Hi Everyone,
We have just completed a crazy stay in Mumbai and have now moved done to the much more tranquil beaches of Goa, although as our luck would have it as we arrived at the beach we've got our first bout of bad weather.
Mumbai was a great experience but we don't really know how to describe it without putting you off for life! Every morning we were woken by either a pack of dogs howling beneath our window or a (very very sick) man vomiting in the sink outside our room, I was sure one day we'd find him dead with his head in the sink, but he survives another day! We then checked how many bites we had received over night and went to the toilet/shower room to wash the many layers of sweat off our bodies. We usually headed out (stepping over the local heroin addict usually slumped near our hotel) for a coffee and some breakfast (we try to have curry but a surreptitious egg and chips makes a welcome change) after that we would manage to walk 2 paces outside Leopolds (the main traveller bar and cafe) before we had at least four guys screaming "sir, madam, morning! come see my antiques/ shawls/ t- shirts/ bracelets/ dvds etc etc etc. We managed to uphold the good old english politeness for sometime and say no thankyou over and over again at least until the dreaded drum seller would latch himself to our sides for the next mile. We tried many tactics with these guys,
"No thanks I don't have room in my bag" - "try a small drum muy friend very small, very strong"
"I already have a drum thanks" - "What about big drum you have big drum? you have small drum? You have this drum?"
"I want a drum but my girlfriend won't let me have it, sorry" - " No no sir you must have drum small drum, maybe big drum.."
In the end we started walking faster and faster and trying our utmost to ignore this poor guy desperately selling these goddamn drums.
Laurie now has a small drum sir in his bag....
So where were we... ah yes after escaping the drum men we would make our way to the tourist attraction of the day which are all very beautiful and majestic but you have to step over sleeping families and general faeces to get there then once you have arrived there will be more hawkers selling you chai, postcards and funny magnet things (laurie bought these and I have to wrestle them of him constantly, grrrr)
We would then head back to our hotel and the hawkers had turned into hash dealers and although they are very friendly, they are very persistent much like Laurie was when convincing me to but some (over my dead body Joanna!!!). Our silver lining was this great little local restaurant which we went to most nights, you got a bottle of whiskey for about a quid and food was around 50 to 70 pence a dish. It was the best indian food we've ever tasted and the staff were great. Laurie would also like to point out that he had the best kebab he has ever tasted at a street seller nearby, we'll post a video of them making the rotis (flat breads) it's incredible.
So after dinner we generally went to watch the cricket or the football (Spinney we caught the Blackburn Chelsea game.. COME ON THE ROVERS!!) and had a good few drinks and then tried to sleep in the oppressive heat and we think bed bug filled bed, then started the whole thing over again the next day.
This might sound like a living hell but it really was so interesting, there was always something going on and new people to look at and talk to, everyone is incredibly friendly (apart from some of the other travellers who have irritatingly got the red dye between their eyebrows and flounce about being 'spiritual' - bloody hare krishna wannabees) and there is a certain atmosphere that you can't help but enjoy (slightly excited/consuumed with fear).
We will post some photos tomorrow and let you know how the weather is (in keeping with our national obbsession)
ps Laurie's got the shits!
pps Laurie typed that, he's very proud?!! Still claiming it wasn't the kebab... hmmm.
Laurie and Harri
XXX
