Gujarat, the ultimate travel challenge
Trip Start
Aug 25, 2003
1
19
38
Trip End
Jul 23, 2004
Palitana,
India
Friday, January 30, 2004
Bat attack at the Diu fort
. Our first view of Ahmedabad was at 5 am; this, I realize now, is the only time that this city is bearable. After 6:30, every vehicle which is even partially mobile takes to the streets in the singular aim of destroying any particle of breathable air that may have survived the previous day's exhaust spewing choke-a-thon. And since it turned out no bus to Diu left before 9 pm, we were resigned to a day in Ahmedabad. We found an exceptionally affordable hotel called the Hotel Cadilac (spelled with only one L so there's no expectation of luxury, I guess), which gave us a "standard" (also known as "flophouse") room for 130 rupees. It was worth it for a respite from the polluted air and constant honking that is every street in Ahmedabad. After a nap, we did some limited sightseeing; limited not by our ambition, but because there really isn't anything to see. We did go to the headquarters of an organization called SEWA, the Self-Employed Women's Association, which helps poor women to get fair wages for their (usually manual labor) work, and provides low-cost health insurance. They also have a training program for lay midwives in rural areas, in an attempt to reduce the maternal mortality rate; India claims 25% of all maternal deaths worldwide. There is an obvious need: literature on the birth attendant program quotes some program graduates as saying that before the training program, they never knew they should wash their hands before a birth, or that babies needed to be fed more than sugarwater in the first three days. Although the organization is based in Gujarat, there are satellite programs being started all over India. It's an amazing what they are accomplishing with not much money...
After our sojourn to SEWA, we pretty much holed up in our precious little flophouse until night, only venturing out for dinner at a restaurant near our hotel.
Expressice carving, Diu fort
It was during dinner that we realized how few tourists come to Ahmedabad. Since we left home, I am much more used to being stared at on a daily basis, but it still unnerves me to have people watch while I eat; an anxiety made worse by constantly having to remind myself not to use my left hand (the "wiping hand" in India), and also because there are often items which I am not sure are condiments or appetizers or just garnish. We were such novelties that four of the restaurant's five waiters (a gross overstaffing, in my opinion, as there were only 6 tables, and only one besides ours was taken) were silently standing next to our table, observing us intently. One of them was so captivated that he began absently nibbling on the metal tray clutched to his chest. It was weird, like being a zoo exhibit. I was incredibly glad to leave before they started taking photos.But of course, this being India, our 9 pm bus really left at 11:30, and the designation "deluxe" apparently means that at least half of the reclining seats actually work and there are window curtains. The ride was standard for a night bus; I was luckier than the only other Western woman on board, who was subjected to some between-the-seat groping by the man sitting behind her. Fortunately, her boyfriend noticed it and yanked the offending arm as far forward as he could; considering the size of her boyfriend, the groper probably has one permanent ape-arm. We rolled in to Diu at noon, and found the Jay Shankar guesthouse, which was almost perfect: a sunny balcony, an en suite bathroom, a TV that got "Just Shoot Me" reruns at 7:30. Really, the only drawback was the saltwater shower. After 6 days, I felt like a pickle.
We spent the whole week relaxing. Phil had picked up a cold (probably from the toxic air in Ahmedabad; I'm very bitter against that city) and my back was still hurting occasionally, so we were in almost complete recuperative mode, except for the couple of days we spent exploring the sights
I love temples with turrets...
. Diu became Indian-controlled in 1961, so there isn't much Portugeuse influence left, except for three enormous Catholic churches (only one is still used for services; the other two have been converted into a guesthouse and a hospital) and a really incredible fort that takes up the whole east side of the island. One bonus is that entrance to the fort is free (in sharp contrast to the $5-10 entry into most of the forts in Rajasthan), and there is no supervision, so we took a flashlight and went down all these tunnels that were originally escape routes. Some of them were caved in, probably from the big earthquake in 2001, but we were able to go pretty far down three, one of which was inhabited. I always thought that bats had great radar. Not in Diu. Either these bats are uniquely "challenged", or have been taking advantage of the fact that Diu is the only place to buy alcohol in the otherwise "dry" Gujarat. We startled them with our entrance into the darkest part of one cave, and, in their haste to leave, they ran into us. Not like "a gentle brushing of a wing tip"; no, it was like someone was whipping bats at us. And just for the record, they have pointy parts which hurt when they whap you; not a plea for sympathy, but a general wildlife warning. We fled and found refuge in some bat-free tunnels, identified immediately by the lack of the pungent "bat smell". I now understand why Batman could never keep a girlfriend. Although the fort was the coolest place to explore, we also went to the Naida Caves, which are across from the bizarre man-made Zampa "waterfall". The caves are really photogenic open-air rock formations, and are also free (!!!). Since there was no explanation anywhere on Diu of the caves' history, Phil has developed a theory that people used to live there because there are some step-like places in the wall. But we don't actually know. I tried to search online, but the only hits that came up were in Dutch, and I like Phil's theory, so that was the extent of my research
Jain temple carving, Palitana
. Our third day, we rented a motorbike (ok, ok, it was another pansy moped) and rode to the other side of the island, passing by the popular Nagoa beach, which had a handful of Westerners sunbathing and legions of Indians watching them. The island is only 13 km long, so we spent our time cruising down side roads through the three villages on the island, but it wasn't quite as satisfying as in Sapa. The rest of our time we spent trying to find a decent restaurant and feeding bread to the wandering, drooling cows. It was an easy place to waste a week. We even packed our backpacks, checked out of our hotel, and walked halfway to the bus station before deciding that weather was too perfect, so we headed back to the hotel and stayed another day.
The extra day of rest was good because getting around in Gujarat is difficult. We had decided to head from Diu to Palitana, where the Shatrunjaya Mountain is topped by 900+ Jain temples. It sounded like a good place to break up the journey back to the dreaded Ahmedabad, so we started what became an epic journey with high hopes of an easy 6 hour bus ride. We (finally) got enough people to fill the share-rickshaw to the nearest mainland town, Una, where we discovered that there was no bus to Palitana; we would have to get a bus to Talaja, and then catch another to Palitana, oh, and the bus to Talaja was "a little" late. Two and a half hours of close-crowd-staring later, we fought our way onto the "free seating", and could only find seats in the very back row
Last visible Portuguese influence, Diu
. In general, this is the least desirable place to sit (which explained why it was available), especially on bad roads, because the back of the bus gets the most bouncing; this bus had the added bonus of no padding on the last seat, only nails sticking out to suggest where a cushion used to be. The road from Una to Talaja is about a 9 on the Bad Road Scale, with Cambodia representing the top place of honor; it was quite "rustic". When we disembarked in Talaja, it was about 5, and we were first told that the bus to Palitana didn't exist (language misunderstanding) and then, that it was "a little" late. At 6:30, just as it was getting dark, we boarded the Palitana bus, and (luckily) got seats in the front (padded) row. We found a decent guesthouse about 500 km from the bus station, and ate a fabulous thali dinner in the restaurant downstairs (where we actually ate every single meal while we were in Palitana), and then crashed. The next morning at 6 am, we indulged in the luxurious hot bucket shower (lukewarm water poured over the soapy bits), and then walked the 3950 steps (numbered so that you can keep track of how much more pain you face) to the top. Jain temples are very intricate and have beautifully detailed carvings, almost exclusively in white marble. The strictest Jains, who believe in the protection of all living things, wear masks to avoid breathing even the smallest bug. There were Jain nuns who were RUNNING up and down the steps. I felt very out of shape, but at least we weren't like the uber-lazy who got carried up on chairs by coolies. After looking at what seemed like all 900+ temples, we headed back down and bought our ticket to Ahmedabad, where we could get a train to Jaisalmer for the incredibly touristy Desert Festival. But, Ahmedabad being the travel black hole that it is, things are never that easy...
