We decided we would wander around our neighborhood on our first day
in Ahmadabad. We went down the street and happened upon a Hindu Temple.
All we had to do was take off our shoes and wander in. Once inside
people generally bring saris, flowers, or fruit to adorn the temple.
They ring a large bell as they enter and begin to pray along with the
priests.
We brought nothing and felt awful as they started to
give us blessings. The priest first handed us lotus flowers and we were
unsure if we should accept. After that they handed us coconut and a
woman told us these were their blessings and we had to take them! After
that we were given bananas! I had to get out of there! I felt bad
enough not having brought anything let alone having these people give
us blessings from their shrine. Stacy stayed inside and they gave her a
blessing of water that she was supposed to drink and then pour over her
head. Since we have been pretty good at not drinking the water so far
she had to pretend and then wipe the rest over her head.
After we
left we shared the coconut with a few women coming out of the temple.
They were happy to see that we were blessed with so much! I was floored
by the feeling. Here we are just some curious travelers and they bestow
all this on us. After that we gave the lotus flower and bananas to
people on the street. It was nice to share after being given so much.
We
stopped off at a bakery and I had really yummy egg bread while Stacy
and Jess ate the spiciest/best flavored pizzas they could make!
Every
morning we were woken at 5:30 am by the loud speakers saying Islamic
prayers. We realized we were in a heavily Islamic neighborhood. It was
really impressive to hear the prayers every few hours.
Sunday we
went to Swati Snacks. They serve some pretty authentic Indian snacks
and then back to our same little coffee shop for Jess' favorite
sandwich. We stopped off at a shesha cafe and played cards till I felt
a little sick and we had to get out into the open air again!
After
another Hindu temple for Shiva we headed to the Law Garden Night
Market! I love to haggle! I got a few good things and am pretty proud
of my haggling skills at this point! It works to walk away and have
them chase after you with even cheaper prices than you offered them to
begin with! That night we made our first stop at Gandhi's old house.
It's called the Green Room and they sever amazing hand churned ice
cream! (saffron and anise. Sounds yucky, but it was the best ice cream
I have ever had)
Today we went to our first mosque. It was amazing! It was built
in 1430 with amazing architecture. Then we went to the Indian Cinema to
see the worst Indian movie ever. It was modern and supposed to be
funny, but in the way that falling on your butt or peeing your pants is
supposed to be funny... It was entertaining to see all the boy in the
audience get a kick out of it and experience real Indian cinema, but I
was craving one of the cool 70's Indian movies about undercover agents!
After
that we went to The Green Room again for some more Indian snacks and,
for Stacy and Jess, more ice cream. Right now we are killing time at
the train station waiting for our train out to Jaipur! I will talk with
you again soon.
