Mumbai - or Bombay as the Indians call it

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Ah pizza, chips (real chips), coffee, pasta, meat such glorious meat, juicy tasty steak (with chips) and gravy, not curry sauce, not spicy water, gravy.

Mumbai, India's powerhouse and home of more second hand books than you could shake an uncomfortably sized stick at is the furthest south in India we planned to go and we're very glad we came. After the staring and discomfort of Ahmedabad (see previous) Mubai was much appreciated. Yes we're still strangers and attract looks, points and 'hellos' relentlessly, but in Mumbai it always has a air of friendliness and genuine curiosity about the world outside India. Mumbai is what India wants to be and where India is heading. They even stop at red lights!

As we shuttled all over the city trying to see the sights, shop (Duncan) and eat we fell for the subtle home comforts that had been missing so far. Pizza (with cheese not Indian Paneer), beer, cinema, books, pavements and occasionally, just occasionally a road without relentless, terrifying traffic.

Mumbai could keep you entertained for weeks, but we only had 4 days. Barely a whistlestop tour of the Planetarium, Elephanta Island, the cinema, Victoria Station, the bazaars, the cinema, The Gateway to India, coffee shops (with real coffee), the Gandhi museum (his ashes were on display for the 60th anniversary of his assassination), the hanging gardens and the best restaurants so far (steak - glorious cow in tasty form, at least it stops me eying them up in the street).

This was enough, however, and feeling like we were cheating a bit and avoiding the India we had come to see our itchy feet were ready to take us back in time to the glorious cave sculptures at Ellora and Ajanta.

Ellora and Ajanta

Dating from the 2nd century BC right up to the 12th the various carved rock temples throughout central India range from simple holes in the wall to magnificent cathedrals twice the size of the Parthenon. Not having time to visit them all or the inclination to spend any more time than absolutely necessary in Aurangabad or Jhansi (never, ever visit if you can avoid it!) we picked the most impressive two sites. Actually, the people at Lonely Planet picked the sites, we just copied them.

Ellora is best known for having perhaps the most impressive (possibly not - Petra, Jordan) and certainly the largest rock craved temple in the world. The main cave structure contains over 20 temples but cave 16 dwarfs them all put together. A gigantic temple structure and complex that at times reaches 4-5 stories high into and around the rock face. Adorned with life size elephant carvings, Hindu epics and pillared caverns lit by beams of light through carefully planned openings. When we visited there were thousands of other people and yet we could still find a tranquil temple lit with soft beams of morning light and filled with fruit bats (only later did we see just how many!)

We also got a chance to see the crescent shaped valley of Ajanta and the far more intricate (although smaller) Buddist Rock temples. They're different to Ellora because of the incredibly intricate paintwork throughout and because of the name.

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Photos

Victoria Terminal (CST)
It's got a really exciting and long Indian name now, but everyone still calls it Victoria.

Monkey!
This cheeky chappie was spotted on Elephanta Island basking in the sun and stealing crisps from tourists.

Ellora Caves
Part of the Ellora cave structures (12 & 13 I think)

The Ajanta Cave Valley
Look at us go - Indiana Jones style