Diwali Adventure
Ok, now for the rest of the details. Pretty much, this weekend Carla and I were adopted by a Jain family. They were having a family reunion with about 14 of them at their bungalow near the hill station where we were traveling to. Everything this weekend could not have gone more perfectly. Carla and I had really no idea what we were doing. In the beginning we just took David’s travel book and photocopied the page with the hill station of Mahabaleshwar. Then we took off from the hotel and the doorman asked us where we were going and gave us directions to the bus station about two blocks away. We speed walked on over there to find out that the bus wasn’t leaving there because of Diwali weekend, and we had to take a rikshaw to a different bus station on the other side of town. We arrived at Swargate bus station and everything was written in Marathi. In the end we finally found the place where we were supposed to buy tickets and while standing in a random line we overheard a guy saying the name of the town we were going to. He was looking for the same bus that we were. Another fellow in line informed us that it was better just to wait for the bus (which was comign in 10 minutes) and hop on and buy our tickets there, instead of waiting in the long line. So we followed our new friend to the bus waiting place and met up with his wife, Mihra. She was incredibly nice…they were a really cute couple.
When the bus came it was completely full, with no seats to spare. The fellow talked to the bus driver and the driver waived us away. But then somehow the fellow negotiated with the driver and the driver motioned for us to get on the bus. Carla, Mihra and I squeezed into two seats in the back of the bus, and the fellow sat in the front. We ended up paying 250 Rs. for both of us for the ride there, which I think was a bit excessive, and maybe we paid that much to bribe the driver? Because on the return trip home Carla and I only paid 49 Rs. each.
The bus ride was so much fun, even with the cramped quarters. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous! We drove up over some hills, and through some valleys. It was all flood basalts, and reminded me of home of the Columbia River Gorge. Also, we had this adorable little boy sitting in front of us on the bus. We played peekaboo between the seats, and then at the first stop I began talking with his dad. The little kid and his family had been traveling all day long, from Gujarat (a state North of Maharashtra). Also at the stop (which was only a few minutes before the end of our trip) we started talking with a lady sitting across from us. After about 30 seconds of conversation she invited us to stay with her family in their bungalow. Now usually I am not a spur-of-the-moment, unsafe, big risk-taker kind of person. But right away I thought this was an excellent idea, and I didn’t need much encouragement to say yes, besides conferring with Carla to make sure it was ok with her.
We had the bus driver stop early and four of the family members, plus Carla and I hoppped off the bus. We started walking down the driveway off the road and all of a sudden hear this car driving up blasting dance music. We smile at each other and everyone starts laughing. Here come the rest of the family! They pull up next to us and we get introduced. After a few more steps we're to the bungalow. Three stories, with balconies off almost every room. It was gorgeous! And a garden surrounding the house!
Nine twenty-somethings. Smiles, and lots of music and laughter. It's universal. Guys everyone love to pump the music and drive fast. We toured the area going to Sydney Point, Arthur Seat Point, Tableland, and so many awesome places.
More to be update here later........
Ok, now for the rest of the details. Pretty much, this weekend Carla and I were adopted by a Jain family. They were having a family reunion with about 14 of them at their bungalow near the hill station where we were traveling to. Everything this weekend could not have gone more perfectly. Carla and I had really no idea what we were doing. In the beginning we just took David’s travel book and photocopied the page with the hill station of Mahabaleshwar. Then we took off from the hotel and the doorman asked us where we were going and gave us directions to the bus station about two blocks away. We speed walked on over there to find out that the bus wasn’t leaving there because of Diwali weekend, and we had to take a rikshaw to a different bus station on the other side of town. We arrived at Swargate bus station and everything was written in Marathi. In the end we finally found the place where we were supposed to buy tickets and while standing in a random line we overheard a guy saying the name of the town we were going to. He was looking for the same bus that we were. Another fellow in line informed us that it was better just to wait for the bus (which was comign in 10 minutes) and hop on and buy our tickets there, instead of waiting in the long line. So we followed our new friend to the bus waiting place and met up with his wife, Mihra. She was incredibly nice…they were a really cute couple.
When the bus came it was completely full, with no seats to spare. The fellow talked to the bus driver and the driver waived us away. But then somehow the fellow negotiated with the driver and the driver motioned for us to get on the bus. Carla, Mihra and I squeezed into two seats in the back of the bus, and the fellow sat in the front. We ended up paying 250 Rs. for both of us for the ride there, which I think was a bit excessive, and maybe we paid that much to bribe the driver? Because on the return trip home Carla and I only paid 49 Rs. each.
The bus ride was so much fun, even with the cramped quarters. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous! We drove up over some hills, and through some valleys. It was all flood basalts, and reminded me of home of the Columbia River Gorge. Also, we had this adorable little boy sitting in front of us on the bus. We played peekaboo between the seats, and then at the first stop I began talking with his dad. The little kid and his family had been traveling all day long, from Gujarat (a state North of Maharashtra). Also at the stop (which was only a few minutes before the end of our trip) we started talking with a lady sitting across from us. After about 30 seconds of conversation she invited us to stay with her family in their bungalow. Now usually I am not a spur-of-the-moment, unsafe, big risk-taker kind of person. But right away I thought this was an excellent idea, and I didn’t need much encouragement to say yes, besides conferring with Carla to make sure it was ok with her.
We had the bus driver stop early and four of the family members, plus Carla and I hoppped off the bus. We started walking down the driveway off the road and all of a sudden hear this car driving up blasting dance music. We smile at each other and everyone starts laughing. Here come the rest of the family! They pull up next to us and we get introduced. After a few more steps we're to the bungalow. Three stories, with balconies off almost every room. It was gorgeous! And a garden surrounding the house!
Nine twenty-somethings. Smiles, and lots of music and laughter. It's universal. Guys everyone love to pump the music and drive fast. We toured the area going to Sydney Point, Arthur Seat Point, Tableland, and so many awesome places.
More to be update here later........
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