Last stop: Mumbai

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Mumbai or Bombay



The old capital city and the souvenier shopping stop







We arrived to Mumbai around 8 o ´clock in the morning and the bus dropped us off literally on he side of the highway. We got a cab that surprisingly said he would use the meter to take us to Colaba district. It took us a few other taxis that asked for an extremely large amount of money. We decided to stay in Colaba, which is a district in Mumbai where all the British colonial architecture characterizes it. It is also where most of the tourists stay and also where the few budget hostels are located. The taxi dropped us off near a few hostels and immediately an older Indian man greeted us and offered to take us to a hotel. We refused politely saying we knew which hotels to go and headed to the two hostels recommended by Lonely Planet. The hostels were in a building on the 5.th and 6^th floor and after reaching both floors the receptionist told us they were all booked. We went outside and the same old man was there. He said he knew a couple of hotels near the area. We followed him and the first hotel was booked so he took us to a second hotel that was a little more local. They had room for the night and even though it was a little sketchy, not too well mantained, dusty and a little too much cramped we decided to stay there because it was only for one night.







We dropped our bags and chilled for a few hours and decided to go out and see a little of Mumbai. We realized that India is a large , very large country and to see it all we would have to take 1-2 or even 3 trips of a similar length and so with this in mind we decided to stop in Mumbai for souvenier shopping. What we did not know was that it would be really hard to shop for souveniers in Mumbai.







We head out and walked by the harbor all the way to the Gate of India. Along the way we passed a few upscale hotels including the famous and very expensive Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai. We passed a few colonial buildings to stop for some snacks and refreshments near the Gate of India. We continued to walk through a very busy street and passed an important government building and a National museum. We wanted to find the famous bazaars of Mumbai to shop for spices, scarves, little statues, incense and a few other cultural souveniers. We continued our walk passing India´s and possibly Asia´s largest and busiest train station. It was a semi modern with electronic boards , but at the same time it had India´s characteristics noisy, dirty and full of smells. We passed by quickly continuing our walk towards the north in search for markets. Kyle noticed a stamp store and he went in to get few stamps for him to use when marking assignments of his students. The stamps were going to be ready around 5 o ´clock so we had all day to pick them up. We passed a few markets , but they were mostly selling household supplies, fabrics, and none sold souveniers. As noon and lunch filled the air we found a local family restaurant and decided to eat lunch there. When we got in we noticed a bunch of men were wearing qipa and there was not a single women. The waiter old us to follow him upstairs to find a table for us. When we got up we realized that it was definitely a Muslim restaurant and the upstairs section was the only place where women were permitted. We ate some Muslim food and it was quite good. With our stomachs full we headed out to try to find more souveniers. Just as we decided to leave we saw a place selling scarves and so we went in and Kyle got a scarf for his niece and I got one for my sister. Then we ran into an indoor veggie and fruit market and went in to buy some spices. Kyle bought a chai to drink and I a fruit juice. We headed back to our hotel the same way we walked north. It was almost 5 o ´clock so we stopped at the stamp place and they said they the stamps were not ready so we decided to head in a taxi to a place called World Trade Center to get a few souveniers. The place was a group of modern buildings and the ne we were looking was building number 4. We got in and saw a couple of stores and office like places. We found two stores and bought a few things, but thought the vast majority was overly priced so we left , but as we were leaving I noticed a post office sign and we sent a few more post cards before leaving. We took a taxi to another store near our hotel and found a couple more souveniers this time at a better price , but we had to rush because it was near closing time. It was almost 8 o´clock and so we headed back walking for about 35 minutes to get Kyle´s stamps. On our way back we decided we wanted dinner and found a really good restaurant and when we sat down and looked ta the menu we realized it was all Chinese food. Since it was our last night in India we wanted something more Indian. We quickly left the restaurant and walked back to the main street where we found a whole block full of vendors selling, all kinds of street souveniers, We walked for a bit buying a few small souveniers for ourselves and our families and then decided to look for a restaurant. We found some Indian – Islamic restaurant and decided to stay there and ate one of the best kebab´s I have ever eaten, although it was a little spicy for me. We headed back to the souvenier street vendors shopped a little more and headed back to our hotel. Kyle arranged the taxi to the airport for the next morning and we took a shower and crashed for the night!







Our trip was over and we were ready to go back to Dalian, China. India was a fantastic very cultural travel experience and it touched my heart and soul. India made me a better person in many ways.







India until the next time! Namaste!







Shanti!!!

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