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Published: March 14th 2008
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The 18 hour train journey to Mumbai was quite enjoyable.
I spent much of the time chatting to a young German policeman who had just begun his travels in India. The family opposite us did not speak much English, however, a female Indian student and another man added more interest to the conversation later in the evening. The man even offered around his interestingly spiced parantha bread.
Mumbai is expensive. Admittedly I could have avoided being ripped off by the taxi driver on the way to the hotel if I had been a bit more awake and made more effort. Having to deal with dodgy metered taxis rather than bartering with autos came as a bit of a surprise. Mumbai has made the sensible move of banning the polluting autos from the city centre, but instead has just clogged up its roads with hundreds of yellow topped taxis instead.
I ended up splashing out on accommodation in the last couple of days since nice budget rooms were a real challenge to find...the two nights I spent in Mumbai cost almost the same as the five weeks rent for the house in Jaipur! Never mind.
I wrote about
Mumbai just before I left India so I will only add what remains to be said.
I liked the city. One friend has told me, 'don't spend too long in Mumbai, it's a sh*t hole.' I disagree. Without doubt this city has real problems of poverty and sprawling slums. However, in the area I was staying stunningly attractive architecture was the backdrop to the every day chaos of Indian urban life. Furthermore, real efforts were being made. The streets I walked were clean. No piles of rubbish and, would you believe it, I even came across a rubbish bin!! Yes, really! I also stumbled across an arts festival running alongside well to do restaurants and an italian gelateria. When combined with the homeless families living next to the railway station these scenes reflected the contrasts of India, and particularly Mumbai, in a nutshell.
Chowpatty beach was a bizarre sight. Sand meeting sea with a backdrop of high rise is common enough, but the food fare bordered by small abandoned fairground rides sold bav bhajis, samosas and other Indian delights alongside pizza, sandwiches and icecream. The beach goers, with the exception of a few tourists like myself, were dressed
in saris, salawar suits and Indian clothing, rather than skimpy swimwear as one finds elsewhere in the world. The beach was also a hot spot for making a living, with corn on the cob stalls and walking chai and snack sellers. I sat for a while watching, and just enjoying being near the sea again, and when the sellers became too much I wandered along. One Indian family of women called and beckoned me over. I groaned inside. What are they going to ask me for? I went over nevertheless to happily discover a friendly and simply curious family. We attempted to chat though the language barrier was strong and we only got as far as establishing (for me) who was related to who in which way and (for them) that I really couldn't speak Hindi beyond that! My offer of photo taking, however, naturally went down well for both parties! A seaside experience with a difference.
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And so it was time to go home. I was so nervous! From the day before my stomach was a series of butterfly knots, I could barely eat!
The journey was a tedious nightmare. Being aware that Mumbai traffic
is dreadful I left 2 hours to reach the airport, arriving at 9.30am for a 2.30pm flight that was then delayed to 5pm. I had been sitting around for 7 1/2 hours in the airport before I even started the 10 hour journey home! Due to the delay I missed my national express bus back to Taunton and the best that I could do was get a bus to arrive in Reading at 11pm, where Steve was able to come and rescue me. Standing outside Reading train station in the freezing cold late at night was an interesting reintroduction to things I hate about British culture; drunken yobs and, sorry to say it, slappers. Please do remember that I had just come from India, home of some very different cultural values where I had faced many less than favourable impressions of me and western girls in general...well, there is some truth in the matter, but where the truth lies in some of the debates I was faced with I still haven't completely decided!
In contrast, the train journey to Somerset showed me some of the things I adore about England; beautiful, lush green countryside and pretty little cottages, rolling
hills with paths to explore, all lying happily beneath a blue sky and bathed in sunshine. Incidentally, at the time of writing it has been cloudy and drab for the past week or more. No wonder people are so depressed in this country without blissful sunshine. But nevertheless, few of us really have much to complain about really. Sunshine would be nice. Very nice. But at least we don't live in slums or, by and large, on the streets.
...
Settling back in
So...beyond the lack of regular sunshine I am really quite enjoying life back in England. Spending time with family, Steve and friends again has been wonderful. I start work on Monday and will be studying a Masters in International Relations from the Autumn. Life is moving on. So do I have itchy feet again yet? Yearnings to return to foreign shores?
Well, not just yet, I am quite content to play my hand in England for a while, and let's face it, I'm broke! Last year's plans of setting off on a South American adventure within three years (one now down) have been very much postponed. Plus, travelling by myself has been incredible. Meeting
so many people, travelling where I chose, seeing so many incredible things...but I also felt the intense emotional pull of love for someone back home and missing them painfully. Will I travel alone again? Maybe. Quite likely in fact...though I am sure that the next time will be different.
The most important thing is that I did it, and I know I can do it again.
It's strange...being home so little has changed, all those adventures, discoveries, sights...they are all fading into the background and it's almost like it never happened. I find that kind of sad...but that's ok, life changing experiences can be bad as well as good.
Reflecting,
Did I ever bungy jump, sky dive and dolphin watch in New Zealand?
Drive across the Australian outback, witnessing enormous butterflies and bouncing kangaroos?
Did I explore and taste the wonders of Chinatown and Little India in Singapore and Malaysia?
Ride on motorbike and row boat taxis in Vietnam, eat noodle soup and walk through Typhoon rain?
Trek the hills, ride an elephant and swim in a waterfall in Laos?
Dive amongst turtles and Leopard sharks under Thailand's sea?
Explore bazaars, forts and streets in India,
travel the local way and meet so many incredible people?
Yes, amazingly I did, but I have new direction now I have come to the end of my last trail.
So, taking more responsibility in life...well, I'm working on it!
....
Thank you to all of you who have stayed with me to the end. Until next time, journey over and blog complete. A new chapter has begun.
x
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