INDIA & BANGLADESH 2014: 15 From Silvassa to Pune, India

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Although we had agreed to a 9 AM departure, we called Igbal to contact Mikisen to make it 8 AM. Breakfast at the hotel is not until 8:30, but they sent sandwiches, juice and cereal to the room early. The staff really did try. The hotel does a reasonable job with its target market, an inexpensive get away for Hindu and Jain families with children. It is vegetarian, buffet only, with a special section for the very strict diet of Jain people. We have no idea what we were doing there!

The drive to Nashik was initially over good paved road through beautifully forested tribal lands. There were neat small farms between the hills, and the tiny villages had no garbage laying around. Once we crossed into the state of Maharashtra the scenery remained beautiful, but the road deteriorated into a one lane track with broken pavement. Breakfast was at a small roadside tea stop, where the owner's wife cooked eggs and noodles in her house, and invited Marilynn to use the spotlessly clean toilet there.

Marilynn spotted a couple of herds of water buffalo in a lake near the road, so we stopped for photos. The animals respond to voice commands, and while we were there they were called out of the water. Four young children, two girls and two boys, had the job of collecting the cow dung and putting it in metal bowls they carried on their heads, they will use that to mix with mud for the walls of buildings. We bought a bag of dates at breakfast this morning, and Marilynn offered a young fellow one, but he held up his dirty hands indicating he couldn't really take it, so she popped it into his mouth for him.

Once in the Nashik area, we made a 10 km detour to visit the Sula winery. A one hour winery tour with a tasting of 4 wines was 150 rupees ($3) per person, but as the next tour wasn't for 45 minutes we paid the money and went directly to the tasting. Once the fellow pouring realized we knew something about wine, he plied us with about 8 of his choices, many of which we hadn't tried. Some of their wines are exceptional. We ended up buying two Chenin Blanc Reserva, a Riesling and a Sauvignon blanc. The reserva is amazing!

It was just after 3 PM when we checked into the good, mid range, Lily Sarovar Portico Hotel. Everything worked, and the service was prompt and efficient. Fast internet was free, and we had a superb dinner with a bottle of wine on the outside lawn.

Monday, November 10, 2014

After a short drive we arrived at the temple lined Godavari River. At the Shiva Temple of Nasik there were family groups outside the temple having private religious services for departed family members. The temple area goes back 5,000 years, but the current one was built by the Marathas in 1701. We walked through the old town, where most substantial buildings were build by the British in the 1800s, but are not well maintained. In the centre of town is the Kalaram Temple, we which we looked at from outside.

On route were more nomads with their flocks, but this time no camels. One lady was leading three laden horses, the first carrying two little children and several baby goats snuggled into rugs. We stopped and tried to give them gifts, but the kids and animals were terrified of us, so that didn't work.

It took some time to find the Fortune Inn in Pure. It was a lower mid range hotel with no liquor permitted and virtually no one who speaks English. Once moved in we said goodbye to guide Mikisen – he is taking a 16 hour overnight bus trip to Ahmedabad, then walked a few blocks to a roadside bar. Once refreshed we continued to a huge indoor shopping mall with loads of restaurants and bars. We had drinks in one, and an excellent Chinese dinner in another where it was happy hour - 2 for the price of one drinks!

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Pune, at 6.5 million people, is the 7the largest metropolitan area in India. It is a little cooler at 560 meters (1,837 ft) altitude. It has been a town since 847 AD. Currently there are about 150 colleges and 18 universities, including the University of Pure situated on 560 acres of land. We visited it to see the massive mansion the British governor once lived in, now being converted into an administration building.

There is a huge military presence – it is the base of the Southern India command. The British army buildings and barrack blocks are still in use. There are also military run medical colleges, hospitals and even a complex that manufactures artificial replacement limbs.

We drove through Koregaon Park, a treed area with the mansions of the super rich. It is also the location of the Osho Commune, which owns about 8 acres of land in the high priced area. The founder is now dead, but he was known as the guru of sex, however the commune is still going strong.

Not far from this area was a beautiful palace on 16 acres built by the Aga Khan in 1892. This is where Ghandi and his wife served time under house arrest from 1942 to 1944, and where his wife died in 1944. In 1969 Aga Khan donated the palace and grounds to the government of India to be a memorial to Ghandi.

The Shinde Temple built in 1749 (just after the defeat of the Mughals) was worth the visit. As you might imagine, we are getting templed out, but this one had the most amazing artwork in the large, columned interior The exterior is said to have been carved from one enormous block of stone, and the intricate design work gradually done from the top down. It is very different from any other temple we have seen.

There was a stop at the Clark Inn for lunch, which we thought was part of the excellent Clark Hotel chain, but it definitely was not. We were the only people in the restaurant, and our guide got into a heavy argument with the chef, claiming he didn't cook things right. I'd have to agree with her, as my chop suey came as a bowl of soup! When it came time to pay the bill at reception the hotel didn't take credit cards!

Our next stop was at the 8th century Patalasher temple, which was carved downwards from a rock surface, much in the style of the stone churches in Ethiopia. It included a columned area with statues, a cave with the main part of the temple and sleeping areas for pilgrims, all below ground.

A walk through the old section of town revealed many old, but not well maintained, classic buildings. There was a 400 year old temple to the elephant god Gnesha, among a clutter of old buildings, that was worth seeing. Also in the old section was Shaniwar Fort, built between 1728 and 1732. It is in good condition, although the palace inside burnt down. The walls are intact, and it is possible to walk the perimeter on the walls.

Today is our 37th anniversary, and also our last dinner with Igbal, so we returned to what is my favourite mall in all the world. Where else can guys go on a pub crawl while women shop without leaving the mall? Dinner was at Yo China again, where Igbal quickly mastered the art of using chopsticks. It was a fun evening. We took a tuk tuk home again.

Tomorrow will be our last internal flight, to Mangalore via Bangalore, just recently renamed Bengaluru.