Road Trip to Ahmadabad and Gandhinagar, Gujarat India.
Saturday the 14th March, we decided to hit the highway with our driver and drive up to Ahmadabad for a look. The trip takes anywhere from two to two and a half hours depending on traffic. There are many toll checks to pass through on the highway so we gave our driver the required 135 Rupee at the beginning of the trip and he was able to purchase a multiple pass which was scanned at each check point.
On the way we saw our first 'different' type of road kill.... A huge monkey spread from one side of the road to the other. We are accustomed to seeing kangaroos in a similar predicament in Australia but it was truly eye opening to see a poor squished monkey with his arms outstretched. It's not surprising though....the number of trucks on the highway are phenomenal and they race at such speed....the likelihood of any wildlife being hit is extremely high.
We reached Gandhinagar in two and a half hours of driving. It is to the north of Ahmadabad and is the capital of the state of Gujarat. The place is not like that of other Indian towns I've visited. It was lush and had boulevard style streets set out in an orderly fashion. Still the cows, goats and buffalo wandered freely however it seemed planned and the infrastructure was more western like.
Our first stop was Swaminarayan Askhardham temple. Only a very recent addition to the country, this temple was built in 1992 and had manicured gardens with many topiary elephants gracing the huge well kept grounds. Mobile phones and cameras were not permitted into the grounds, so were collected at the entry point for recollection upon exiting. Men were sweeping the grass and the topiary elephants to keep every thing just so. There was one western style toilet offered in the whole complex...... Which is a better statistic than most places I've found out and about here. Go when you can and do what you can is now my new motto. The temple is a pilgrimage to millions of Hindu people.... Celebrating the trek of a boy child named and honoured, Bhagwan Swaminarayan, who trekked thousands of kilometres from one side of India in Uttar Pradesh to the other, reaching Gujarat as his final destination where he lived and worked until he died. There are gold statues of the boy adorning the temple and the atmosphere offered a sense of serenity and love. Locals were keen to explain to us the importance of the monument and we were followed around by many. Whilst waiting in the line up for one of the exhibitions, two handsome young men started a conversation with me. Their English was very limited, however with my small but growing knowledge of the Hindi language (thanks to my very patient friend), we managed to have a conversation of some sort which I think they were impressed by as they deliberately sat directly behind me in the auditorium we entered into. I was then joined by an extended family who plonked themselves down next to me and sided up close. The woman took my hand and complimented me on my hairstyle but didn't like my jeans. She told me she only wears saris and she didn't like my jeans. That didn't stop her talking though....we spoke in a broken Hindi/ English fashion which I like to call 'Hinglish'.....it makes sense at times and not at others. I was able to fluently tell her I own one sari......
The Indians are not backward at relieving themselves of gas.....during the exhibition she burped loudly three times then leaned forward and let a rather loud flatulent sound escape. Bruce was sitting on the other side of me and he was nearly in stitches in silence. I could see his body out of my peripheral vision moving to a rhythm of silent hysterics.
Once the exhibition had finished, we exited and who would have guessed, but yes....we bumped into a few people we knew. Like I said a few blogs ago....move to the other side of the world and you still meet people you know and this wasn't even I the city we lived....what are the chances?
We then drove back to Ahmadabad where we visited Mahatma Gandhi's house. It was an absolute honour and surreal feeling to be actually standing in such a respected, loved and influential man's house.....He resided there from 1918 to 1930.
It is situated on the Sabarmati River and offers lovely views. There is a museum built on the grounds informing patrons of the significance Gandhi brought to the Indian people. The current prime minister of India, Narendra Modi is the most loved leader since Gandhi. After speaking to my local friends about Gandhi, they all just adore the work and the respect he gave to the people of India.
We're turned to Vadodara by late afternoon witnessing many fabulous sights to excite our minds and souls.