Driving back into Surat to catch the train to Ahmedabad was kinda gross. Just outside of town are all the textile and pharmacuetical factories discharging black smoke into the thick grey air. This was in jarring contrast to the clean but dusty air I was enjoying in Bardoli and surrounding villages.
Bardoli was exactly what I needed before venturing out into the rest of India. The family I stayed with was totally laid back and I spent a lot of time relaxing and catching up on writing for this blog. The train ride was rather pleasant. I was in a "new" express train with airconditioning. They served refreshments and lunch over the 4.5 hour ride through the verdant Gujrati countryside.
Lopamasi and Hemuntmasa found me at the station in Ahmedabad, the largest city in the state of Gujrat. After lunch at their place I ventured back into the old part of town to explore. I checked out just about every site listed in my guide book. These were mostly mosques and tombs.
What's remarkable about this place is how its people live amongst these ancient monuments. Roads still pass under the original gates of the walled city, merchants occupy centuries old forts and people hang their clothes and play cricket on the mausoleum of the city's founder.
I was constantly asking for help to navigate the labrynthzl streets and everyone was super helpful. I think it would be impossible for someone to get along over here if they spoke only English. I didn't try but I figured that would be the case since many of the shop keepers in this part of town couldn't even read Gujrati. What was funny was when people figured my Gujrati was too broken to understand they assumed I must be a Hindi speaker. On my way back, my rickshaw driver asked me what language they spoke in California.
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