The first day in Ahmedabad starts normally. I get up first and take a shower. Soon after I finish, the power goes out. I assume this is just a local brown out – it’s not our first outage of the trip. Leena gets up to see what’s going on and finds the bedroom door stuck. I give it a pull. It’s won’t budge. We play with the handle to make sure it’s turned all the way. Seems OK. I’m now pulling almost as hard as I can – I’m afraid that if I put any more into it, the handle might break.
About 20 minutes later, we hear voices in the hall and let them know that the door is stuck. I figure that it will open with a push. No luck. Jayesh and Niraj are working on the door now. Finally Jayesh goes for help. They break the door down – the door literally splinters away at the handle. Our one hour of captivity is over. As for the power outage, Niraj and Ami left the geyser (water heater) in their bathroom on too long by accident and it overheated.
Niraj and I head out for a shave. We’re driven to a nearby barber shop. It’s almost full. I grab the only open seat (there are 8-10 in the shop). The barber asks if I want a face massage. Why not? As it turns out, this is a facial as part of the shave.
They start with a cream and work it in everywhere on my face. He keeps reloading. After 10 minutes or so, he moves onto what must be a cleanser – it has just enough texture to exfoliate. Then it’s on to the shave. He uses at least 10 times as much shaving cream as I usually do.
The shave is done with a straight razor. After a once over, it’s another round of ample shaving cream and a second pass with a fresh razor.
To finish off the experience, my face is covered with “mud”. A fan is set up in front of me, and the mask hardens. After another 10 minutes, the mask is sponged off. A few rinses, and I’m done. It takes the better part of an hour.
As you’d expect, it’s a ridiculously close shave. By the following morning, it’s just starting to feel like some stubble coming in – about how it feels in the early afternoon after a normal morning shave.
We head to Deepak’s – a cousin – for lunch. Then we’re off to a five-step well. Built in the 16th century, the well drops five stories to reach water.
We then do some shopping. We start at a tailor’s shop where Niraj and I order shirts. I order four after looking through the fabrics – two long-sleeve and two short-sleeve. They take measurements of course. The shirts will be delivered to Jayesh’s in two days.
We shop for the rest of the day, mainly for clothes. I buy a shirt. Leena buys several shirts and a skirt.
For dinner, we head to Vishali where much of the family in Ahmedabad join us. The concept of Vishali is that it’s a traditional Indian village. There’s a campfire burning as we come in (this is entirely outdoors) and we sit for a short while. There’s a little shopping area with traditional items. There’s a portrait artist available for 100r. We convince Leena to sit for the portrait. Though advertised as 10 minutes it takes 45. It’s a good portrait – not great. Leena looks young in the drawing.
We sit to eat – on the floor. The tables are raised enough to slide your legs under while sitting with your legs crossed.