Finally one week break from work. Many memorable things happened. Booked my train ticket online. When reached the mentioned station, locals told me that the train i am talking about comes at a different station which is 15km away from here there is no road and no conveyance in between. WTF ... i will definately write an email to indian railways soon ... thank god that i had one hour in hand, somehow convinced a chagda to drop me there by paying extra bucks ... what an amazing ride ... cruzing through villages in this colorful machine :)
esp. gujarati road transport :)
Finally got the train ... reached ahmedabad at 3 in the morning ... took a hotel ... slept ... elections in gujarat today ... very caotic and roads filled with police and army ... reached VFS office at 10 in the morning ... closed because of election!!! how clever i was to keep an extra day in hand .... my train ticket from ahmedabad to delhi was next day evening ...
Met a couchsurfer, a textile businessman from ahmedabad and went for dinner with him. He told me how textile industry in india works and effects of recession etc. etc. ... very interesting!
Applied for visa next day and after watching a 3rd class movie, left for delhi (my ticketsgot confirmed minutes before the train departure time). Travelled in first class for first time in life... ahhh royal it is! ... on one side of my coach, there was general unreserved class coach ... atleast 200 people in there ... all in sweat and uncomfertable ... in my coach, which is of the same size, there were 30 people, in there own personal cubicles, air conditioned and with plenty of servents to serve. I didnt liked this difference very much ... but satisfied myself by varifying that i bought this so expensive ticket (only slightly les then flight) because of unavailability of the same in other cheaper classes. Is this a general capitalist mindset?
Anyways, reached New Delhi. My very good friend Aakash is giving a party to celebrate his marraige. He is the first of my friends to get married ... it was strange at first to digest everything ... too much for me ... cant think of getting married now ... to much turbulance in life ... anyways gifted the couple Kamasutra for a happy sex life :) ...
With the couple ... hehe ... lovely people!
Left for gurgaon the same evening. Met few old friends like Hansu, Gangwal, Yogi etc. Had a drink with them in a trendy bar specially for cricket fans over some silly IPL match. Gurgaon is the ugliest area i have ever seen ... a concrete jungle with no flavour .....
Friends
Left back to ahmedabad. Again spent a day in the city. This time met a photographer couchsurfer. Amazingly he had met jorunn in delhi almost 3 years ago (the one who took you from delhi to gurgaon in bus and helped you in buying spices!) ... now how to discribe this??? Nice guy, showed me around the old city ... 3 darwaza ... juma masjid ... lasssi and shopping ...
ended the day with a hollywood action flick fast and furious 4. Left for work next morning.
Couple with family
So, as of now back to work ... but hopefully not for long ...lets see ... keeping fingures crossed!
A heartfilled hug to all the readers :)
Karan
The only way to the island, the mighty "Jai Chaamunda"
Sun dried fish/prawn ... anyone? :)
One of the few pics which make me believe that ignorance is a bliss ...
BoOm Shankar :)
found some friends :)
mystic ...
capturing the beautiful shoreline
juniors jump with excitement :)
the power of technology ...
the ugly port cranes in the background
:)
Every great trip in Gujarat ends with a chagda ride!
