncrowded beaches and walking around the quiet port. Mandvi used to be connected to Karachi and Bombay by ferry and has a reputation for traditional timber boat-building. Boats built here have sailed to Zanzibar and all around the Arabian Gulf and are huge.

The 10 days in Navjivan were followed with a 10 day retreat at the Kuutch Vipassana centre which was really inspiring. This gave us a powerful experience of meditation and monastic life, not to mention total silence . Having had some little experience of similar meditation techniques this took us way further. I'd recommend this to anyone and believe me it's not the silence that is hard - try sitting still without moving a muscle for 5 minutes. Now imagibe trying to do this for 1 hour! We were sitting 14 hours a day meditating...

Yeah, we were really enjoying Gujurat and spent some time near the Pakistan border at a Hindu monastery called Than. At the temple there is a flame that has been kept alive by the monks for more than 1000 years!

---