Solo Weekend!

On the weekend of June 28-30, the group decided to do solo weekend traveling. I chose to go to Junagadh, a small and grimy city about 8 hours south of Ahmedabad. I arrived quite early in the morning, and after getting lost for a bit, made my way to my hotel. A quick nap later, I decided to poke around.

The guide books described it as “void of tourists,” and I found this to be nearly true; there was consequentiall almost no English, or English speakers, and I saw only one other white person during my three day venture.

While eating lunch (with Harry Potter), another girl (the other white person I saw) was sitting in front of me. She whispered an “I’m so sorry,” and tried to get up, but the waiters insisted we sit together. This was a rather fortunate event, as we were able to spend several meals together over the next few days.

After lunch Rosanne and I visited a few temples, and then ventured to the fort in the Old City. There were several stepwells, caves, temples, and walking paths inside the fort. Unfortunately, we seemed to be a major attraction as well; we were followed and photographed by a group of about 30 enthusiastic, non-English speaking Indian children and adults.




The next morning I woke up early to hike Mount Girnar. The mountain is traversed by hundreds of pilgrims each day, famous for its 899 temples.





It is literally all steps, which are kindly numbered to remind you of how far you have (not) come.



I had a bit of trouble being followed (in the sense that the party, of often more than 15 people, would stop and start along with me, all the while staring at my every move), but after a few grumpy looks managed to hike alone and stop occassionally to enjoy the scenery. Unfortunately, it was quite foggy, and at times my scenery ended a few feet in front of me.


(my "view")


However, the temples were absolutely beautiful, and it felt great to be active for the morning.


I made it to approximately step 7,000 and decided to turn around (at this point it was quite foggy, and beginning to rain).



I returned to a big meal, a long nap, more snacks, and then the bus ride home.

Mount Abu!

Two of Marc’s friends joined us for a weekend in Mount Abu, a popular destination for tourists and Indians in Rajasthan. Kunal and Amiraj were both about nineteen years old, studying engineering in Ahmedabad. Amiraj brought his driver, who spent the weekend with us. After a long morning journey, we stopped for food at the base of the mountain. They insisted we would get quite sick from the drive, so we didn’t eat much. Though no one actually did get sick, the ride was quite roller coaster in speed and twisting. After a particularly high-speed close call with a bus, Kunal turned to me and asked, “Have you ever seen Final Destination?”

After a quick nap at the hotel, we called the brother of Jayeshbhai. He was busy during the day, so recommended a friend to take us on a trek. After lunch, we climbed a beautiful mountain in search of bears. We didn’t find any, but he did spot a mongoose. It felt great to be active again, and the views were absolutely stunning.



That night we visited the lake, apparently dug by the fingernail of a god, and paddle-boated around the lake. We then grabbed beers, thalis, corn roasted with chili pepper and lemon, some ice cream, and headed off to bed.

The following morning we woke up early to meet Kiranbhai, Jayeshbhai’s brother, who took us on a second morning trek. We went through a small cave as well! He then took us to the Gujarat Mountaineering Institute (though still in Rajasthan); his wife is the president. Kiranbhai then took us to his home for breakfast, and pictures of his recent Himalayan trek. Part way through his presentation he received a call for help in regards to an unwanted snake in someone’s yard. He dashed out of the room calling to us to follow. We literally ran after his motorcycle, and arrived in a grassy yard. After some smacking around in the grass, he pulled a snake up with several short metal poles. He passed it back and forth between his hands until it was calm, and then let us touch and hold it.

After lunch we visited a Jain temple filled with extraordinary carvings, and then headed back to the hotel for a quick nap. On the way, we passed a man unconscious in the middle of the road, on a particularly treacherous bend portion. The five in our group yelled for the driver to stop, and the others yelled at him to keep going. They explained to us that we could get in trouble with the police if we helped a man who had been drinking too much, and also that it was his fault for lying in the road. We were insistent we should do what we can to potentially prevent his premature death, and also any accidents that would be caused by his presence in the road. The argument got quite heated; while I by no means project their belief system on all of India, or those who are well educated or wealthy, it was discouraging peak into the minds of these two boys.

Nick, Catherine and I decided to stay an extra day, so said goodbye to the others that night. On Monday, we met with Kiranbhai to discuss our upcoming adventures in the Himalayas. Afterward, we went on a quick hike up a nearby mountain, before grabbing a bus to head home.



On the way, the bus screeched to a stop. Several passengers jumped off, to join a small crowd just off the side of the road. After several moments, the crowd parted and a man emerged with something wrapped in a blanket. He brought it to the bus, and explained that it was an owl that must have been injured. He assured us that he would bring the owl to the hospital and that they would make him better…