Arrived quarter past 8am in Bhuj. Got my bike back and had me and my stuff autorickshawed to a hotel. I sat next to the driver in the front row. This was when I realized that I’ll never travel in such a vehicle over bigger distances. It’s simply too small. I couldn’t properly look through the windshield and the handlebar got stuck at my knees.
Got a new SIM card in the first shop I tried. Great that things can be so easy sometimes.
Went for a stroll around the city in the afternoon. Tried to find some raffia baskets for the bike, similar to those I used in Madagascar, but to no avail.
Walked along some street and heard loud music. It came from a Hindu temple construction site. There were people everywhere and I stopped to watch and take a picture. An older man came over and offered to show me around. First he took me to a part of the temple where folks were praying. Apparently one of the gods had a birthday or something. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite get all the details. Then he took me to the monastery part and showed me the quarters of the monks. It’s basically a big hall with aisles and beds and some cupboards left and right in these aisles.
Then he brought me to a monk who was sitting on his bed, and two other lads sitting on chairs next to him. He greeted me with something along the lines of “There we have a German guy, let’s see if he speaks English.” I was a bit confused about how he’d know that I was German, much to the amusement of the crowd. Turned out someone had phoned ahead… We chatted around for a while before I continued my walk.
The city center of Bhuj is amazing. Small streets full of people and shops. As usual in a town with more than 2 streets I got lost. Eventually I got too hungry and took an autorickshaw back to the hotel. It was literally around the corner.
