Morning routine is same – get fresh buns (they call it “PAU”) from the local bakery. Having them with butter toasted on tava with eggs – nice start to the day!

Today we had hired the car again for Surat, had asked to be picked up @ 9:30, however as luck had it, I had a call from work with another problem, by the time that was resolved I was already running behind schedule. Manish (our driver from Monday’s Surat trip) arrived again, he was really good – no issues with the delay, it worked out well for him as well, he had a couple of things to do before heading out.

By the time we left, it was just past 10:30, today the traffic was better – within 5 minutes we were out of Navsari.
Getting into Surat was a crazy affair, traffic was horrendous, mainly caused by all the road works happening on the entrance to the city. Roads that are complete are very good, Surat roads are very wide, close to 3 – 4 lanes on each side, however the side lanes are always blocked by street stalls etc,…

(getting into Surat)

Headed to the Lal-Gate area, lots of shops lined up on both sides – this is the older Surat.

(lal-gate area Surat,two cops were chatting – very CHILAXED not doing much work, got a bit worried when they saw me taking a pic of them)

Sonica was the first stop, Nita was awed by a very nice dress in the front window until she queried the price – it was over 2 lakhs!!! ….. time to move on.

(Surat has better roads than Delhi – in my opinion)

It was already 1 pm and kids were promised McDonalds, so off to Bhatar Rd for their treat. Whilst there we also had the spicy variety – this is something that should be made available back home.

Visited a couple of malls close by, finally got a few good shirts – my first bit of shopping in India!! woohoo!

For Dinner we wanted to eat at Sigdi – a non-veg place half way between Surat and Navsari. Got out of Surat just past 7, also picked up more McDonalds takeaway for kids. Took us around 20 minutes to reach Sigdi, it is one of about 5 restaurants around there that specialise in Non-veg cuisine.
Sigdi had a great atmosphere, bamboo dhaba’s, candlelight dinner, and a big plus – kids play area, Neha and Pooja had already eaten in the car – it was straight to the play area for them.

(Sigdi non-veg place between Surat and Navsari, outdoor eating areas)

(Sigdi Kitchen)

(Sigdi kids play area)

Ordered a Chicken fire(entree) and Chicken Hyderabady with chappatis – food was very very good here.  Was sooo much food, could not finish it all – waiters were worried if we did not like it – locals here have a massive appetite, we can not keep up them.
To finish off, had to have the sweet Paan! Nita had one and was very enjoyable.

Reached Navsari around 10pm, had thought it was going to be a short trip to Surat, however turned out to be a long one.