My stomach woke me up again early Saturday morning around 4:45am. I took more anti-diarrheal medicine and went back to sleep. A phone call woke me up a few hours later. Lisa called to tell me that we'd missed our 8am flight. We planned to go to Admedabad (or Amdavad) to visit her family for the weekend, but we both overslept. Ahmedabad is in Gujarat state just north of Maharashtra state. She made a few calls and learned that we could leave on a later flight. We made plans to meet up later, and then we both went back to sleep. By the time I woke up, I felt much better. I had regained my appetite and was ready to eat as much as I wanted in Ahmedabad. At the airport, I almost missed the flight again trying to buy a couple of things from the airport bookstore. We had a special escort to the bus to make sure we made it on the plane. I have never missed a flight, so I couldn't believe I was about to miss 2 in one day.
Lisa's cousin greeted us as we walked out of the airport in Ahmedabad. That evening we went to a Punjabi restaurant for dinner, then went out for sweet treats - iced golas and kulfi. Iced golas are shaved ice with fruit juice on a stick, basically a snow cone on a stick in a cup. I didn't eat the kulfi, a frozen dairy product, because I'm lactose intolerant and I didn't want to take a risk with my already irritated stomach. We parked the car and walked from the iced gola stand to Law Garden, an area with open stalls for shopping and entertainment for families. The street was littered with children taking a camel ride, horse rides, and a goat-pulled cart. At first glance, I thought that goat was a baby camel because it was so big.
Everyday on our ride to work, our driver, Hussain, plays music for us. We've become enthralled with this catchy song called "Amplifier" by DJ Adee (he says his name at least 30 times). It is in Gujarati, so I don't understand most of the words. Lisa told me that the song is about trying to get a girl to sit in his car, and it's really silly. All I know is that he does these really simple rhymes, putting together bakery, pani puri, saree, chokary (I don't know what that is, but he says it a lot), Adee, Gujarati. We told the family about this song during dinner, and the Punjabi version came on a few minutes later. We thought the timing was hilarious.
We didn't spend much time there, but the little time that we did spend in Gujarat seemed to always be focused on what we were eating next. In addition to iced golas, I ate vada pav, chivanu, and other snacks/junk food for the first time. It's funny that I ate vada pav there because it is most well known for being a Mumbai treat. It is essentially a samosa between 2 pieces of bread with lots of spices and butter. It looked like the guy melted half a block of butter (the old-fashioned kind that your grandmama uses) on the burner just to make a couple of sandwiches. Then the spices are added to the butter, and the bread is flatttened into it like you would make a grilled cheese sandwich. It wasn't healthy at all. It was good though.
I have a knack for accepting the different experiences that I encounter abroad. I have no problem eating local foods, listening to the music, wearing the dress, adapting to the cultural differences, etc. However, the differences in the bathrooms just throws me for a loop. That's a pretty important thing that you just can't avoid. In Ahmedabad, I had to ask for instructions on how to flush the toilet and how to shower. Instead of pushing a button or lever to flush, I had to turn a faucet next to the toilet that sent a rush of water into the bowl. I was grateful that it wasn't the Indian-style loo that I've carefully avoided this time around. For the shower, I had to turn on the water, flip the switch for the mini hot water heater, then turn the knob for the water to come pouring out of the showerhead that sprayed the entire bathroom with water. The water sprayed from the showerhead, but it also poured into a bucket that was underneath the faucet closest to the floor. I didn't realize until I was done that the water coming from the lower faucet was hotter, and I probably should've just used the bucket to wash off instead of trying to "take a shower". Thankfully, it was only one night.
Overall, I enjoyed my time in Gujurat. The pace was a bit slower, and the streets were slightly cleaner than Mumbai. It was also hotter at 40 degrees Celsius (104 F), but it was dry heat since we were no longer on the coast.
DJ Adee
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