what my mom wouldn't like me to do...

Hey everyone! I hope you are great!
So I think I'm finally getting used to this place, monsoons and all. Unfortunately the job-situation has gotten really bad. I won't go in to what's happening though, to depressing :)

So, some good news, I'm moving to a new appartement next weekend! No more bed bugs, no more slums and three people in two bed rooms as opposed to six! The area is a lot safer and fairly close to shopping and some bars so I'm really happy.
Ellen, my norwegian room mate left the 14th so right now its just me and the boys. Not too bad though but i do sometimes get aslight allergic reactions to all the testosterone flying around :)

Anyways, Elllen was taking a nightflicght the day before my birthday, and after having dropped her off, her boyfriend was so depressed that we decided going to eat. We ended up at Meridien hotel for a mid-night buffe and I had my birthday cake a four o'clock in the morning. I can't get over the contrasts in this country. Four the price of a swedish restaurant meal we were sitting all by ourselves in one of the most expensive hotels of Mumbai, with a band playing. Completely ridiculous considering I usually spend my nights chasing bed bugs and washing my laundry by hand.

This weekend I got a schock of fresh (well, besides the pollution on the highway but whose picky after Mumbai ...) air as I went for a trip outside of Mumbai Sat-sun. In the end, I think it was one of the best trips of my life but completely crazy things happened. So to summarise, here's a little list of the things my mother would not recommend me to do:
1. To go on a bike ride in a country where you don't have to drive to get a license (this goes for the official driving tests as well, not just with briberies)
2. To go on a bike with an Indian guy I don't really know
3. To do this in Monsoon
4. To get lost in the monsoons in the dark
5. To get lost on a highway where bikes are not allowed.

So of course it started raining and after having stopped at McDonalds (where the staff considered kicking me out because I didn't have dry pants to change into !) we decided to continue. Of course we got lost and in the middle of no where the bike crashes down. Luckily we got it started only to find out that we were not allowed to be on that road. So, I experienced the first "negotiated fine" of my life....
The destination was a hill station called Matheran 60 km out of Mumbai, but we had ended up 150 km outside, in the very same village where I went before, the only time that I left the city. Matheran, we reached the next day at two (got lost again...) and in the end our hiking turned into sleeping on a park bench.

Funny thing is that when we left Mumbai I was so tired and fed up with work that I just laughed all through the trip. Vikram, who was expecting me to go ballistic when all the problems started I think was a bit worried bout my mental health, but like I said, this was probably one of the best trips of my life!
So, I guess that's all for now. Hope I haven't bored you too much!
Lots of love and miss you,
maria

p.s I wanted to put some pictures here but the internet cafe doesn't have a usb port so I'll do it next time

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