Well after a bit of an unexpected delay, to say the least, we finally made it on the plane. Delivered in Camper Van style thanks to Anne and Dave.
Air India has upped its game since I last flew with them. Curtains replaced with plastic shutters, an entertainment unit in front of you with gaming, films, music library etc, which would have been great but didn't work. I think this was to be another taste of what travelling would entail before we arrived...
Eventually landed in Mumbai airport at 1am, 1:45 minutes delayed circling Mumbai. Stepping out of the airport the heat was not as bad as we expected and I think this was due to our built up expectations rather than the weather, although many people were saying that the summer was hotter this year than normal. It seemed unreal that we had finally made it and were now in a small taxi in India, making the same journey we had watched on television so many times in the past. I think it was this that made seeing people sleeping by the side of the road in the dust and rubbish easier, I had been desensitised. That said, you could see the community structure that had developed by the side of the roads. There was order and clear divisions, working next to cooking and so ultimately, although people were sleeping on the street there was definitely something to live for and a means of subsistence for these people, unlike so many other parts of the world. The trouble I would think would be in the monsoon season. I also knew that living next to the most intense smell of dead fish would be quite the curry smells could in part overpower the smell of decomposing fish baking in the heat.
Driving past Chattripati Shivaji train station we were close, but like most taxi drivers, we have since learnt, ours was illiterate and so couldn't understand the map, no knew of the place we wanted. After 25 minutes driving around aimlessly watching the Indian drunkards swaying down the road with typically bright coloured clothes and sequin combo, we finally managed to find some other taxi drivers who could help direct us and finally made it to our Air Conditioned room. Mumbai I concluded was expensive as this place looked and cost the same as a Travel Lodge, yet was not as 'polished'. Each floor did have a porter however, which you certainly wouldn't have in the UK. Despite AC the room was hot, we were knackered and buzzing at the same time. It was a strange feeling... still not being excited as such, but tired mentally and physically and adrenaline charged from the heat plus our first sights and smells of India.
Waking up fresh on our first day in India we finally get a sense of what things will be like here. We step out of the room to go to the toilet and the heat is really on. It is only 10:30 and the sweat begins, non-stop. We chose the Welcome Hotel for 2 nights to get acclimatised to the heat and to have a fairly clean stay before we progress into more local territory. Let's calling it breaking us in easily.
We are determined on this trip to really get a sense of what people do and how they live in different countries. This means the different 
habits, customs, ways of doing things. We want to adopt all of this and any others that I have just missed. I am already prepared for a bucket toilet, but not actually in the shower. That is multitasking to a level that I didn't think the Indians were up for. The first time you use your hand instead of toilet roll is a very weird experience and made me contort my face, but ultimately this is the way it is. Wipe with the left and eat with the right. I was prepared and now having to live it. Our first breakfast was perhaps predictably a curry. Veg curry with spicy chilli and spring onion doughnuts, sweet and milky coffee/ tea and a yellow slop of what I only imagine at this point was coconut with mild spice and sugar. This was a lot more hard work to eat than I anticipated and suddenly wondered if I was cut out to eat as the locals do, like I predict.
Gazing out of the window, taking our time before the onslaught of the mid Indian summer we can see the fort of Mumbai, now converted to government offices and a post office. Vans stop and crows fly in the back in number to forage for food. We note the India fashion for a "red rinse" instead of what we think is the comparative of a blue rinse in the UK. Rickshaws pulling goods by hand compete with the taxis, buses and motorbikes for road space. It really is busy here. I would say that it is not as hectic as I thought it would be as there is a level of order that I failed to see in Vietnam, yet there are people, more people and then more people chucked on top, they come from everywhere and never stop coming what ever time of day or night. This for me is my first definition of Mumbai.
We left our hotel to have a look round and it was literally about 5 minutes when adventure kicked in. We stumbled across a group of people some armed with fans. It was a film shoot. Instantly I was figuring out how to get involved. We loitered with intent and soon after I was drifting closer and closer someone came over and asked us what we wanted. We were eventually led to the director's trailer discussing the production that was set in London in the winter. We had just left that and here we were in the Indian heat. Worlds apart. We exchanged details so as to try and arrange a part in a future production, but will see.
As the Indian trains are so busy, most get full days, if not weeks in advance. After watching "Indian Railway Journeys" we knew what to expect of Mumbai's main train station. It is so bizaar watching this stuff and then living it not shortly after. What I realise is that experience is never in the grand theme or the context, but in the detail. It is about the change of smells as you walk along, the glances you receive, the texture of the melting roads, the intense dustiness of the air. This reinforces the idea of getting involved at a local level.... it will help us access these details. The train station itself was as busy as expected and in the first attempt at finding information learnt to ensure you place in the 'queue'. It turns out that trains all have a tourist quota of seats in each class. This is 10%. Goa was booked up for all classes except standard sleeper in 2 days we were due to leave. We were aiming to start with AC, but with no choice booked an 11 hour train journey South with no AC for 4 Pounds.
With our only real admin to do we headed across the city to see what was going on. Cricket it turns out mostly. Everywhere. Kids playing on the streets, the main park area completely taken over by the weekend matches, the sounds of screams of support ring in the air. We walked around Mumbai for around 6 hours, visited the local art gallery and was really impressed at the conceptual exhibition that was on at the time and how it was executed. Laura bought herself a Salwar Kameez, a full traditional Indian outfit with the trousers, long top and scarf. Now it is my turn. I see a stall that is selling some kind of consumable, with a guy sat outside who looks as though he is stripping bamboo and then they are crushing it. Turns out this is actually sugar cane and street sellers sell it as a natural cola I guess. Very tasty though and gave us the energy to continue. After I note the dirty water that the glasses are being cleaned with, wonder how we will feel soon, but then having already wiped tap water around my mouth wonder how I will feel this evening anyway. After the machine is open for the guy to show me how it works we also reaslise that is uses ice. Ooops.... 3 rules broken in the first day.
Making our way to the black sea to the South of our location we take in some of the external architecture, which is British mixed with shanty/recycled odds and ends to make roadside shacks and then some 80's looking buildings in the form of skyscrapers. That said many new developments were being built, as we noticed on our way into the city and in a city this vast I am sure this area is perhaps not representative. With legs about to collapse we sit for our first meal where I decide to break another rule of no meat and go for the Tandoori chicken wings. Predictable? Yes! Tasty? Yes! Our first beer goes straight to my head with dehydration, despite the 5 litres of water we have drunk. This adds up to be an expensive habit... although a necessary one. Beer is less appealing as it is the same price of a main meal (about 1.20) so reducing this expense will be key, despite perhaps difficult.
The next day we set off the Chowpatty beach and when we confirm what the guide book says (the water is highly toxic and very VERY dirty) decide to head for the hills instead to find a Jain temple (Jain is a religion that was derived from Hinduism). Another burning day and so we walk up the hill sweat ahoy. This area is where all the Indian billionaires live. Did you know there is more millionaires in India than anywhere else in the world? I have not verified this, but would not be surprised given some of the places we saw. This really highlights the difference in Mumbai's population and how our idea of cleanliness is so different. Even the middle/ upper classes it seems to me are not scared of street dirt or things falling apart. The temple is beautiful and serene. We watch the devotees sing and read prayers, watch cleansing rituals before we head out again to an area that is supposed to be in the middle of a load of buildings and called a "tank". This turns out to be a kind of lido where people come and hangout, we have a brief dip with the people and other animals before heading back sweltering and tired.
We slept in the beach in the shade with other couples on 'courting beach', grab an expensive coffee to wake up and then decide to try and catch a bus back to save money. The first attempt at random bus catching didn't pan out so well unsurprisingly as it was going the wrong way. After getting some help from the locals we jumped off that bus moving at speed and caught the next. Buses in Mumbai have TVs and music that is reminiscent of the UK, the buses themselves certainly were not however. It strikes me that despite being dirty India has a high level of recycling going on and it is perhaps this fact that makes people litter- someone else will make use of it and to be fair they probably will, as some recycling companies in the slums made a fair amount of money, relative to their caste. With just a few hours to go until our train at 11:00pm we grab a baji snack and lots of bananas/ water for the journey before getting ready to mission it to Goa.
Check out the pictures here
Driving past Chattripati Shivaji train station we were close, but like most taxi drivers, we have since learnt, ours was illiterate and so couldn't understand the map, no knew of the place we wanted. After 25 minutes driving around aimlessly watching the Indian drunkards swaying down the road with typically bright coloured clothes and sequin combo, we finally managed to find some other taxi drivers who could help direct us and finally made it to our Air Conditioned room. Mumbai I concluded was expensive as this place looked and cost the same as a Travel Lodge, yet was not as 'polished'. Each floor did have a porter however, which you certainly wouldn't have in the UK. Despite AC the room was hot, we were knackered and buzzing at the same time. It was a strange feeling... still not being excited as such, but tired mentally and physically and adrenaline charged from the heat plus our first sights and smells of India.
Waking up fresh on our first day in India we finally get a sense of what things will be like here. We step out of the room to go to the toilet and the heat is really on. It is only 10:30 and the sweat begins, non-stop. We chose the Welcome Hotel for 2 nights to get acclimatised to the heat and to have a fairly clean stay before we progress into more local territory. Let's calling it breaking us in easily.
We are determined on this trip to really get a sense of what people do and how they live in different countries. This means the different habits, customs, ways of doing things. We want to adopt all of this and any others that I have just missed. I am already prepared for a bucket toilet, but not actually in the shower. That is multitasking to a level that I didn't think the Indians were up for. The first time you use your hand instead of toilet roll is a very weird experience and made me contort my face, but ultimately this is the way it is. Wipe with the left and eat with the right. I was prepared and now having to live it. Our first breakfast was perhaps predictably a curry. Veg curry with spicy chilli and spring onion doughnuts, sweet and milky coffee/ tea and a yellow slop of what I only imagine at this point was coconut with mild spice and sugar. This was a lot more hard work to eat than I anticipated and suddenly wondered if I was cut out to eat as the locals do, like I predict.
Gazing out of the window, taking our time before the onslaught of the mid Indian summer we can see the fort of Mumbai, now converted to government offices and a post office. Vans stop and crows fly in the back in number to forage for food. We note the India fashion for a "red rinse" instead of what we think is the comparative of a blue rinse in the UK. Rickshaws pulling goods by hand compete with the taxis, buses and motorbikes for road space. It really is busy here. I would say that it is not as hectic as I thought it would be as there is a level of order that I failed to see in Vietnam, yet there are people, more people and then more people chucked on top, they come from everywhere and never stop coming what ever time of day or night. This for me is my first definition of Mumbai.
We left our hotel to have a look round and it was literally about 5 minutes when adventure kicked in. We stumbled across a group of people some armed with fans. It was a film shoot. Instantly I was figuring out how to get involved. We loitered with intent and soon after I was drifting closer and closer someone came over and asked us what we wanted. We were eventually led to the director's trailer discussing the production that was set in London in the winter. We had just left that and here we were in the Indian heat. Worlds apart. We exchanged details so as to try and arrange a part in a future production, but will see.
As the Indian trains are so busy, most get full days, if not weeks in advance. After watching "Indian Railway Journeys" we knew what to expect of Mumbai's main train station. It is so bizaar watching this stuff and then living it not shortly after. What I realise is that experience is never in the grand theme or the context, but in the detail. It is about the change of smells as you walk along, the glances you receive, the texture of the melting roads, the intense dustiness of the air. This reinforces the idea of getting involved at a local level.... it will help us access these details. The train station itself was as busy as expected and in the first attempt at finding information learnt to ensure you place in the 'queue'. It turns out that trains all have a tourist quota of seats in each class. This is 10%. Goa was booked up for all classes except standard sleeper in 2 days we were due to leave. We were aiming to start with AC, but with no choice booked an 11 hour train journey South with no AC for 4 Pounds.
With our only real admin to do we headed across the city to see what was going on. Cricket it turns out mostly. Everywhere. Kids playing on the streets, the main park area completely taken over by the weekend matches, the sounds of screams of support ring in the air. We walked around Mumbai for around 6 hours, visited the local art gallery and was really impressed at the conceptual exhibition that was on at the time and how it was executed. Laura bought herself a Salwar Kameez, a full traditional Indian outfit with the trousers, long top and scarf. Now it is my turn. I see a stall that is selling some kind of consumable, with a guy sat outside who looks as though he is stripping bamboo and then they are crushing it. Turns out this is actually sugar cane and street sellers sell it as a natural cola I guess. Very tasty though and gave us the energy to continue. After I note the dirty water that the glasses are being cleaned with, wonder how we will feel soon, but then having already wiped tap water around my mouth wonder how I will feel this evening anyway. After the machine is open for the guy to show me how it works we also reaslise that is uses ice. Ooops.... 3 rules broken in the first day.
Making our way to the black sea to the South of our location we take in some of the external architecture, which is British mixed with shanty/recycled odds and ends to make roadside shacks and then some 80's looking buildings in the form of skyscrapers. That said many new developments were being built, as we noticed on our way into the city and in a city this vast I am sure this area is perhaps not representative. With legs about to collapse we sit for our first meal where I decide to break another rule of no meat and go for the Tandoori chicken wings. Predictable? Yes! Tasty? Yes! Our first beer goes straight to my head with dehydration, despite the 5 litres of water we have drunk. This adds up to be an expensive habit... although a necessary one. Beer is less appealing as it is the same price of a main meal (about 1.20) so reducing this expense will be key, despite perhaps difficult.
The next day we set off the Chowpatty beach and when we confirm what the guide book says (the water is highly toxic and very VERY dirty) decide to head for the hills instead to find a Jain temple (Jain is a religion that was derived from Hinduism). Another burning day and so we walk up the hill sweat ahoy. This area is where all the Indian billionaires live. Did you know there is more millionaires in India than anywhere else in the world? I have not verified this, but would not be surprised given some of the places we saw. This really highlights the difference in Mumbai's population and how our idea of cleanliness is so different. Even the middle/ upper classes it seems to me are not scared of street dirt or things falling apart. The temple is beautiful and serene. We watch the devotees sing and read prayers, watch cleansing rituals before we head out again to an area that is supposed to be in the middle of a load of buildings and called a "tank". This turns out to be a kind of lido where people come and hangout, we have a brief dip with the people and other animals before heading back sweltering and tired.
We slept in the beach in the shade with other couples on 'courting beach', grab an expensive coffee to wake up and then decide to try and catch a bus back to save money. The first attempt at random bus catching didn't pan out so well unsurprisingly as it was going the wrong way. After getting some help from the locals we jumped off that bus moving at speed and caught the next. Buses in Mumbai have TVs and music that is reminiscent of the UK, the buses themselves certainly were not however. It strikes me that despite being dirty India has a high level of recycling going on and it is perhaps this fact that makes people litter- someone else will make use of it and to be fair they probably will, as some recycling companies in the slums made a fair amount of money, relative to their caste. With just a few hours to go until our train at 11:00pm we grab a baji snack and lots of bananas/ water for the journey before getting ready to mission it to Goa.
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