Pune and the Day Which Started at 4am

I checked in and slept until breakfast – oh how I needed it!

Just a bit of background, I was in Pune visiting a good friend of the Derwins who works at the Girl Guides World Centre. I shared a room with seven 16 year old girls from the UK – they were so much fun! The day starts with an 8:30am sharp breakfast that begins with grace in song form. It was so nice to be around a table with people chatting in English – it had certainly been awhile!

Jen then gave me a bunch of her favourite tourist destinations and addresses to start my day. I jumped in a rickshaw and went to the Kirkee War Memorial, where World War II fallen soldiers are buried. It seemed so bizarre and out of place; it was pristine and well kept and really quite beautiful. I then went to the Pataleshvara Caves – a temple that was discovered underground when people were excavating for a new building – interesting and a stark contrast to the elaborate temples I have seen. Next stop was Parvati Hill – my favourite of the three. It too was a temple but you could climb the walls and just sit and take in the view over the city. It was certainly worth the steep walk up. I then went back to meet Jen who scootered me off for a delicious lunch, train ticket purchasing, food market wanderings, shopping and a visit to the Aga Khan Palace and Ghandi National Memorial. This is where the Mahatma, his wife and secretary were interned following the 1942 Quit India resolution and where the latter two died. For dinner we met her delightful Indian friend, Karmani, for dinner – yum scrum!

Day 2 was a jam packed morning. As Karmani is a primary school principal, I went to visit her at the school. The kids were gorgeous – as were there uniforms! I watched them learn dances, sing songs and write the numerals 1 to 10. I then tore myself away to visit the Tribal Cultural Museum. Such an interesting exhibition, I had to race through to be out within an hour – the musical instruments with their incredible shapes and paintings were the highlight. Then I raced back to have a quick bite and grabbed my bags – it was time to head to Mumbai!