Hi all,
The wifi links here in Mumbai are few and far between, so I don't know what that means for the blog. I can write at an internet cafe but not off line, which is annoying, as I find writing on my laptop in the evening relaxing and a good way to recap the day. Thus I am sitting now in a Barista Cafe on a paid wifi line, and who knows what the is outside of Mumbai.
I've been in Mumbai since 10:30pm on Thursday local time. I met a guy on the flight who is from NE India where I am going in about 10 days time. Malay is a great find.
I met Rachel, a British woman from Ireland but in transit from New Zealand, and we shared a room the first night in the Byculla district of Mumbai. She paid, since she got in the day before, and because I had arranged for her her first CouchSurfing experience, with a couple in the Mahalakshmi district. They picked us up at the hotel Friday afternoon, and we've spent 2 nights with them. Today Rachel left today for Goa and I will be taking the train to Kolkata someday next weekend.
It's hard to be poetic when writing directly on the blog; it all begins to sound like an email, which I guess it really is. But Mumbai is loud, hectic, hot, crowded and all the other things that you think of when you think of India. But it is cheap. Malay told me that you can buy the same for for 10 rupees or 1000, depending on the place. And he is right. And public transportation is cheap too, even taxis. Six rupees gets you a bus ticket south from Victoria Terminal or Churchgate Station, 4 rupees a 2nd class ticket train ticket. A taxi will be about 100 wherever you go because you usually leave the remaining money as a tip. (100 rupees is $2.50; for 500-800 rupees you can get a cab for the day.)
I saw a Bollywood release, walked to Chowpatty Beach in the heat of the day, saw the Gateway of India on the seafront (British built to commemorate a visit by the King and fittingly, from where the last British army unit departed in 1948.) We got lost in a fishing slum, and had to squeeze through someone's house to avoid a dog that was none too friendly. And we ate the new up-and-coming Indigo, where the we're-Indian-but-VERY-western people go. I attended an Indian Birthday party last night, and everyone wanted to ask me about Obamma. Go figure!
Tomorrow I am heading out to Elephanta Island and the caves that are there, while Sushim works on getting me a 2AC or 3AC berth on the train to Kolkata, 30-38 hours and two overnight from here. I could fly, but what sort of blog would that make?!
I'll figure out this thing and get back to you. Maybe I can do a copy/paste, and so still compose off line. A previous attempt left me with formating problems. But I have some ideas. Maybe you do to. Let me know!
OK, see you when I see you,
Jay
