Throwing ourselves in the deep end the first port of call was Mumbai India, and literally the second you step out of the airport the frantic madness of this city hits you along with the nights heat. We had pre-booked a taxi with the hostel we were staying at and saw a little guy with our names and Traveller's Inn, sorted, but he lead us well away from the airport towards a pretty dodgy road with half constructed buildings and people standing round fires, I held back and kept checking over my shoulder because unmarked taxi drivers were well known for robbing tourists straight out the airport and this didn't look promising, It certainly didn't help that the little fella spoke very little English, from what I could decipher he was saying that you had to pay to park directly in front of the airport so he moved his taxi further away. After a very cautious walk we did manage to make it to a oldskool black and yellow taxi and we on the way to the hostel we saw some of the slums of Mumbai, (62% of the population live in these places) We experienced for the first time Mumbai roads, they are scary, people appear to drive with reckless abandonment for their lives, motorbikes squeezing through the smallest of spaces between moving cars, trucks cutting up others on the motorways etc. It had crossed my mind that if most of the population believe in reincarnation maybe they don't see their life in the same way as I do, but who knows these things. We stayed in a three bed dorm with a couple of fans to keeping us cool and two taps at crouch level, one in a toilet on in the 'shower' basic but adequate. The staff were very helpful but I did end up stepping on one in search for bottled water, It seems they sleep in the corridor of the hostel at night.
The next day we walked towards the Gateway to India in the port of Mumbai. The way is dangerous, there are no pavements just busy roads and big concrete walls masking government buildings, the locals were walking on the edges of the road so we gingerly set off, It was a tad unsettling to see the amount of road signs bent by traffic accidents. The Gateway to India was built during colonial times to commemorate the visit of King George V to Bombay and ironically it is also the port where the final British troops left India. To get anywhere near the gate you must pass a security checkpoint I assume put up in response to the 2008 terrorist attack on a nearby hotel. Once through you are brushing shoulders with lots of tourists, touts, beggars and street venders. In a attempt to escape all the people selling things and asking you for money we hopped on a boat to take us on a 10km trip to Elephanta Island. No elephants though, just snakes and lots of little highly caffeinated monkeys, (they steal your cola) The island actually got its name from the beautiful carvings of one of India's Elephant headed Deities. The temple at the top of the island is carved out of solid rock and has places of meditation and spiritual power and lots of impressive statues (badly damaged due to the Portuguese using them for target practice. Many of Shiva who our guide explained is the creator and destroyer. After talking to the guide for a while he showed us his village on the island and the village meeting involving the heads of families. He asked us where we came from and asked how big the village of London was. We got back to Mumbai for sundown and ate the best indian food I have ever tasted, it was simple just naan bread and vegetarian tofu like stuff but the dips are so tasty and just the right level of spiciness. Strolling onto one of Mumbai's many bustling street markets there where venders everywhere trying anything to catch your attention, many people living on the streets too, homeless children sleeping alongside homeless dogs, its really sad and hard to get used to but seemingly commonplace. Everyone spits everywhere too, you soon see why when you first blow your nose or run your hands through your hair the air is so smoggy here and people seem to discard there rubbish where they stand, for all these problems there is something wonderful about Mumbai, everyone is happy to help you and there is so much happening, people here are really leaving in the now.
It is the 26th of October 2011 today is Diwali, the festival of light conquering dark in India, although it does seem to just be an excuse to let off lots and lots of fireworks, everyone in Mumbai loves making noises, whether it is constantly beeping your horn (the road customs here are different to England) or letting off as many bangers as possible. we strolled into town to sort out a train to the beaches of Goa, the hippy capital of India. We were told however that this was impossible due to the festival, so after a lot of what we thought was bartering we booked a coach, a coach the travel guy was insisting was the best one around "6 axis! Volvo! Volvo! Very Nice" We booked the last two seats for a 12 hour journey later tonight, We also got a taxi driver to take us round to a few sites, like Chowpatty Beach, a sandy oddity in the middle of Mumbai where no-one swims and they have gardens designated by how old you are.
We explored Gandi's house too, after perusing through his life's work it is amazing how one man at one point so controversial could effect so many people (he is on every Indian Rupee) I saw some letters he sent to Hilter and Roosevelt when he was trying to prevent what was coming. Before his assassination he said if he were to be killed he must look at his assailant and smile because there must be no fear or anger when he leaves the world. Next stop was where all the people from the slum areas do their laundry. We brought another Indian takeaway (or is it just takeaway) for our coach journey ahead and the food again was incredible, unfortunately I can't say the same about the coach ride to Goa, 12 hours on a seat not made for a 6" 4 guy with 2 fatblokes above your head in 'sleepers'. there was a guy opposite refusing to sit in his sleeper because of cockroaches, what a wimp. So instead he stood in the isle with his arse right by my face, wonderful..
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