There is no better way to enjoy a new city than riding around on the back of a moped with a very good local friend to guide you.
A view of Kolhapur from one of its highest points.
Saket has shown me many interesting sights around his hometown, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, the past few days. This evening, he took he into the oldest part of the city around its most famous temple, which is a pilgrimage site for people from all over the state.
Around the temple is a sprawling commercial district. The shops sell everything from garlands and flowers for pilgrims to use as offerings in the temple, to the famous Kolhapuri chappal, a handcrafted leather sandal, to prosaic everyday items like tea and cigarettes.
Saket and I had to take a brief detour when, upon returning from walking around to where we’d parked his moped, we found that the back tire’s valve had failed and it was completely flat. Fortunately, after asking around we were able to locate a nearby tire shop and get it repaired.
While waiting for the man to get to our tire, Saket pointed out a group of foreign tourists standing not far away. We went over to say hello and it turned out that they were an Italian family on holiday! I was finally able to flex my Italian mental muscles after a long time. They were a family from Florence on tour in India. We didn’t talk for long, but it was fun to exchange pleasantries and wish them “Buon viaggio a India!” (“Have a good trip in India!”)
Saket also pointed out a few other famous local sites. One was a corner where people stop to have glasses of fresh buffalo milk straight from the cow. Another was a huge vegetable market — with one of the biggest bulls I’ve seen yet in India feasting from a pile of discarded greens right in the middle!
An exciting part of traveling through India is seeing the incredible diversity here and the different aspects of culture both ancient and very modern crammed right up against each other. For example, right across from the place where one can have a glass of fresh buffalo milk is a huge Domino’s pizzeria.