Gujarat

Trip Start Sep 11, 2007

Trip End Jul 10, 2008

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Flag of India Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

I stopped in Ahmedabad and got a few things done. I got perscription sunglasses for < $20! I updated my normal glasses lenses for $7! I got a bucket for doing laundry in. I got quite sick from drinking local water here, also. I filled up at the hotel's Aquaguard cold water station - only I didn't notice that the Aquaguard was not hooked up! That day, my depression and anxiety were higher than they'd been in ages! I wasn't feeling so well, either. Then, that night and the next morning I realized I was very sick and discovered the unplugged Aquaguard. I got much better by the day after - except for my cough. I always have problems with coughs, esp in India. But I needed to move out of Ahmedabad, sick or not (bit depressing, polluted, been there too long). So I saw the Ghandi Ashram and the Textile museum, which were the last things I wanted to do in Ahmedabad. Then I left.

My next stop was Junagadh. It was quite nice here! It's a small, pleasant town. The major attraction is Girnar Hill. It is a hill with multiple temples and 10000 steps leading up to the temples! I made the climb at sunrise as Lonely Planet recommended and it was beautiful

. Quite a fun day. My legs were killing me afterwards, however!

There is a small story about when I got to the very top (of the second peak). A crappy, tiny, enclosed Hindu shrine awaited me (concrete base and corrugated steel roof). I wanted a mountain top with a magnificent view! They wanted to feed me coconut and me to give them money! They looked slightly greedy and lots of money lay in their dish. I chose not to - I am getting wary of the whole holy blessing racket. Even if it initially seems like a free gift, then I'm trapped into feely obligated to donate and getting guilt tripped into feeling cheap for not dropping unreasonable amounts of money like rich, newbie Westerners. "Give as you like... 100, 200, 500..." 10 is a fair amount, thank you very much! That's what the locals give. It'd be like giving a $100 bill to a bum in Canada - inappropriate. Plus, I'm not Hindi so what do I care about the blessings of Hindi Gods? Then, a random Hindi man who heard me, later met me on the stairs and expressed his strong wish that I return and eat just a little coconut. It will help me for the rest of my life! I was just a little amazed to hear his sincere Hindi point of view. He really meant it. I didn't go because I don't believe in Hindi. (On the other hand, I did ring the bell earlier - for the fun of it)

As always I meet a million locals who want to meet me. Hi. Curtis from Canada. Yes, travelling alone. Yes alone. Only me. My family is not with me

. No, I'm not married at 29. Yes, really. No, I'm not saying what my salary is or which hotel I'm staying at! Nice to meet you. Sometimes, if I'm too plagued by friendly Indians, I start getting coldly distant and polite. I've learned to smile and wave back at them as I walk and pretend that I don't understand that they want me to sit with them for a chat. My patience only goes so far. It's not always unwanted - sometimes I quite like meeting nice, sincere people. The adolescent groups of boys I try to stay away from. They are often a bit judgemental and sniggering. Or even try to teach me swear words and tell me they mean hello. And macho, arrogant, disrespectful men who give me a CHHHSSSSHHTTT (the sound that means "Excuse me" in India), and point rudely for me to walk up to them (these men are rare, thankfully). Some people like to shake me hand and a few men use that to yank me down to sit beside them! It's something I've had to get used to in India. I'm for example, the 3rd white person they've ever met. They often want pictures of me beside them. To show their friends that they have a white friend. At least I'm not red-headed, blonde or female! It's a bit like being a zoo animal or a rock star!

After Junagadh, I went to Diu. Diu is a beach retreat kind of similar to Goa only quieter. It was very relaxing. I found a beach which got deep really quickly, which I love. 15 meters out and I was up over my head! Great for swimming. It was slightly sharp on the feet getting out but once I was out, it was great! I relaxed and read a lot.

I read "A brief history of the Middle East" which I got from Katie (my friend from last month)

. It was quite interesting and I was amazingly drawn to read it (usually I am not drawn to read non-fiction even if it's interesting). Islam is quite similar to Chistianity. One god and only one god, heaven and hell, god and satan, angels, a moral code, a bunch of the same prophets. In 800-1200, the Middle East was quite advanced in many areas and the medieval, Christian Europe totally backward! The Pope ordered the Crusades - to gain spiritual salvation and land, go sack Jerusalem and the Middle East! (which they brutally did)

In Diu, I stayed at this nice, family guesthouse. There were some quirky characters there. This middle-aged, Welsh civil engineer had been in India 1.5 years! A Portuguese guy, Hugo, was working on his thesis, a study of the Diu Portuguese language. A girl from Holland had been in Diu for 9 weeks! A Scottish guy kept coming back and had been there for months, also. He owned a Vespa motorbike which he kept in Diu for when he visited. Stories of people doing long-term India living interests me. You can live for $60/mo rent and $200/mo total expenses (electricity, water, food) if you go to the outskirts of almost any Indian town. You can get 6mo visas and just keep renewing them indefinitely (might be some government restrictions on this sometimes).

There was a huge Portuguese Fort and 3 Portuguese churches in Diu which were quite nice. It's really different exploring forts in India without railings and things to block me entering slightly risky areas. I feel more like an adventurer than a tourist. For example, there were these rooms missing their ceilings. I was able to walk on the tops of the walls and make sure I didn't fall. The walls were sturdy enough and a foot or two wide but it would never have been permitted in Canada!

Alcohol was cheap and Gurjarat doesn't allow alcohol without a 200rp drinking license so lots of locals come to Diu to drink - which actually wasn't so bad. Most of them stayed somewhere else and were in jovial groups.

My cough (from Ahmedabad and before) got a lot better but still stuck with me. I was hoping it would be healed before I left Diu. But, finally, I needed to go. Next: Jodhpur (via buses to Ahmedabad and Udaipur).