We got an early start, thanks to Tracey, and were ready for our tour of the sights of Ahmedebad at 9am.  We hired a Tuk-Tuk driver for the morning, to drive us around. The Tuk-Tuk was a blast; we crammed into the back seat and our driver skillfully weaved in and out of traffic to get us to our destinations, stopping for directions when necessary, or for more chewing tobacco/cigarettes.  Below is a picture of our Tuk-Tuk and driver, near the ‘no honking’ sign near a religious site… people were honking constantly, of course.

Our first stop was Gandhi’s Ashram, where he lived and taught his beliefs to others.

We saw this guy fishing in River Sabarmati while touring the Ashram.

After the Ashram, we hopped back in the Tuk-Tuk and headed to our second destination, the Dada Hari Vav, or stepwell.  It was built in 1501 to catch the monsoon rains during the monsoon season so they’d have water available during the dry season.  The groundwater table has moved since then, so it’s now dry and open for tourists. There are very intricate carvings in the stone walls, carved by Hindu artisans.  Here are a few pictures of it, and there are a lot more on our website: http://wildsprite.com/gallery/v/honeymoon/India/

Modern technology has seeped into India everywhere, as we see in the next picture, with the stone tower being used as a power line!

After the stepwell we went to our final tourist destination, the Sidi Saiyad Mosque.  It was built 1573, and has some amazing stone carved screens on either side of the central isle. Of course, being a mosque, women are not allowed on the premises. I didn’t bother entering, as the guidebook says the screens are the only noteworthy thing in the mosque. If you zoom in on one of the pictures, you can see the sign barring women from entering the grounds.  Only two pictures for you, more on our site!

After our sight-seeing, we took a walk along the street our hotel was on.  We stopped at a great place for lunch, Murch Masala.  We had lots of tasty dishes that we all shared, and my first fresh lime soda. They squeeze fresh lime juice into the glass, then give you soda water to fill the glass with.  I’m addicted!

We then walked up the street and did some shopping. I got a petticoat for my sari (which the folks who sold it to me didn’t mention), and a few other things. We spent some time in a gold shop looking for a chain for Tracey’s mother. The price of gold here used to be cheap, but with the head-line grabbing peak in gold prices, it wasn’t any more affordable over here (to my dismay!).

Then we skedaddled back to the hotel to get changed for the wedding.  More on that later!  Now, we’re off to the pool and dinner.