BOMBAY TO UDAIPUR VIA AHMEDABAD.

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Ok people you need to understand that I'm slightly inebriated at the moment, (on account of being out and having too many beers at a fantastic local restaurant). so you'll have to forgive any odd spellings, or owt that just has no logic whatsoever.

It was an early start from Bombay Monday morning, (5.30am), and a quick taxi drive to VT, (The central station).

The scene there was straight out of your typical boys own adventure type annual when preparing for an overland excursion in a remote land.

The station was abject pandemonium, a mixture of travelers, porters, and people trying to sell you stuff. That early in the morning the floor was also littered with numerous local travelers trying to sleep and the general hustle and bustle was all very exciting.

We are now complete as a group. That morning we were joined by Michael from Adelaide, and Nadine from South London. Nadine is the baby of the group, (well she's 28), and it's fair to say has her own unique way of going about things. (I'll fill you in as we go along later).

We hired porters to carry our bags, and pushed our way through the masses to make it to our train in plenty of time. Personally I thought the trains were good. Admittedly we were in the better paid end, (which wasn't what you'd call luxurious), but they were practical, with reclining seats, more leg room than on Virgin, and throughout the journey staff moved through the train giving you breakfast, and incidental refreshment as part of your ticket.

It was an 8 hour journey with the outside view throughout looking like it was being piped through the window courtesy of National Geographic.

Our destination was the city of Ahmedabad in the State of Gujarat.

NOTE..."Ahmedabad the largest city in Gujarat blends an ancient heritage with a vibrant present. It nurtures in its pages of history, a breath of harmony and a show-case of exquisite harmony. The city is named after a Sultan who founded it in 1411 and graced it with splendid monuments. Ahmedabad is also known for its association with the Apostle of peace Mahatma Gandhi whose ashram is on the banks of River Sabarmati which is now a national pilgrimage site. Ahmedabad is the second largest prosperous city in Western India. It is a place where tradition and modernity co-exist in perfect harmony. The climate of the state is moist in the southern districts and dry towards the northern sides. Ahmedabad has been a city where a lot of action, reaction and interaction between various ethnic and linguistic forces has taken place which has resulted in the synthesis of many races and cultures. It is a land of gentle, dignified people, astute businessmen, gay, colourful peasants, and thriving industry".


From the moment of our arrival it was obvious that this was no sleepy town. The Pandemonium we left in Bombay was nothing to the onslaught at our arrival in Ahmedabad. We were immediately jostled by porters, and taxi drivers until finally making it to the cars that had been laid on for us for a quite incredible drive to our hotel.

Driving in India is just like nothing anywhere else in the World, I'm certain.

I thought Cairo was manic, but they're well behaved by comparison. Basically it's one gigantic free for all, everyone squeezing into any space available, horns blaring, but no real road rage as such, basically everyone drives with zero regard for the rules of the road or for anyone else, (motorist or pedestrian), but that seems not to matter, as this is equally understood, and so no one really gets cross when they get cut up, swerved off the road, or almost hit by oncoming traffic.

Also it's important to note that clean air is but a distant memory in Ahmedabad, no Kyoto agreement here. Of a night time you can cut the smog with a knife, (not a place to be if you have bronchial problems).

Our Hotel last night, (The King Palace), was substantially better than the one in Bombay, (My bed was enormous), though the noise outside never really went away, (including loud fire crackers). Ahmedabad to be honest aint on your typical tourist map of India, (half the place was leveled in 2001 by an earthquake you know), but it is a useful stop off place for us on our route up to Rajasthan. And there are places to see.

Ahmedabad was Ghandi's second home, and the place where he led his march against the Salt tax, and formed the bulk of his opposition to British Rule. You can visit his Ashram which includes his home from that time, and a connected Library and institute set up to teach his ideals.


NOTE..."Set up on the quiet peaceful stretch of Sabarmati River, 7 kms north of the city, this was the Hriday Kunj of Mahatma Gandhi and for many years it was the nerve centre of India's freedom movement. It was from here, in 1930, that Mahatma began his famous Dandi March to the sea to protest against the salt tax imposed by the British. The Gandhi Ashram has a memorial centre, library and a Sound-and-Light (Son et Lumiere) spectacle to offer to its visitors".

I probably should have been moved by the place, but it was all a little too, er… well dull really…. and rather lacking in atmosphere.

Sure this makes me sound like a Philistine, but there you go!

I was far more interested in the first place we visited yesterday, (and then only cos I could climb around on it)!

We visited a step well, which is an ancient well dug deep into the ground to provide water to local villages but which are made up of an elaborate stone staircase leading into it interspersed with colonnades, and ornate palisades that served as a gathering and social area for the community as well.

NOTE…The Adalaj Wav Step Well is located 18 kilometers north of Ahmedabad in the Gandhinagar district. It was built during the reign of Queen Rudabai, a muslim ruler. Though now dry, the well once provided water to weary travellers and pilgrims along the roads outside of Ahmedabad. The four-level well is dug directly into the water table, exposing fresh water that rose and fell according the seasons and the amount of rainfall. Its deep interior provided cool relief from the harsh Indian sun.

I spent a lot of time scrambling around it, disappearing down passageways, and generally exploring.

Was also approached by a group of 16 year old school boys on a study trip who wanted to know where I was from. I told them and then we stared at each other awkwardly for a time until I felt compelled to ask questions like Prince Charles on a royal visit.

'How old are you all'

'Do you like School'

'Is this your first visit to a stepwell'

'What do you all want to be when you leave school'.

Eventually it turned out they all just wanted their photo taken with me, so I set up the auto function and kneeled in front of the mass of them for the camera to click. (Have this slight suspicion they were making lewd gestures behind me, but I can't be sure so will wait for photo to be developed to find out).

Last night we took Tuk Tuk's to a nearby Indian fast food joint. If you don't know what a Tuk Tuk is, it's a sort of motorized sedan chair, or high powered golf cart type thing. Now imagine traveling in one of those in the sort of traffic we have here. Ever seen the flying car chase sequence in Star Wars episode 2? (It was sort of like that).

The eatery was a sort of all Indian Food Hall where you ordered your food, got a receipt and then went to a specific till to collect it. (Sort of like if Argos did Curry houses)!

Mike and Vipal then headed off to a Bollywood movie while the rest of us headed back to the hotel. There are plans for us all to do Bollywood one night, but I'm yet to be convinced that's one experience I need on this trip.

I shared a Tuk Tuk back with Jamie. The driver of this one was mental, and knew how to take his corners at speed. At one point the Tuk Tuk carrying Joan and Glenn headed off in the wrong direction, so our driver skidded round in an instant and took off in hot pursuit through the crowded streets until eventually rounding him up on a roundabout and herding him in the right direction for the hotel.

Today we've been traveling most of the day. A 6 hour coach ride to Udaipur! Actually wasn't too bad. No private transport for this part of the trip, we just travel the ways the locals do.

Long distance coaches in India have two levels. The seats, where we sat, and above that, (where you would normally find luggage racks), are sort of bed efforts where family groups sit for the longer journeys. Actually there is a third level who seem to sit on the floor. As you can imagine this is all very crowded, (and I could have done without the bloke in front who insisted on reclining in his chair the entire journey), but even so I can't say it wasn't an enjoyable experience. You come to India to see India! Travel across India on one of their coaches and that's exactly what you see out the window the entire time.

We arrived at Udaipur at about 6pm this evening.

Note… "A verdant oasis in the desert of Rajasthan, this City of Lakes (Pichola, Fateh Sagar and Udai Sagar) has also been dubbed Venice of the East.

Founded in 1568 by Maharana Udai Singh, the city is a harmonious Indian blend of white-washed buildings, marble palaces, lakeside gardens, temples and havelis (traditional mansions). Strewn with stalls, Udaipur's narrow lanes still carry the flavour of a heroic past, epitomizing valour and chivalry".

Udaipur is way more relaxed than Bombay and Ahmedabad. It's set on the Idyllic lake of Pichola and has in the middle of it Jag Niwas which is a former Moghal palace that now is a hotel, looks like it is floating on the lake, and was used as the location of Octopussy's lair in the film of the same title. You can do the buffet dinner there and that is a plan of mine for tomorrow.

Tonight we all took Tuk Tuk's to a restaurant on the far side of the lake that was just fantastic. It's called the Ambrai and is an open air resturant right on the lake, lit by candles and looking out across the lake to the City palace. It was an amazing location that serves some speciallity Indian food, all of which is fantastically priced. My meal tonight, (and the beers), came to about 8 quid! Anyhow its about 10.30pm here and I think these folk want to close up so I gotta shoot. I'm in Udaipur for one more night, so if I get time I'll zap you from here tomorrow.

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