HowdoyoudoSir

It all went surprisingly smoothly. I landed, a bit dosed, and passed briskly through customs, organized a guesthouse in Colaba and grabbed a black and yellow pre-paid taxi into Mumbai’s traveler district. The cab offered my first chance to see Bombay by night, the darkness and street lighting intensifying every scene. Men were still out on every street corner peddling, arguing, laughing. The homeless, a majority in Mumbai, were making preparations for sleep, lying in lines on rags under bridges or on the roadside.

My guesthouse is in Kamal Mansion; mansion by name only. Accommodation is expensive here so even my Spartan box of a room is a pricey US$10. At breakfast on my first morning I chanced on meeting some Swedish girls Eida and Anna and spent the day with them, the perfect orientation on my first day. We caught the local bus into the Kalbadevi district and its markets. The streets are packed with vendors peddling their wares and pulse with colourful vibrancy.
Here in the street I met my first cow, first charlatan guru, and sampled my first street food. I saw my first Indian movie with all its pomp and dance (with a storyline that mostly doesn’t go anywhere). The movie, in the grand Metro Cinema, had a wakeup intermission halfway though the 3 ½ hours. Already I’ve found Indian people helpful and friendly (and curious as to what you’re up to). Some have got all the time in the world for you. A few drinks with the Swedes capped a nice first day; it wasn’t the baptism of fire I had prepared for.

I spent my second day in the Colaba district around the majestic Taj Mahal Hotel and the Gateway to India (a large colonial marking facing the sea conceived after the 1911 visit by King George V). I seem to be just as popular here as in Asia. With my pseudo celebrity status I’m often clicked in photos with Indian girls, guys, and groups. In this area the disparity between rich and poor is extreme. The Bollywood and business rich live one life and the frail street families live through another.

I ferried across to Elephanta Is on Wednesday to view the rock-cut cave temples here, dating between 5th – 7th C AD. The bold relief carving of Shiva as creator, preserver and destroyer impressively dominates the main cave. I met some Danish girls on the boat back, who’s noses for chocolate cake led us on a comic trail. We found the chocolate cake behind the doors of the Taj Mahal Hotel. The doorman let us in, myself particularly underdressed for the plush hallways and upstairs café. I think this was the first chocolate cake I’ve had in 3 months since I left NZ. It tasted divine with a fine Nigerian Coffee to swish it down. We had a great time, though when back on the streets we had a pang of guilt when so many here have so little.

I woke up feeling unwell and weak. I had met Lorena (Columbian) the night before and had gone out for a beer (unrelated) with her Indian friends that I think she was trying to shake. Luckily I had some sympathy from Lorena who bought me some hydration salts, vitamins and medicine. I rested up, just reading a bit of Catch 22.

I’m much better this morning. I finally received my new Visa card and put it to work. I caught a local bus to the train station and booked a train to Goa for tomorrow morning. Goa is a bit of a traveler’s Mecca, but still should be fun around Chrisy time. Chowpatty beach isn’t much to look at by day but is supposed to be a hive of activity in the evening. It could be a Mission Bay if this wasn’t India. I had a lie down at the hanging gardens, surrounded by cut animal hedges. I didn’t get offered any extras roles in the Bollywood studios, only an offer of doing english voice overs. I was turned it down, Im leaving tomorrow.

Of course I’ll post again before Christmas to give you my cheeriest seasons greetings, but in case YOU don’t check back know that I’ll be thinking of you over my Christmas curry, slightly envious of those lapping up a kiwi summer.

Ps. I’ve been a vegetarian for 5 days
Pps. Congrats to WD04, would love to see your sites

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 14th, 2004 at 12:06 pm and is filed under India. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.