Better and Better
We said goodbye to our Ujjain friends with a cup of chai. Our friend from across the narrow street kindly gifted us a bottle of perfume each which was a total surprise.
We set off on our way to the train station but even before we had reached the end of the road, our friend offered us a lift. But first he took us to a shop and bought us some crisps for our journey.
The station seems much closer when you don't have to walk. We were there in no time. We purchased tickets and waited on platform 6 for the train to arrive. It was later than expected but we were in no rush. We climbed on, found some seats in the fancy air conditioned compartment and relaxed. AC is nowhere near as chaotic or friendly as the sleeper class. Christine enjoyed a veg biryani and some lemon tea, whilst Darryl had chai. At one stop along the way we saw camels out of window!
Arrival was soon to come. We exited the train, cleared the platform and travelled to the side of the station we thought we needed. We were wrong. We crossed the bridge over the tracks once again and this time we were in the right place.
The traffic was busy and the street sellers on this street seemed to be 'pimping my ride'. A little way down the road was the beautiful indo gothic Ghandi hall.
We crossed a busy road to get closer and it was a lovely building. There appeared to be a conference. We are nosey so we went to see what it was all about. As we entered we were approached by the organisers who explained exactly what was going on. Let's call it a wedding fair. Men and women took to the stage in turn to promoted themselves to a future husband or wife. Their parents were also present. There was a huge colourful 'catalogue' book with all of their details in. Height, age, qualifications, family history...blah,blah,blah. WOW!
The next surprise arrived. We were invited on the stage as quests of honour. We had to give a speech to the hundreds of people present and were presented with flower garlands and a gift of a wall clock!
We spent so much time mezmerised by this conference that we decided we had better start heading to our accommodation. Our route took is past a building that looked like a factory, with a sign saying coffee. It seemed to be a cooperative. Christine took a quick look to see if they sold any coffee. In fact there was a huge fancy cafe. We went inside and sampled a coffee each. The waiters were wearing traditional uniforms and fancy hats with a crescent. Very nice!
We continued our journey past a big white mall and an old white church which was beautiful, however it was completely derelict.
We did find another large white church just nearby. This one was the more famous 'White Church' of Indore and was beautifully decorated with lights for Christmas but the gates were locked.
We asked a policeman if this was the entrance and he guided us to another at the side. This was also locked. We spoke to a neighbour who said the church will only open on a Sunday. We wanted to know what would happen in the church at Christmas time so we needed to ask someone. We noticed people entering the church from the locked gate. We thought that they must have a key. We asked the policeman if there was a way we could talk with the people inside. His friend made a call, they looked at the gate and although closed, the lock had been removed. They opened the gate, we walked inside along the dark path towards the lights of the church. Suddenly, out of the darkness a man appeared. We explained our reason for being here and he explained the Christmas schedule. Christmas day there will be a special service at 8.30 am. He also pointed to a slightly opened door. If you go in there you will find the singers of the carols. They are practising now and these are the people who opened the gate. We went inside, sat in the empty church and listened to the carols in Hindu and in English.
Time was getting tight so we had to leave. We still had a 4km walk! We followed the map on our phones across busy roads and through housing estates for an hour. We arrived at our destination and were welcomed by our friend and his beautiful dog, Oreo.
We were told to make ourselves at home and prepare for an evening adventure to a very famous food night market called 56 Shops. 56 seperate food shops selling street foods from across the globe. Mostly with an Indian twist.
We had a feast. We ate Jini dosa prepared and presented beautifully. We ate dabeli, momos, Raj khatori and fried ice cream served on a bowl of dry ice and a jamun shot. Exquisite!!
Totally full of delights we left and returned home. Welcomed by the beautiful Jain temple across the street.
