India 2: Gujarat and South Rajasthan

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Sat 6th August – Arrived in Ahmedabad, the capital city of Gujarat. The roads here were possibly even madder than Mumbai, with millions of autorickshaws! We visited a beautiful and intricately carved step well, the Vallabhbhai Patel museum and the Calico Museum of Textiles.

Sun 7th August – Our first day-time journey: train from Ahmedabad to Abu Road, then scenic bus trip up the mountain to the town of Mount Abu. Checked into friendly hostel/hotel, and explored the town for the evening, especially the picturesque lake.

Mon 8th August – Mount Abu trek. We did a long morning trek into the mountains with our guide, Ashok. He took us to some beautiful viewpoints, where we could see clouds rolling in and out below us. We also went to the cave house of a holy man for chai (tea) and visited some secluded temples. Our trek ended at the Jain Dilwara Temples, five large marble temples started 1000 years ago, which are more intricately and ornately carved than anything we’ve seen – stunning! We also went for a touristy pedalo ride round the lake, and did another short trek with Ashok in the evening.

Tue 9th August – Woke up to find the clouds had covered the town of Mount Abu. We walked through town to the bus station blindly, only being able to see a couple of metres ahead! Five and a half hours on a bus later, we arrived in Udaipur. The old Lal Ghat area of Udaipur is on the edge of a large lake, and consists almost entirely of palaces and palace-style architecture. It is so beautiful. Even our hotel room had a balcony and stained glass windows! The windy streets mean that the traffic isn’t too bad, so it is also the most peaceful city we’ve visited. We went to a miniature painter’s shop, who painted a tiny elephant of one of our nails, and visited three temples.

Wed 10th August – We went on a boat trip around the lake at Udaipur, seeing some of the island palaces closer up. Then we visited City Palace, the largest palace, where there is an extensive museum, with interesting exhibits and beautiful views. In the evening, we saw an Indian Folk Dance show, which was touristy but lots of fun!

Thu 11th August – Long day of traveling. Six and a half hour bus journey to Ahmedabad then overnight train to Mumbai.

Fri 12th August – Arrived in Mumbai and checked into our hotel. This time, we stayed in Colaba, the more touristy area of Mumbai, where there are a lot of western cafes, bars and shops. We caught the boat from the Mumbai to Elephanta Island, a pretty choppy hour-long boat ride, which was fun but a bit stomach-churning! We visited the island’s cave temples, which were impressive but not a patch on Ajanta and Ellora. Although, the massive three-headed Shiva statue in the main temple is really magnificent. We saw lots of monkeys there too. Had a drink in a cool bar in the evening.

Sat 13th August – A relaxed day for Dylan’s last day in India. We did some shopping for gifts and saw a film.

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