Groovy India

Walking around India makes me realize why the West was so obsessed by the East in the sixties. Some of the fashions here haven't changed:

The trucks and rickshaws are my favourite though, how cool are these?

Rajkot, Jamnagar, Bhuj, and Mount Abu

Rajkot was both and adventure and a failure. I arrived around midnight and soon met Sadiq and his 2 friends who owned a rickshaw. They told me how every night they hang out and drive around town, sometimes pick people up. They were too friendly and dropped me off at every hotel in town, only to get the same answer each time: "house full". It was fun though, I discovered the town that way, and we had to dodge the cops because the driver had no license. In the end, they left me the poshest hotel in town, which had a 24 hour restaurant, and I chilled there till about 4am, getting some dodgy vibes. I left not really knowing where to go, and was greeted by a pack of dogs barking and some cows mooing, so I flipped and caught a rickshaw to the station! The station was a colourful sea of people sleeping on the ground, much more welcoming.

I quickly headed off to Jamnagar, which was pretty uneventful, and so was Bhuj, both nice places. The latter was partially destoryed by an earthquake in 2001, and the damages are still visible. I also went down to Mandvi, where they build ships for other gulf countries.

Here's a confusing itinerary of my trip so far, for the curious.

At the moment I'm in Mt Abu, a chill little town on a mountain. Jaisalmer next!

Gujarat

After Pushkar, Dustin went North and I backtracked South to Gujarat, to get off the tourist trail a little and explore the state. Ahmadabad was my first destination. After deciding I didn't like the city much, I met a guy called Ali, who took me around town on his motorbike, showing me different sights and night markets, and I explored the Manek Chowk Area, where shops and stalls overflow onto the streets, on which people park their scooters, leaving only a thin slice of road for rickshaws and motorbikes to pass through, it's a really crazy place. Ali told me about the unrest between Hindus and Muslims in the area, saying there were riots about once a month. A few days ago, some Muslims attacked a cow in the street, fueling anger from the Hindu community.

Needless to say the kindness of people here has made me appreciate the places more, and I've hardly felt lonely in my time alone.

I left Ahmedabad for Palitana and at early morning the next day I climbed the +3000 steps to Shatrunjaya, where there are more than 1000 Jain temples on top of the mountain. Really extraordinary place, very peaceful.

On the bus to Diu, the next day, I chatted to Vikram, a 27 year old, who repeated many times he isn't married, and that his family will soon find him a bride. Most Indians seem to marry at a younger age. Although castes do not restrict friendship, he explained that he must marry a girl of the same caste. He lives in a big house with his grandparents, parents, brothers, brothers' wives, and their wives' siblings! Family bonds are extremely important here.

Diu is a small ex-Portuguese colony where alcohol is legal (and not in Gujarat) so there are a lot of drunk men stumbling about, even in the early afternoon! It's so quiet and chill, with really lovely villas and a Portuguese speaking community, it hardly feels like India. The beaches are nice too, here is sunset beach:

Next up: Rajkot!

Pushkar Pics

No photos allowed in the Ghats, so this is what I was seeing.

How cool is this guy?!

Pushkar

Pushkar is insane.

I arrived here just as the camel fair and its events were at their best, with camel races, best cattle competitions, wrestling, dances, music, and everything from snake charming to tightrope walking. I even participated in the locals vs foreigners tug of war (they won).

People have come from all over Rajasthan and India to join the festivities. Mostly though, people have come to bathe in the ghats (lakes or pools with stairs leading down to holy water) as a religious pilgrimage. Today is an important Hindu Festival (Kartik Purnima) and there have been ceremonies all over town. This means that the town is full of pilgrims, mostly men in turbans and robes with massive moustaches and beards. Some are real characters, and have colourful and funky accessories or jewelry or dreadlocks. Some priests will lie down and pray in the middle of the street, others will offer you flowers or bracelets (usually for some cash). The women are all dressed in fiery saris that match the desert colours, and travel in groups. As for the foreigners, there's a lot of hippies!

The streets are packed with stalls and there's an amusement park full of people too. The fair itself is not so popular, and mostly consists of camels and their owners, and traders selling camel-associated goods.

This place is so full of people and smells and colours and animals it's a bit exhausting. I'm staying with Dustin at the Pink Floyd Hotel (room: Animals) so we've got a pretty good place to chill.

The city is alive from above as well. Right now I'm on the rooftop terrace of the hotel, and I can hear chanting coming from the lake, and religious speeches that sound like rallying calls to battle coming from all over the place. There are fires sprouting everywhere too, from burning rubbish, incense, or firecrackers. Monkeys jump from building to building. The view is amazing, the mountains and their temples in the distance, and the ghat full of candles in the town. The full moon hovers above.

More pictures coming soon!

Udaipur

Udaipur and Lake Pichola.

Udaipur again. I wanted to draw this to show the mess of cables hanging just above my head!

Dharavi, Aurangabad, Udaipur

My last few days in Mumbai were spent walking around the suburbs of the city. I participated in a slum tour, which I was a bit skeptic about doing, but ended up being fascinating. We visited Dharavi Slum, one of the biggest in Asia, and saw the working quarters (mostly dealing with recycling metal and plastic) and living quarters of the slum dwellers. While some of the living and hygiene conditions were really horrible (kids swimming in the swampy black river fishing for garbage) the slum is a very organized place, with its own hierarchy of people and businesses. It generates over 600 million us dollars a year. The people dont see much money though, its the ones who own the workshops and industries (and dont live in the slum) who profit.
After Mumbai I headed with a friendly canadian, Dustin to Aurangabad, a lazy dusty town not too far into Maharashtra, to visit the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain caves of Ellora, carved into the mountains over generations, and the fort of Dalautabad.
We finally made it to Udaipur a few days later after many buses and trains and rickshaws. Udaipur is really gorgeous, built on hilly terrain, and surrounded by hazy mountains, with lots of Rajhastani architecture. It's also benefitted hugely from tourism, and the people here seem very relaxed, friendly, and happy. While there's a few temples around, and cows and goats roam the streets, this doesn't seem like the real India, and reminds me of those generic tourist towns found in Asia, a bit like Dali in China. The best thing about here is really chilling on the rooftop terraces and admiring the view.
Heading to Pushkar for the camel fair today, should be a good time. More sketches coming soon!