INDIA & BANGLADESH 2014: 14 From Mandu to Silvassa, India

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Other than a French couple we met yesterday while getting a tire fixed, we saw our first tourists at the Mandu Hotel. We have been travelling well off the tourist routes. As the hotel breakfast also keeps government hours and doesn't start until 8 AM, it was just toast & jam so we could get going by 8:15.

We passed several more nomad camps with their animals en route. While photographing one an elephant with a rider on top came strolling up the 4 lane highway. He collects money for his master, something truck drivers seem aware of, as several pulled over. The elephant's trunk went in the truck window and came out with a 10 rupee note. As we were standing right there I tried it, and sure enough, each time the elephant got money he passed it up to the mounted rider.

It is necessary to pay road tax when entering Gujarat Pradesh, but with bureaucracy at its finest, it took an hour and a half. Trucks were lined up along the side of the road as drivers waited to make their tax payment.

The suggested 8 hr drive was getting close to 12 hours by the time we reached Ahmedabad, Human occupation here dates from the 11th century, but the city got its name in 1411. It is the capital & largest city of Gujarat State with a population of almost 6 million, making it the 5th largest in India. Hotel Cama is a once grand hotel with reasonably maintained public areas but the rooms aren't great. Ours had filthy carpet and a horrible air freshener smell to cover up smoke odour that made us gag. We complained, but the hotel was full.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

A tour group must have left the hotel early, so Marilynn had a choice of rooms. The first she looked at was as bad as the one we were in, so they gave us an newly renovated room with a great view and no smell.

Mahatma Ghandi's Ashram where he lived, taught and worked for Indian independence had lots of old photos. He was born to wealthy parents, got his law degree in England and worked as lawyer in South Africa. His life changed when he was thrown out of first class on a train because of his colour, so he started joining protest marches. Back in India he renounced any comforts and worked the rest of his life for Indian independence.

We visited the Ahathi Jain Temple, which has beautiful carvings and statues throughout, before looking at a couple of other temples which were similar to ones we have seen. About 90% of the city is vegetarian for religious reasons, so meat is not easy to come by, and neither is booze. It is a dry state..

Walking through the old section of the city was interesting. There is a 1411 Fort and many old, poorly maintained buildings. Marilynn needed her broken glasses lens replaced, so the guide found a place up narrow, steep metal stairs in a tiny office in a very old building. The cost was 400 rupees (about $8) and it was done in 20 minutes. We had to get there by tuk tuk, as no cars are allowed in the narrow streets of the old section.

A special Indian food dinner was laid on for us. It took an hour to get there in rush hour traffic, but much less to get back.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

This morning's 2 hour drive was to Vadodara, population 1.8 million, a centre for IT & education. The first settlers arrived in 812 AD and were ruled by Hindu kings until 1297, followed by the Gupta Empire, the Muslim Delhi Sultans, Mughals & finally the Marathas who had princely state status under the British. On the way we saw a truck that ran into a stopped trailer truck loaded with re bar killing 5 people in the front and seriously injuring another. Later there was another truck with the front destroyed and a bus with the back pushed in. Apparently on the four lane roads drivers are falling asleep when driving at night..

Once checked into Welcomhotel we had lunch. The hotel has no elevator and very high charges for internet, otherwise it is excellent. It is the same chain as the one we stayed in at Delhi Airport.

During a city tour we visited the Baroda area and the awesome Laxmi Vilas Palace, built in 1898. It is still home of the Marathas today, although an entire wing is open to the public. In total there are 170 rooms, including huge ball rooms. Also in the area is Nyay Nagari and many other historic buildings and monuments.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

It was a 6 hours drive to Daman, capital of Daman & Diu, a 72 sq km (28 sq mi) territory with a population of about 250,000. It had many rulers from its founding in 273 BC to when it became a Portuguese colony from 1531 to 1961. It was given to Portugal by a grateful ruler for their help in fighting the Dehli Sultans.

Tonight it is the very nice Gold Beach Resort, on a black sand beach beach with a pool, swim up bar and jacuzzi. The ocean, while body temperature, is muddy and the beach littered with washed up garbage. Some distance offshore two people were walking a horse in the ocean. We had a couple of drinks by the pool then returned to the room to get some things done. Dinner with Igbal was at the ocean side restaurant, where the tide had gone out and rocks were visible to the horizon. Sales and service taxes are high – 37% in total on the bill.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

After a drive around Daman to look at Portuguese colonial architecture and the fort we drove down the coast to Silvassa, another ex-Portuguese colony that is capital of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Union territories are controlled directly by the central government, unlike states. Silvassa, population about 200,000, is a tax free zone has a lot of industry that provides considerable government revenue, so taxes here are low. It covers 491 km2 (190 sq mi).

The drive was on two lane congested road, as many people from Gugarat come here on weekends to stay and have access to booze. The total time to get to the hotel was 2 hours, so we arrived by 11 AM. Our guide tells us there is really nothing to see in Silvassa, so we have to seriously wonder why we are here wasting a day! The hotel is the old and not very clean Khanvel Resort, where we are on full board. It is a much lower end hotel than the one last night and no where near a beach or anything else, so we are trapped.

When we went for lunch there was an unbelievable mob lined up to get at a buffet on which there was nothing I could eat, and even if there had been there was not an empty seat in the place. We went down to the pool level and found dozens of school kids in uniform lined up for a private buffet there. We thought if there was a pool bar they may serve snacks, but there was no pool bar, or any other bar – booze is by room service or in the restaurant. The feeding was better organized at the Golden Temple in Amritsar!

We finally called Igbal, who was at the local market, and found he had not had lunch either, so he took a tuk tuk back to the hotel to get the car and drive us in search of a place for lunch. After a few stops he found the Heritage Hotel where we had a pretty good lunch accompanied by beer. The rest of the day was spent in our room listening to hundreds of happy, screaming kids in the pool area below. Dinner was another buffet with nothing of interest to us, so we paid for room service food. Why someone decided we should have a day sitting in a mid to low end hotel room while paying for a guide, driver, car, food we didn't eat and lodging when there is absolutely nothing to do, not even internet, is far beyond me. What a painful waste of money and time!

An interesting aside that I read in the paper. Young people held a rally against the morality law that outlaws kissing in public, even though both pissing and defecating in public areas is legal, and widely practised. The police arrested 60 participants. People responded throughout the country by openly kissing!

Towns are addressing the defecation problem differently, one village is issuing loud whistles to school students over 7 years old with instructions to stand in front of anyone attempting to defecate in public and blow the whistle while pointing at the person.