Inder Residency Ahmedabad

... hotels. I argued for a little while, but had to surrender my privacy in the end.

After a quick snooze Dave and I set off to explore the city. We spent the first hour or so walking around looking for a place to eat, then we walked for a few more hours looking for the next eating opportunity.

After that we hit a couple of museums then stumbled upon a high ...

I decided to take the sleeper train from Udaipur to Ahmedabad which takes 9 hours instead of the bus which takes only 5 hours. This was a big mistake. The train was more like a washing machine and I think very few people managed to sleep. I couldn't even manage to lie down. At a certain ...

... the heat so we decided to go to a movie, the only one playing at that time was "Dehli 6", it was one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen. Even though it was in Hindi I don't think I would have understood it even if it wasn't. We decided to try and see some stuff in the city so we wandered through a field of some cricket games and into the art district. We went to a museum with art that wasn't really very intriguing, but the cafe with Mango Lassi's was. After that we ...

... kid a small amount of shrapnel coins because he looked hungry but he wouldn't leave us alone and would walk next to or behind us tugging on our clothes as we walked and moving between us. It sounds bad but we raised our voices and shook our heads but he wouldn't go or be quiet. This was the most persistent beggar we have come across. He followed us for about an hour then we caved and bought him a 10 rupees sandwich off the street. That's one way to get your dinner. There are ...

... I arrive, he had some guy watch his stand while he took me down the street to his warehouse and selected 2 delicious fruits for me. The other night took the cake, however. He again had no more papaya but said that if we came back later that he would take us to the warehouse. I had barely stepped outside my door to meet him back down the street an hour later when he walks through our gate and hands me a bag of papaya, "teekay?" (ok) he says, and walks away ...

... struck a cord with me, as I have no mode of transport here other than walking and public transportation. What I have come to realize is that in the neighborhood where my friends here live, there are really all of the things that can allow me to have a pleasant and fruitful day; all within walking distance, some of which discovered via my walks. So I have taken to walking quite regularly. Several benefits of such are inexpensive transport, exercise ...

Ah...medabad. Allegedly one of the ten most polluted cities in the world, we arrived in the city weary (after an eight hour journey on a rattly, bangra-powered bus) and without accommodation. Em was feeling really rubbish, too, which was tough for both of us. It was like Amritsar all over again. We grabbed an auto to a hotel in the guidebook, but that was fully booked. We tried another - also no room at the inn. A trip back to the train ...

Now that the weather is cooling (it is only 30 degrees for a couple of hours a day), wedding season is upon us. There were 35,000 weddings yesterday in Delhi alone. This past weekend, while I was staying at my boss', his wife's mother and sister-in law came over for a video and she made us all watch her wedding video (remind you of anyone?) I'm just joking it was really interesting to watch a traditional wedding. Wedding ceremonies can take place on any day of the week and the festivities ...

... erupted in a yell of "LŬ-PET!!!" I joined in as well because everyone seemed to be having so much fun. The term lupet literally means roll up your firki but connotes much more in this competitive environment where it's survival of the swiftest. I began the roll of shame as I struggled to gather what string was left from my defeat. I continued throughout the morning attempting to cast a kite by myself, but it was to no avail. Fingers bleeding from the glass on the ...

... even though Krishna is a Hindu religious figure, people of all faiths participated in this secular display of strength, stamina, and a little human engineering. I look forward to the many Indian festivals to be celebrated throughout my stay here. It's also nice to know that festivals will never be in short supply, since India's dedication to secularism, has made it so that pretty much every festival of every religion is celebrated here. I, for one, like that policy.