Mumbai

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Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.







Mumbai or better known as "Bollywood," displays the economic contrast that exist within India. Home of the biggest slums of India and ultra modern skyscraper that highlighted the shoreline. Although, my stay was short, I enjoyed the city despite its lack of affordable accommodations. And of course the bed bugs...What was most memorable about our stay in Mumbai was our struggle to find an affordable hostel that met our standards. Borja needed a good flushing toilet and I felt the same way. After wandering around near the Central Bus Station, we found a local hostel owned by an Indian lady, whom had attended University in the States. It was a very basic place with minimal amenities. Our shower consist of a bucket and a scoop. We stayed in a dorm room shared with locals. We met some locals who came from Tamil Nadu. They were in Mumbai on a business trip. Although, we only stayed for one night, we made the most of our stay. Borja was homesick, so we went to a Starbucks. The Starbucks there was posh. We needed to go through a metal detector upon entry. I did not get a decent night of sleep there. Woke up in the middle of the night to find all kinds of bed bugs on me. Everyone in the room got a good laugh at it, including myself. We decided that it was best to sleep with the lights on, since that would deterred the bus from coming out. We took a night bus from Mumbai to Bangalore. It was a rough bus ride. They left the AC on all night and did not give us any blanket. It was so cold that we used the sheet as a blanket and eventually decided to use the mattress as the blanket.



Gateway into India.



The Gateway into India was originally built during the early 1900s to receive King George V on his visit to Mumbai (then Bombay). The Gateway of India is now a reminder of India's past under Colonial British rule. It was the first thing, that first time visitors of Mumbai would see upon entering the dock by boat. This was also the place that the British exited as liberation was granted to The Republic of India.



Mumbai's local train station.





Elephanta Cave (Gharapuri):











A forty minute ferry ride away from Mumbai, is the island Elephanta. This island was named by the Portuguese after they had found a large elephant tusk on the island. There are five amazing caves on this island. All of which housed a Shiva Lingua.

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