GIR TO GONDAL
We
left early in the morning, headed for Gondal. Our main reason
for going to Gondal being to visit the palace of the erstwhile
king of Gondal. One of the palaces has been converted into
a museum-cum-hotel of sorts and has an amazing collection
of bric-a-brac.
There was even an egg collection, apart from the usual Dresden
dolls and some really magnificent charcoal sketches of Bison.
The main attraction at Gondal was however the kings collection
of cars. And what a collection of wheels indeed! Ranging across
Fords, Bentleys, Jaguars and even an F1 racing car. We must
have spent around an hour at least admiring all the cars.
Incidentally, the royal family still stays here in a palace
that's off-limits to visitors and attended by liveried butlers
and the like.
And now, it was time to say Goodbyes. Satish was riding back
with me till Pune (he's from Bangalore) while I was headed
for Hyderabad. A grasp of the hand, a pat on the back, last
minute "ride safes" and we were off.
The others had a leisurely lunch and then rode ahead to stop
before Ahmedabad for the night.
6 days of travel and travel. 6 days of a thousand and one
sights, smells, sounds, feelings and bondings. In hindsight,
the Kilometers we covered weren't much. But then, the mind
grasps more when the going is slow.
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