Goodbye Junagadh

Yesterday we left Junagadh. I don’t want to get all sentimental here, but I will say that the kindness of the people who came across our way – new friends and old, is the reason why it is impossible not to fall in love with this region and India in general. I think Hardik’s parents and friend Sandeep may begin having nightmares about sewing machines and luggage carriers after accommodating all our needs, while Tanya was making the carriers for 24 hours without a stop. Our old friend Upendra Bhai who works with metal made the metal part of the carrier that goes on the back of the bike. He didn’t mind that we came to his place at 9pm and that he would have to work into the night. This was the third time that we asked Upendra Bhai to help us. Every time we appear unexpectedly and every time he agrees to help. He refused to accept any payment for his job; he said that he was happy to help and see us again and that was enough.
But of course nothing in India is straightforward and simple, at least not for me. Five kilometers into our journey towards Ahmedabad, which is about 350km away we realized that the design of our metal carrier was miscalculated. It bent and we had to reposition the bags in hopes that we could still make it all the way. Fortunately we did.
Now we’re in Ahmedabad – the commercial center of Gujarat – a city which is polluted, noisy and well, not one of my favorites. Ideally I do not want to spend more than a couple of days here, I have wasted enough time. In reality I know that nothing is certain and all I can do is hope for the best.