Hannah and Jase's World Tour

Day 1 - 2: Mumbai.

Sending you a quick email from South Mumbai on the west coast of India to let you know that Hannah and I have arrived safely. With regards to our plans we are taking each day as it comes so we will not be able to set up a routine of sending emails but we will send emails when we can. It seems that in the cities, internet access is quite easy. 30 rupees for an hour [85 rupees to the pound]. We are 5 half hours ahead of you here.

Checking in at heathrow took 90 minutes, so best you left when you did. Flight was impressive. Each seat had a TV whereby you could watch a selection of movies and play chess with other passengers! 8 hours flight and I got 3 hours sleep. Flying in to Mumbai you could see the shanty towns (slums) just spread for miles. All you see was huts for miles. Stepping off the plane, it is 35 degrees C.

We had already booked a hotel and for someone to pick us up. Travelling to the hotel was mad! Cars and rickshaws (very small cars) all beeping and barging their way through, creating their own lanes and dodging the cows in the middles of the road and the people playing cricket everytime the lights had gone red!

We finally arrived at hotel for 2.15 pm (our time) but as hannah and I were so tired the rest of the day simply involved having a sleep and a 20 min walk near to the hotel. Always having to be weary of people and thinking about what we are eating is still a bit daunting.

We are staying in Khar Street in North Mumbai, off the beaten track and no toursist here! We are the only westerners it seems. Walking past the markets and the goats / cows, everyone stares at us, which of course is a bit unsettling but we will get used to it with confidence. Travelling to south mumbai has been good as it is more touristy and you are expected here! We will be here for the day and then head back to the hotel tonight.

This morning we got the train for 75 rupees to south mumbai and that was an experience. People hanging out of trains, a child shitting on the platform with the parent close behind mopping it up and what seems like animals everywhere. Our plan for the rest of the day is to try and find somewhere nice to have a beer tonight to see in the new year, as today is a national holiday so the streets are a bit quieter that normal apparently. It has been such a cultural shock that just getting on a train and travelling through the city seems to be a big achievement for us!

We will be staying at our hotel for 3 days and then probably spend one night in Colaba, South Mumbai and then make the decision whether to go north to Jaipur and New Delhi or south to Goa...