Impressions of Mumbai

Brian enjoying the true backpacking experience at the Taj hotel.

We have bid a sad farewell to the Shahs, Sunaina struggled through horendous traffic last night to deliver us to the station for our overnight train to Mumbai. I had told Tess that when travelling in 1974 I noticed that I was always placed in sleeping compartments with 'suitable' fellow travellers. When we reached our compartment we met an elderly Indian lady with good English and then were joined by a man - our immediate discussion of the level of senior discount for train travel immediately identified us all as pensioners - and it turned out both the man and woman were visiting from the States - so we were a compartment formed of international pensioners! It seems our wedding in Ahbad made the local papers, when we mentioned we had been to a wedding the man said we might have been in the papers as he had read about it that day.

Across the ailse in the further two bunks were a young woman, her sister and a 1 and a half month baby - presumably on the basis that pensioners would look kindly on babies! The Indian rail system really in a marvel and this business of forming up suitable groups is just a further aspect of it.

You get perhaps half a nights sleep on the sleepers and we were in to Mumbai Central station before 7am - most passengers having left at an earlier station in the north of the city. At the station we discovered two things, they dont have tuk tuks here and they don't have the small stripey squirrels that have been dashing in and out of the corner of our sight ever since Delhi. What they do have is taxis - yellow and black ones, all exactly the same, old model Fiats I would guess and every one built maybe 25 years ago at least and perhaps delivered covered in bumps! As it was so early and we had to get to the other station to leave our bags (we leave on another train this afternoon) we took one of the taxis to discover that they were double parked on every street - too early for business and enough taxis for the whole of Asia by the look of it.

Depositing our two bags for the day took just about one hour! First our rucksacks were not acceptable without locks (how can you lock a multi-pocket rucksack?) so we were sent away. We discovered a stall selling small locks and set about fixing them to Tessa's pack whilst I used my cable and lock to bind up mine. So back we went. Now we had sticky lables wrapped around each of the locks and were sent away again - a vague wave across the station forecourt (this is the busiest station in Asia so for 'forecourt' you need to imagine a version of Hades), then we saw a xray machine and put our bags through - the man at the end then waving us away when we pointed to the Left Luggage. So back to the Left Luggage to be sent away again! We needed a signature from the man at the machine (well obviously - but why did he just sit there?) so back to him and then finally back to the left luggage where this time our bags were accepted, forms were completed and we were left to get out of the steamy station. Tess was meanwhile warning several other travellers of the process and sending them across the station to purchase locks.

So we wandered down to the Taj Mahal Palace hotel - the older part now closed after the attack of November, in fact we walked from one major site of the attacks, the CST station to the other one. The new part of the hotel is however open and after bag and body searches we entered the hushed and air conditioned splendour of those able to spend about 600 dollars per night. Our target was a quick wash and then a sumptious breakfast. The buffet breakfast has to be seen to be believed and we spent just about half our daily budget on filling up for the day! You could get used to the level of service mind, Tess wanted a stamp for a postcard and it was immediately taken away to be posted for her - mind you she did not wait for the change as that seemed out of place!

So eventually it was back out into the haze and humidity of Mumbai, a stroll around the Gate of India from which the British finally left in 1947 and then to a nearby internet cafe - although we were somewhat alarmed to see smoke pouring from every window of the first building of the street and then from every other building - including the internet cafe, a fearsome smoke machine was being used to fumigate everything for mosquitos. But we found this cyber place away from the fumes.

We taken another train this afternoon to Aurangabad arriving about midnight and tomorrow we will go to the Ellora Caves, we leave that night on another overnight train back here to Mumbai and then begin our 35 hour trip down to Kerala - we suspect we will have had enough of train travel by then and may end up regretting not flying. Our train this afternoon is not air conditioned either, it will be a case of hoping the open windows create enough breeze.

Brian