Which bus station?
Today, we leave the farm. The daughter is returning from Israel and the daughter in law has finished her studies and moved home. Also, a new motorbike is needed and a donated tower at the temple is to be raised, requiring permission, excavation ... Busy, busy, busy! Relaxed farm Life is on a short hold.
We were very kindly delivered to Ghandi's house in the centre of Porbandar. An old building with a small photo gallery. Next, after some bus station confusion, help and kindness beyond comprehension from a local (lift, ticket, food, drinks ), we caught a bus to Somnath. At first the bus appeared full but with a little help from 2 Indian ladies, the seating plan was rearranged and we had seats. They didn't have a phone so they asked to use ours to call their friends. Well they couldn't really ask us but they wrote down a phone number. 2 young school girls knew what they wanted and dialled the number for them on our phone. They chatted with beaming smiles.
A comfortable journey. The Government buses drive slowly and carefully compared to the days of old. We were unsure exactly where to stay, in a big town nearby or in Somnath itself. All of the hotels online in Somnath were quite pricey so we were hoping a small local hotel might exist. When we started to walk we realised the town was tiny and the hotel search could be a little tricky.
A few minutes down the road we spotted a small temple and a sign. We were not exactly sure but there seemed to be rooms available. We went in, booked up and were staying right in the centre. The other plus point is through our window we have the beach and really close to the huge Somnath temple. One thing we haven't really seen is pigs in the streets. Cows yes, camels yes, dogs yes but Somnath seems to have millions of roaming pigs!
We dropped off our bags and went to visit Shree Somnath Jyotirling. It is an impressive building with ornate sculptures. No cameras allowed inside plus pretty much everything else too.
Next stop the beach. A large concrete promenade lines the beach which allows easy strolling. On the beach there were horse and camel rides, a large statue and plenty of people. At 7pm we left and headed back to SSJ as some religious event was happening and the whole temple is lit up. It really does looked spectacular. Horns, shells and drums were played inside and the Hindu pilgrimages clap in rhythm as they enter. All the way to the deity.
As we were leaving and collecting our shoes, we were made aware of a Navratri celebration in a small park. We walked to find it but it was only on for an hour and already over.
After eating lots of Indian snacks we searched for other things to eat and drink. Kulfi ice cream and dahi filled the gap. We discoved a further Navratri celebration starting at 11pm. It was only 10pm so we carried on. We discovered another ...
The Navratri that was the furthest away caught our interest. Some local children were dressed in fancy dresses and carried sticks for a dance. They were tiny and must have only been about 3 years old.
We were welcomed into a local house to see their special temple. It appeared they were running the celebrations tonight. They asked us if we would join in and if we would take part in the circling, smoking plate blessings. We agreed and watched how it was done. The rythmnic pattern would have taken some practice but they told us we could just move it in a circle.
Lots of people appeared and we danced Garba together with our new friends.
Around midnight, we were a little tired so we left but on the way home we stopped at another Navatri celebration for young children. Beautifully dressed small children danced in their groups on a stage before an audience.
On our way home a police car stopped and asked if we needed any help. We didn't get arrested and we assured him we only had a short walk home.
Bed.
