We were awakened by the call to prayer from the nearby Mosques. We left the hotel and headed out for the Rann of Kutch. Kutch is an administrative district in the Indian State of Gujarat. It has a border with Pakistan. Indian and Pakistan have fought 3 wars since Independence from the British. As you can imagine there is lots of security and military bases.
We drove through the Rann of Kutch which is a large desert into the Tribal Areas on the Pakistan Border. We visited various villages. The villages were quite small, maybe 20 houses per village. They were all of the same religion (and usually all related). The village could either be a Hindu village or a Muslim village.
In the Muslim villages we were prohibited to take pictures. The people in these villages were extremely friendly and the house we visited was a showplace (all 1 room of it).
In this area of India, we are told, there is no Hindu – Muslim problem. We saw many different types of weaving: scarves, quilts, iphone cases (yea – or least I am using it as an Iphone case what ever it was made for). They had a strong earthquake here a few years ago and it killed 30,000 people. The houses have been rebuilt. Generally they are one room, round in shape. No kitchen, they cook outside. The people are all extremely friendly. Many are refugees from the various wars who are rebuilding their lives. They are very much matriarchal societies. The women earn most of the money, and the men for the most part sit around.
The roads were so bumpy I couldn’t use my Ipod and listen to the Indian Music on it. (I call it the soundtrack of India and Cathy and I like to listen to it as we drive through the countryside.
This was a far away from the hustle and bustle of Mumbai as you can get. It was a great visit. We then drove through the desert and saw a heard of camels just lying around in the sun. Camels are still used as beasts of burden in this area.
We arrived at a resort (not the Miami beach type – the rooms were simple tents) that was in the middle of nowhere, that pilgrims use. We had an excellent vegetarian meal there.
We then had a long drive back to Kutch, drove to the night market, did some more shopping and returned to the hotel to eat, pack and prepare for tomorrows drive to Zainbad.
Hopefully we will have better internet and I can post some pictures!
2 comments:
Good travel blog!
I feel like I can smell the stench as I travel vicariously with you thru the ubiquitous heat, filth and poverty you described… while in the comfort of my living room chair. All is well here in Silver Lake and the recent Repeal Prop 8 Rally in Silver Lake made the front page of the LA Times with photos of “12,000+” protestors at Sunset Junction near Intelligentsia Coffee shop, quite amazing! Tomorrow will be another Repeal Prop 8 Rally in front of the LA City Hall and City Halls thru out the state and nation. I think the equal marriage movement will make international news. Kevin and I plan to march with our fellow brothers & sisters. With the passage of Prop 8, this has re-energized the gay community turning marriage equality into the last great Civil Rights struggle…truly as historic as President elect Obama. Other news…our bathroom and kitchen remodel is virtually completed; thank goodness…did Dinner/Mah Jong with Fran & Tom and will join them for their Thanksgiving party this year…BIG fire in Montecito, many homes destroyed...celebrating my birthday tomorrow. Let us know if you want us to check if “all is well” with your house sitter and home. Have fun and publish more photos of food sampled.
billy
Cliff, thanks for posting to the blog. It's a real gift for those of us not on the trip.
Jon aka mr. joyce
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