Temperatures here at night are very pleasant in Oct, still about 26-28, not humid at all. The hotel is located right next to a mall, the Himalaya mall which everyone in Ahmedabad seems to know. We take a left at the more and just walk along the streets. Even after midnight many people are still out on the streets and not just because it is Diwali. We see many cheerful people on small motorcycles rush by who wish us a Happy Diwali - a greeting which we happily return to them. The streets here are quite dusty but otherwise in fairly good shape. People here, especially youngsters keep throwing fire crackers onto the street to celebrate Diwali. To me some the crackers sound more to artillery than fire crackers, at least not the type I am used to from Europe. Even though fire crackers are blowing up everywhere, people sleep right next to the street, either directly on the ground or in beds that stand outside. One wonders how they manage to get a rest.
Afte returning to the hotel, Dominik take a good night sleep before we meet with Gavin and Eva (my teammate from Hungary) for breakfast.
As there is still plenty of time left before our next teammate gets in, we decided to take a small trip to the old part of Ahmedabad, also known as the walled city as it was built around the city walls.Rikshaws are the they way to get around in Ahmedabad, as taxis are only available on call. Gavin gives us a quick intro into rikshaw riding and off we go....
Traffic here in India is very different from driving in Europe. At first things look pretty chaotic and it seems sheer luck that not more accidents happen but after a day or two realize that drivers here in India may just be the better drivers as they do not rely on all the others obeying the traffic rules but keep watching out for themselves as well as for others. Still 
a little wonder that it works quite well. Next to cars and buses, scooters, motorbikes, bicycles as well as horsecarriages and pushcarts can be found on the streets, not mentioning all kinds of animals, from cows and camels, to dogs and monkeys and an occasional elephant.The old city of Ahmedabad is a very busy and very amazing place, people are all over the place,
especially on the markets and the little streets trying to sell all kinds of things. While the market is very interesting for us, we also draw a lot of attention to ourselves and people keep asking us where we are from and what we are here for. Some even want to shake our hands, many other just say Hello to us.After a quick visit to the old town, we return to our hotel, as Gavin expects our next teammate, Mapje from the Netherlands.
