Travel in Gujarat

punegirl

Hello,
Am heading up to Gujarat for 4 days next week......train to Ahmenadabad. Anyone been there recently to comment on how things are after the rains? Are things ok again? Am taking the train up from the South.

Any suggestions on what to do there and around for a few days?
Thanks.

zidane

go visit my relatives in chikhli (nr billimora)

iwanttogoback

do you mean ahmedabad? and what kinds of things interest you? what i mean, is do you like hiking, shopping, looking at buildings, ruins etc?
there's lots to see and do so if you can give us an idea of what you like you will probably get more specific help.
cheers

Sahibcol

The heritage walking tour, through some of the secluded older parts of the city, is certainly well worth joining. Starting at the Swaminaryan Temple (just off Relief Road), the approx. two and a half hour walk takes in temples, mosques and the fascinating pols (self-contained communities). Proceedings commence at around 7.30 am with a slide show, outlining the history of the city, which is then followd by the walk itself. The charge, as of last September, was Rs50.

I shall be in Ahmedabad from 19th - 21st July, and intend to undertake the walk again on one of those days.

iwanttogoback

i found the pols one of the best places i visited in india - the history, the architecture but mostly the people. they were just so welcoming, and they thanked us for visiting them!
lots of architecture to see - really old indian stepwells, temples, mosques (particularly at sarkhej), as well as twentieth century modern - le corbusier, louis kahn and balkrishna doshi.
some really nice restaurants - agashiye at the house of MG is really cool, and the food is great. very elegant shaded rooftop dining. Sankalp is also extremely nice with excellent food. and if you want pizza, try Uncle Sams Pizza - chilli baked bean pizza - excellent.
if you like textiles the calico museum is reputed to be brilliant. unfortunately due to illness i missed this, but the people i was travelling with thought it fantastic.

punegirl

Thanks for advice - I will just be glad if flooding aftereffects aren't too bad. Will definately try to do walking tour. Ahmedabad sounds fascinating.
Am also going to try and do some day trips out to the local area. Also want to find a great outfit for the Navratri festival later this year.

iwanttogoback

the gandhi ashram/museum is well worth a visit. it's extremely well designed and curated and consequently you learn a lot about the mahatma's journey.
an ngo helping in the slum across the road has a shop on the premises selling goods made by the slum dwellers. there is quite a good range of items and you know that your money is going back to the people who made the stuff.
the law garden night courts are well worth a visit, both for the beautiful textile products on sale, and for the crowd - it's the first time i've seen a person riding a camel in a large city!
the people are generally friendly, but perhaps a bit more curious than say in mumbai. they don't get a lot of tourists, apparently, so they tend to really stare at you.
i really like ahmedabad, was there for 10 days. the only problem is the pollution, it is one of the most congested places in india, if not the most. if you suffer from allergies make sure that you have anti-histamines, they seemed to help with the breathing problems that a lot of us had.

indiawise

i drove thro. ahmedabad last week and things were back to normal even by then so no worries on that count. I will probably be in ahmedabad for a day around the 26th myself and amdavad friends tell me its 'All clear' now..

iggy_sandokan

how is diu situation after monsoon?
any problem with the train lines in gujarat?