Last weekend, we got back on the travelling wagon with a weekend in Baroda, Gujarat. Baroda is a short hop from Mumbai by plane and we booked our visit to coincide with the Baroda half marathon. Unfortunately, the half marathon didn't happen (we're not sure why, but it never opened for entries!) but we enjoyed a touristy couple of days in Gujarat nevertheless.
The trip started well as I had a great conversation with an elderly Indian man sitting next to me on the flight who turned out to be a wealthy industrialist who's travelled extensively in India and abroad. He highly recommends Bhutan and Myanmar as nearby travel destinations so they've gone on our list as travel options for the future...
Baroda feels like a much smaller and less crowded city than Mumbai and is pleasantly cool in December. On Saturday, we hired a car and driver and drove 50km out of Baroda to Champaner and Pavagadh, the major tourist spots of the area.
Champaner is an abandoned 15th century walled city with several amazing mosques (Jama Masjid) dotted around its ruins. Champaner sits at the foot of Pavagadh, a monolithic 800m hill which looks like a large piece of rock has landed from space in the midst of otherwise perfectly flat surroundings. Pavagadh too was inhabited in the past and is covered in temples and other rocky structures in various stages of decay; although now exists as a popular hill station and pilgrimage spot for the locals.
We had hired a local driver who was lovely, helpful and very reliable. This is not always the case and makes the day a lot easier. We started by driving halfway up Pavagadh (after a short detour to tick off a local stepwell, Phil's choice not mine...) then walked up the rest of the hill, most of which was on stone steps lined with locals selling their wares. This was a hot process although the cooling breeze at the top of the hill made up for it. It was slow going owing to the large volume of people climbing up to the peak, most of whom were visiting the temple on top of the hill.
We took the adventurous route down by riding on the cable car. This was a far cry from the slick modern cable car that we travelled on in Hong Kong and looked very steep and rickety. We decided to risk the journey on the basis that thousands of other people use it every day and seem to escape unscathed. We made it out alive and it was a much faster way to travel down the mountain.
Champaner itself contained several mosques in very good condition and in a similar style to those we had seen in Ahmedabad, with open halls and lots of pillars. I was a little perturbed when Phil insisted on us walking for ages down a narrow village track with no one else around but it was worth it to see the magnificant mosque at the end of the road (though I'll admit to being a little disgruntled that he was right after moaning heavily after being taken on a wild goose chase!).
Back in Baroda, we saw the Laxmi Palace which is the biggest privately owned residence in India. Built in the 19th century over a period of 18 years, the rooms open the public were opulent and beautifully kept, and a fusion between Indian and European styles. The highlight for me was the magnificent Darbar hall. This has a mosaic floor which took many Italian artists (I think they said 20 people) two years to complete. The ceiling is beautiful with a complex geometric pattern appealing to my mathematical side; and the front of the hall has several huge stained glass windows akin to those seen in fine churches in Europe. This is the first time that I've seen European stained glass showing images from Hindu mythology, an unusual mix which worked rather well.
We enjoyed the audio tour which was typically florid in its style and very complimentary about the royal family which owns the palace! Going round opulent palaces is definitely near the top of my favourite things to do in India. Phil's more into his forts and stepwells but the palaces are where it's at for me.
We were not allowed to take pictures inside the palace but here are a few from the grounds.
The Darbar Hall. This picture doesn't show the stained glass but you can see the awesome ceiling.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laxmi_Vilas_Palace,_Vadodara
We'd enjoyed a mammoth Gujarati thali lunch (one of my favourite Indian meals, with a sad lack of availability in the UK, something that needs resolving) so enjoyed a sleepy afternoon and evening.
Sunday started early for Phil, at 430am, when he met with a local running group to tick off a 30km run before I woke up. The good run thing about running in India is that, probably because the conditions are non-ideal and it requires a lot of determination and commitment, those who do run are very enthusiastic and do everything they can to welcome you. Phil was picked up at 430am from our hotel by a fellow runner who took him to the meeting point on his motorbike! Phil is trying to get lots of training miles in now for the Mumbai Marathon in January (I am unfortunately showing less commitment to the half marathon, in favour of getting plenty of sleep) and a weekend away is no excuse to slack on his training plan.
Later that morning, we explored the central park in Baroda which a beautiful big green area including a zoo, museum, running track and lots of space to walk and relax. We need this in Mumbai but land is too scarce and valuable here. We explored the museum (well I did, Phil had sore legs so mainly sat down on a bench reading on his tablet!) and had a look round the zoo.
The zoo had an impressive array of animals although all were in cages which looked smaller than ideal. It had several tigers which were pacing menacingly around their cages looking beautiful but deadly. Although all the animals in the zoo were behind bars, these seemed to be pretty wide bars with very little between the public and hungry animals with big teeth. The tiger area had a short wire fence to keep the public a metre or so away from the tigers but it would still be very easy for an enthusiastic toddler to walk forward and stick their arm through the cage. I tried not to think too hard about this.
After all this activity, we had a relaxing afternoon in the comfort of affluent India with a bit of shopping and watching a film at the local mall. We saw Exodus in 3D (several weeks before it comes out the UK, unusually...) or rather, I saw it, and I'm fairly sure that Phil was asleep behind his 3D glasses for most of the film. He had a good excuse following the 430am start time, so I didn't wake him up this time.
We have a couple more trips to Gujarat booked in the New Year to explore more of this fascinating state.
The trip started well as I had a great conversation with an elderly Indian man sitting next to me on the flight who turned out to be a wealthy industrialist who's travelled extensively in India and abroad. He highly recommends Bhutan and Myanmar as nearby travel destinations so they've gone on our list as travel options for the future...
Baroda feels like a much smaller and less crowded city than Mumbai and is pleasantly cool in December. On Saturday, we hired a car and driver and drove 50km out of Baroda to Champaner and Pavagadh, the major tourist spots of the area.
Champaner is an abandoned 15th century walled city with several amazing mosques (Jama Masjid) dotted around its ruins. Champaner sits at the foot of Pavagadh, a monolithic 800m hill which looks like a large piece of rock has landed from space in the midst of otherwise perfectly flat surroundings. Pavagadh too was inhabited in the past and is covered in temples and other rocky structures in various stages of decay; although now exists as a popular hill station and pilgrimage spot for the locals.
We had hired a local driver who was lovely, helpful and very reliable. This is not always the case and makes the day a lot easier. We started by driving halfway up Pavagadh (after a short detour to tick off a local stepwell, Phil's choice not mine...) then walked up the rest of the hill, most of which was on stone steps lined with locals selling their wares. This was a hot process although the cooling breeze at the top of the hill made up for it. It was slow going owing to the large volume of people climbing up to the peak, most of whom were visiting the temple on top of the hill.
We took the adventurous route down by riding on the cable car. This was a far cry from the slick modern cable car that we travelled on in Hong Kong and looked very steep and rickety. We decided to risk the journey on the basis that thousands of other people use it every day and seem to escape unscathed. We made it out alive and it was a much faster way to travel down the mountain.
Champaner itself contained several mosques in very good condition and in a similar style to those we had seen in Ahmedabad, with open halls and lots of pillars. I was a little perturbed when Phil insisted on us walking for ages down a narrow village track with no one else around but it was worth it to see the magnificant mosque at the end of the road (though I'll admit to being a little disgruntled that he was right after moaning heavily after being taken on a wild goose chase!).
The helical stepwell. Phil assumes me that it would look better if less full of water.
One of the many mosques in Champaner
Climbing up Pavagadh
Holy cow
The view from the cable car
Amazing arches halfway up Pavagadh
Another Jama Masjid
...and another
...and another
Back in Baroda, we saw the Laxmi Palace which is the biggest privately owned residence in India. Built in the 19th century over a period of 18 years, the rooms open the public were opulent and beautifully kept, and a fusion between Indian and European styles. The highlight for me was the magnificent Darbar hall. This has a mosaic floor which took many Italian artists (I think they said 20 people) two years to complete. The ceiling is beautiful with a complex geometric pattern appealing to my mathematical side; and the front of the hall has several huge stained glass windows akin to those seen in fine churches in Europe. This is the first time that I've seen European stained glass showing images from Hindu mythology, an unusual mix which worked rather well.
We enjoyed the audio tour which was typically florid in its style and very complimentary about the royal family which owns the palace! Going round opulent palaces is definitely near the top of my favourite things to do in India. Phil's more into his forts and stepwells but the palaces are where it's at for me.
We were not allowed to take pictures inside the palace but here are a few from the grounds.
View from the main entrance standing at the front of the palace grounds, just before the start of the palace's 18 hole golf course.
Carved facade and screens - Indian-style architecture
Listening to the audio tour whilst being towered over by a stuffed baby elephant
Italian-style courtyard
The back entrance. The palace has it's own stepwell in the ground which was closed to the public. Phil tried to have sneeky peek anyway and got told off by a security guard!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laxmi_Vilas_Palace,_Vadodara
We'd enjoyed a mammoth Gujarati thali lunch (one of my favourite Indian meals, with a sad lack of availability in the UK, something that needs resolving) so enjoyed a sleepy afternoon and evening.
Gujarati thali - food of the gods
Sunday started early for Phil, at 430am, when he met with a local running group to tick off a 30km run before I woke up. The good run thing about running in India is that, probably because the conditions are non-ideal and it requires a lot of determination and commitment, those who do run are very enthusiastic and do everything they can to welcome you. Phil was picked up at 430am from our hotel by a fellow runner who took him to the meeting point on his motorbike! Phil is trying to get lots of training miles in now for the Mumbai Marathon in January (I am unfortunately showing less commitment to the half marathon, in favour of getting plenty of sleep) and a weekend away is no excuse to slack on his training plan.
Later that morning, we explored the central park in Baroda which a beautiful big green area including a zoo, museum, running track and lots of space to walk and relax. We need this in Mumbai but land is too scarce and valuable here. We explored the museum (well I did, Phil had sore legs so mainly sat down on a bench reading on his tablet!) and had a look round the zoo.
The zoo had an impressive array of animals although all were in cages which looked smaller than ideal. It had several tigers which were pacing menacingly around their cages looking beautiful but deadly. Although all the animals in the zoo were behind bars, these seemed to be pretty wide bars with very little between the public and hungry animals with big teeth. The tiger area had a short wire fence to keep the public a metre or so away from the tigers but it would still be very easy for an enthusiastic toddler to walk forward and stick their arm through the cage. I tried not to think too hard about this.
Inside Baroda's central park
The park has a train track and miniature train transporting happy locals around the interior perimeter.
Inside the museum, a Victorian red brick edifice which is decaying but still impressive.
Tony the tiger
The outside of the museum
After all this activity, we had a relaxing afternoon in the comfort of affluent India with a bit of shopping and watching a film at the local mall. We saw Exodus in 3D (several weeks before it comes out the UK, unusually...) or rather, I saw it, and I'm fairly sure that Phil was asleep behind his 3D glasses for most of the film. He had a good excuse following the 430am start time, so I didn't wake him up this time.
We have a couple more trips to Gujarat booked in the New Year to explore more of this fascinating state.
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