Saturday,
15/12/2012 – 185 A.D.
Sunday, 16/12/2012 – 186 A.D.
Most things touristy tend to be in the southern part of the city, so we had to get another taxi ride down to where the former British influence is strongest. This part of Mumbai is actually very pleasant to stroll around, particularly on a Sunday. Less crowds, less traffic, less hassle. And the 30 degree heat wasn't a problem, given that we'd switched back to shorts - sorry, sorry, sorry to all you Winter shiverers out there!
Down by the waterfront is the Gateway to India, arguably the biggest draw in the city. It was built by the British Raj between 1911 and 1924, primarily to honour a visit from King George V. Tellingly, it was also the place from where the last British troops left India when the country gained its independence. Today it was very crowded with people and populated with all kinds of hawkers flogging their wares. As our hotel did not provide us with a map, we bought one from a particularly persistent hawker. He continued to be persistent after the purchase had gone through by offering one of his "special maps" in addition to the one we'd just bought. And what was so special about them? They contained drugs between the folds.
After hanging out under the blazing sun for a while, we headed to a nearby market and I was able to replace the watch that stopped on me this morning - great timing, huh? Mind you, the replacement doesn't exactly come with a certificate of authentication and I can see it conking out before I even get on the plane back to England! As for us, we got in a taxi back to midtown and hit the chill out zone. It's never easy sleeping on an overnight train, but guess what? We won't have to do it again.
Oh dear, I'd better quit before I start getting too emotional...
Time to leave yet another hotel room, but next time we pack up our stuff it'll be for good. I'm already getting to the point of thinking, "Last time to do...[insert thing we'll do for the last time]". We would be getting the night train from Jaipur to Mumbai, running from 14:20 until 07:30 the next morning. Therefore we needed grub, but we were loathe to trust virtually anything that didn't come in a sealed packet. Even homemade sandwiches wrapped in clingfilm and on display on the counters of the shops across the road from the hotel made us think twice. Therefore we asked the hotel kitchen to specially prepare some sandwiches for us to take as a packed lunch. They were fine with my request for cheese, but when it came to Tim's they had never heard of putting jam between two slices of bread before. We took the sealed package they provided and wondered just what lurked inside...
Because of the mix-up with the driver greeting us when we first arrived, the hotel got their driver to take us to the station free of charge. Indian railway stations are ker-azy places and waiting around on one for over an hour is an experience. We were booked into a second class sleeper carriage, grateful that it wasn't third class as it could so easily have been. Still, there were no curtains for privacy and we'd be sharing our "berth" with two other people. I say "berth" but the carriage was open with no real way to close yourself off from those who wandered along the corridor selling their wares, including the chain kids - "Wanna buy a chain for your luggage?" "No thanks, I already have one."
The train was just about to get going when a young lad approached us and asked if we'd be willing to swap our seats for two at the end of the aisle. At first I thought it was some kind of scam, but it turned out he did genuinely want to exchange seats so that his two aunties and uncles could sit together in a foursome. And this meant that Tim and I would be able to sit in our own little private bunks with curtains to draw across and keep the rest of the world away. So we swapped. And behind our curtains the bunks were a bit dirty and uncomfortable, but come on, its the last ever train journey we'll have to make in Asia, so who the heck cares?
Fortunately the journey passed without incident - can't have any nasty surprises at this late stage, can we? I got a bit annoyed as people walked past my bunk and brushed whole body parts against my curtain, often catching my knee as I sat behind that curtain, munching on my cheese sandwiches. They were okay, but far too much bread and not enough cheese. And I need to ask this, as the question has occurred many times - why do people come on huge train journeys without any mental stimuli whatsoever? They just sit there for the whole darn journey! Why not bring a book or a magazine? I just can't fathom it.
Sunday, 16/12/2012 – 186 A.D.
The above photo is of the suburbs of Mumbai at dawn. Not great, is it? Well, neither was the state of the window - it hadn't been raining, that water was permanently caught between the two layers of glass. Mumbai is a metropolis of about 21 million people and we'd found it hard to find decent accommodation in a downtown location (for the right price, of course). Therefore we were booked into the Hotel Pritam in the midtown area, which meant a taxi ride in the standard Mumbai taxi that is a 1956 model Fiat (produced sometime after 1956, but goodness knows when exactly. Don't want to know either!) The guy had no idea where exactly our hotel was and he had to get out and ask people on no less than four occasions.
Our hotel is okay, but we've stayed in better, and for much less money. But as I said earlier, what does it matter at this stage? Though we're both phyiscally fit and still mentally strong, there's an intangible part of us deep down that is very tired. That part of us needs to go home shortly. However, if we were going to be on the road a few months longer, we'd be able to adjust and keep going. But once that finishing line rolls around it becomes time to relax all those faculties that you've kept tough because you had to and just let go. Still, that doesn't mean we won't try and enjoy our time here in Mumbai, but we knew that the last country before returning home was always going to be a lesser-experience than those that came before it. I'm just glad we didn't leave the USA until the end! Yep, if you're going to travel round the world in the latter half of the calendar year then anti-clockwise is definitely the way to do it.
Our hotel is okay, but we've stayed in better, and for much less money. But as I said earlier, what does it matter at this stage? Though we're both phyiscally fit and still mentally strong, there's an intangible part of us deep down that is very tired. That part of us needs to go home shortly. However, if we were going to be on the road a few months longer, we'd be able to adjust and keep going. But once that finishing line rolls around it becomes time to relax all those faculties that you've kept tough because you had to and just let go. Still, that doesn't mean we won't try and enjoy our time here in Mumbai, but we knew that the last country before returning home was always going to be a lesser-experience than those that came before it. I'm just glad we didn't leave the USA until the end! Yep, if you're going to travel round the world in the latter half of the calendar year then anti-clockwise is definitely the way to do it.
Most things touristy tend to be in the southern part of the city, so we had to get another taxi ride down to where the former British influence is strongest. This part of Mumbai is actually very pleasant to stroll around, particularly on a Sunday. Less crowds, less traffic, less hassle. And the 30 degree heat wasn't a problem, given that we'd switched back to shorts - sorry, sorry, sorry to all you Winter shiverers out there!
[Note the 1956 Fiat taxi in the foreground.]
Down by the waterfront is the Gateway to India, arguably the biggest draw in the city. It was built by the British Raj between 1911 and 1924, primarily to honour a visit from King George V. Tellingly, it was also the place from where the last British troops left India when the country gained its independence. Today it was very crowded with people and populated with all kinds of hawkers flogging their wares. As our hotel did not provide us with a map, we bought one from a particularly persistent hawker. He continued to be persistent after the purchase had gone through by offering one of his "special maps" in addition to the one we'd just bought. And what was so special about them? They contained drugs between the folds.
After hanging out under the blazing sun for a while, we headed to a nearby market and I was able to replace the watch that stopped on me this morning - great timing, huh? Mind you, the replacement doesn't exactly come with a certificate of authentication and I can see it conking out before I even get on the plane back to England! As for us, we got in a taxi back to midtown and hit the chill out zone. It's never easy sleeping on an overnight train, but guess what? We won't have to do it again.
Oh dear, I'd better quit before I start getting too emotional...
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