Mumbai continued

Well we have had a busy few days, sometimes we have felt like we are winning but other times India has nearly beaten us.

We had a few more days in Mumbai, and as much as I love that city it is almost impossible to get anything done. We originally planned to get the boat to the ‘Elephanta’ caves one day but as we got to the place to get the boat from we discovered that there was an army day and it was closed that day. There has been various times we have wanted an item that we have seen in many shops and places before but as soon as we decide we need it then magically all the places seem to disappear. We were also sent on a goose chase from the train ticket booking office to get photocopies of our passports which took about 40 minutes to find a photocopy shop, and when we returned to the ticket office with photocopies in hand the guy said he didn’t need them….im sure they had a great time laughing at the silly tourists running around.

We did manage to get a few bits done though, and did return 2 days later to the ‘Elephanta’ caves. This was recommended as a must do in Mumbai and although the caves were impressive with giant statues of the hindu gods carved into the walls, the whole 200 steps and path leading to the cave was surrounded on both sides by souvenir stalls, which kind of took away the magic of the place. I know nothing says that you have visited a beautiful historical site like a carved wooden snake but the plastic ‘ben 10’ water pistols were a bit far.

We also went to visit the lovely Raju and Shilpa Ram, who have a project in Mumbai called ‘Way True Life’ which is funded by the Ashtead/Leatherhead based charity Rianna’s Fund. Way True Life have set up a children’s home, a slum pre school and education project, a tailoring programme for girls who are ‘rag pickers’ (people who sort through rubbish and collect plastics and other items they can sell on for recycling) to enable them to learn a skill so they can have a better vocation, and other outreach programmes across the slums. Raju and Shilpa met us and took us to visit the pre school and the tailoring project. The room was a small hut, about 2 by 5 metres but they managed to get quite a few children in, and the children recited numbers and the alphabet in English and were given chalk boards to practice writing. Jonno did not do very well in the lesson, and instead of concentrating on the teacher he was getting distracted by the naughty village boys hanging around the door. Shameful behaviour Jonno! Way True Life is an amazing project though and Raju and Shilpa are the nicest people you could meet and are so passionate about what they do, so it was lovely to be able to go and visit them on our trip.

Our time in Mumbai was ending, and we had got tickets for an overnight sleeper train from Mumbai to Goa. Booking a train journey is not as simple as in England though, where you book a ticket and get on the train. Trains in India can be booked and cancelled at short notice without charge, so they have invented the wonderful ‘Waitlist’ system in which you can book a train but not actually have a ticket unless someone else cancels, which might or might not happen the day before or the day of the journey. We had booked a train to Goa before we left England, but Jonno was put on Waitlist 1 (so if one person cancels he has a space) and only found out that he had got a confirmed place a few hours before the train was due to leave. We had to try and get back from the city centre to our hotel to collect our bags to get back to the main train station to get a train to the station where the sleeper train left. Mission begun:  many taxi drivers either refused to take us to the hotel or wanted to charge us a lot of money as it was rush hour, so we had to start walking, and did eventually manage to find a taxi that would do it and use the taxi meter. But yes it was rush hour and we had to drive through the area of the biggest marketplace in Mumbai, so it wasn’t a quick journey. After collecting our bags and finding a taxi to negotiate us back through the rush hour traffic to one of the central main stations, we got into the station to find that all the signs and announcements were in Hindi, so there was a bit more panic and darting from platform to platform to find the right train. We boarded the train, and were lucky that the train started from that station so we had seats and tucked our bags under the seats. However, as we went through the first few stations more and more people got on until it became the typical heaving Indian train, Jonno and I started to give each other nervous looks. How were we going to negotiate getting ourselves and all of our bags through the mass of bodies to the exit when it was our stop and the train only stops at the station for 10 seconds? For a few more stops we prayed that lots of people would get off before our stop and when that did not work we had to talk tactics.

The only real tactic we came up with was to start getting ready the stop before and when the time comes- we push. So that’s what we did, and luckily we were successful. The other Indian passengers on the train were so helpful and even helped us put our bags on before leaving the train, which gave us a fighting chance. Once we had got to the station where we were getting the sleeper train we had 45 minutes to spare, which we had planned to use to get some drinks and a few snacks for the train, and generally relax. The only thing we had to do first was get a ticket printed that had our confirmed ticket status on, so we walked up the platform in search of the ticket office. The first office we found the man behind the counter told us the train would be on platform 6 or 7, but did not seem to know where we could get our ticket printed. We went up to a few information desks who pointed us in the direction of another ticket office, who did not know what to do either but suggested there was a different ticket office on the first floor we could try. The time was ticking and we were frantically running up and down the station looking for this other ticket office with all our bags piled on us. We found the first floor ticket office who told us we did not need another ticket to be printed, so all our efforts were fruitless. The next issue was finding out the platform number, which nobody knew and there were no announcements or boards with any information. It was at this point Jonno exclaimed-‘ I am done with this country!’ So I sat him down with the bags and found a nice old Indian couple with suitcases who told me they were going to Goa too, so we followed them which was lucky because the platform changed last minute. The train was delayed by an hour after all of that, and with one final sprint to the other end of the train to find our carriage, we were on.

The train journey itself was relatively uneventful apart from the fact that I have developed a heavy cold so did not get much sleep at all, and I felt sorry for the other people in the carriage having to put up with a whole night of coughing and sneezing. We got to Goa with an area in mind but no accommodation booked, and thankfully the second set of beach huts we asked had a room free. So here we are in Goa which feels like a completely different world to Mumbai, the crazy traffic and horn beeping replaced (mostly) by the sound of the waves and the crowds of people replaced by tourists sitting on the beach or in cafes by the beach. Just a shame I don’t feel well enough to appreciate the beach right now. I am surrounded by tissues, breaking out into coughing fits and jonno is sleeping…..yet again! How that boy does it I don’t know!

Mumbai

Essay, sorry..! for anyone with little time, this is only a handful of our current experience, it's been a good test and a great experience. For those with more time, read on!

Very little in the way of photos to share right now, mostly due to the sheer amount going on. And it's a lot going on.

Currently midnight on the 15th of January here, Diana didn't sleep particularly well but I've somehow accrued around 12 hours last night. Here's hoping tonight is as successful.

Don't get me wrong, it's midnight, but it's only slightly less busy. Perhaps around 80db outside instead of the expected 110db of talking, screeching tyres, general movement, goats squealing, cats wailing, calls to prayer, shouting Hindi in corridors at each other, and of course, primarily, car horns. One literally just went off outside the window and I physically jumped it was so loud.

The hotel is exactly what you'd expect for the small amount were paying for a relatively expensive part of India. No taxi driver knows where it is (although that's fairly common of most places, I feel The Knowledge hasn't quite made it this far. However, the motorcycles have number plates on the front as well as the back, so they have some rules we don't. Helmets compulsory but seemingly optional, though). Finally found it up what seemed to be an alley just wide enough for a car and a shockingly pregnant goat, who we decided may have eaten another goat in a similar way snakes eat their prey, it's that disproportionate.

The entrance consists of a tiny door with the street name and number above it, and stairs leading upward to reception. From reception we were led into a lift just slightly larger than us and our bags, with manual doors and the ability to stick our hands out should we wish to lose a limb. However it was fast and it works, so that's positive. Can't fault the hotel itself now we've been here a couple of days, but on entry we wondered what we got ourselves into. Pictures below show it's perfectly repaired condition and wonderful views from the windows provided. Oh, and the pillows aren't made of finest memory foam, but instead what feels like lead lined brick. Fortunately we brought travel pillows.

Our first test was finding an atm, an easy task in Reigate high street but not so easy in down town Mumbai where mostly everything's a market stall, so thanks Jo and Terry for the rupee starter kit...! We eventually found one, but it wouldn't accept MasterCard, so I paid a stupid exchange rate to get some out on my debit card and Diana somehow managed get hers blocked even though she informed the bank. Tremendous start of leaving the hotel.

Have attempted to sort out an Indian SIM card, and after two journeys, a copy of my passport, two photos, my address, our hotels address, my signature 4 times and a small vial of my DNA in blood form, we might have a Vodafone SIM activated some time tomorrow possibly. Fortunately Diana has spoken to an Indian local she knows who will hopefully purchase us a second one, without having to run a small marathon to earn it.

Don't get me wrong though, none of this had detracted from the experience. This IS the experience, exactly what we expected, and after the first day of being incredibly tired and slightly daunted, we're now in the swing of things and trying to establish our plan from here.

The food is amazing (order something and it arrives within 3 minutes, which us both great and terrifying) and better than any Indian takeaway (even the one in Reigate mum, I know right?) And I'm almost entirely confident they have the same stringent food standards as at home, if you ignore all the boring hygiene stuff.

People are incredibly helpful and friendly. Ask anyone a question and 6 locals gather round with their collective knowledge to assist.

All in all a great experience, but you need to have a fairly extensive comfort zone...!

Two days until we leave for Madgao by train, third class, no ac... COULD be a test of the exact range of said comfort zone, but bring it on.

We have also since found an atm accepting MasterCard, so we're both much more relieved.

Limited to internet until we get a working SIM, as in, sat in the hotel lobby hoping for a slither of internet, so won't be able to update or check very often, but we're having a great time.

Love to all at home with your comfortable bedding...

Jonno