The best place on Earth - Colaba, Bombay

---

Here I am. In Colaba, Bombay. An interesting city, well partly because I got the book 'Shantaram' here, and read it during my stay in Bombay. Oh, wait, didn't I mentioned that I only wanted to use Bombay as a transit point to Jodhpur? Oh.. crap. Ok here was what happened the moment I arrived Dadar from Mapusa.

I arrived Dardar from Mapusa around 11ish in the morning.. traffic was horrendous! Traffic jams.. and the bus was moving like 4km/hr speed? It's insane! I actually got a confirmed ticket to get my ass to Jodhpur and stay there for a month! Well that was the plan initially. Since my train departs at 235pm on that same day, I decided to check out Leopold's Cafe that Lisa been raving about. I took a cab and asked him where Leopold is and it was in Colaba. He told me it was an hour's ride from Dardar.. and I looked at the time.. I was like okay sure I'll give it a shot!

I reach Leopold's Cafe, and Colaba was really like a pleasant surprise to me. It's a cosmopolitan with English buildings everywhere, the roads were in good condition, and it was 'clean' I should say. Traffic was very well organised and systematic. There's even McDonald's there! Hungry, I decided to have lunch in Leopold's and to my horror it is definitely one of the most expensive place to dine! Chicken Masala for like 450Rps?! WTF that's like daylight robbery! Soon I got to know that Bombay is the most expensive city in Indian standards.

I remember Lisa telling me about Leopold's; I think it was one of the bars that got bombed in 26/11 one/two years back? She also asked me to check out the book 'Shantaram', since it was about Bombay. I didn't really gave much thought about staying in Bombay and all, since it's very expensive and I'm actually running out of budget! It was already 1pm, and I decided to take a cab back to Dardar train station to catch my train.

I reached Dardar about 1.45pm, and I have ample time to do bit of research and find out where does my train stops or which platform etc. I went to the reservation counter and ask of my train details. She directed me to the Western Railway platform no. 5. Immediately I went to the platform and wait for my train. It was madness! It was crowded with people and I was the only foreigner (gora in Maharastri or Hindi?). As soon as I got to platform 5, I asked around and check with some of the locals if the train that goes to Jodhpur stops here. My jaw dropped when I received different informations like 'No this is not the platform, you have to go to this and that!' It was 245pm. All I see are local trains. I went to the train master office at the entrance of the train station, and asked him about the train details, he says it's at Platform 5. Annoyed, I went back to that very same fucking platform and wait for my train. I was hoping that the train is suffering from like few hours of delay. At that time, I was already exhausted, because of running up and down to different platforms, with my backpack and daybag. I was already tired. All I ever wanted is to get my ass onto the sleeper berth and doze off.

430pm. Still no sign of my train. I called Jools, and I guess at that point of time all I need was someone to console and comfort me, assuring that everything's gonna be alright. Paranoid, I decided to check with the train master, and he directed me to look for the Platform 5 ticketing office. I was already pissed off because he wasn't really much of a help. Bloody Indians. Somehow I tried to control my anger because there's no point letting my steam off! I went back to Platform 5 ticketing office and thank God the train master was helpful enough to look through the train arrival/departure record book.

"Your train has already left few hours ago, at 240pm."
"WHAT?! No way, I was here since 2pm!"
"Why didn't you come here and check with us? It came here few hours ago"
Ok.. it was my mistake, but still, it's quite straight forward if you tell me it's at the platform! So I asked him for alternative. I decided to give Jodhpur a miss and since Bundi was part of the plan, I asked him about any trains that leaves for Bundi/Kota.
"There is a train that leaves Kota around 650pm, but you have to go to Mumbai Central to purchase a Tatkal. There are no trains that leaves for Bundi from here unfortunately"

I immediately rush off and get a cab to Mumbai Central. Went to the reservation counter and before I could even say anything, he was like "NO! ALL FULL! FULL NO NO NO!"

FUCK MY LIFE.

So I decided to calm myself down, since I wasted about 2000Rps going back and forth on cab rides. Fucking Bombay. I took out my Lonely Planet, and check out cheap places to stay. I decided to give Salvation Army Red Shield House a shot, even though it was mentioned that I need to arrive at 9am to check on the availability of dorm beds. I prayed to God, hoping that everything's gonna be alright.. just keep a positive mindset! I managed to get a cab who's able to bring me to that hostel.

The cab driver's name is Shari. He is a Muslm. Upon knowing that, I greeted "Assalammualaikum" (Peace be upon you in Arabic) and he replied "Wa'alaikummusalam" (Peace be upon you too). He was happy to know that he has a Muslim passenger, and on our way to Salvation Army Red Shield House, I saw thousands of Muslims on the streets, and in and out of the Mosque.

"Shari, what are these people doing here?"
"Don't you know? It's Awal Muharram!"
"Oh really?"

It's strange because I'm quite liberal and I don't really call myself a true Muslim. Not sure if it's something to be ashamed of, but I don't really care, because at the end of the day, I still believe in Allah and pray to Him. I mean I take alcohol, have sex etc.

Awal Muharram marks the new year of the Islamic Lunar Calendar. In Singapore, we don't really celebrate Awal Muharram; we only celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr (the celebration after a month of fasting in the month of Ramadhan) and Eid-ul-Adha (the celebration of Hajj, where Abraham dreamt of Allah's command to slaughter his son Ishmael, and when he tried to slaughter his son, the angel Jibrail (Gabriel) brought in a Ram in replacement of his son.)

I tried making conversations with Shari, about himself.. and his family and he showed me pictures of his children. I showed him my family through my iPod touch and he was really pleased to see that. After paying the fare I got down and went to the hostel. Few guys came up to me upon seeing me with a bagpack and asked if I need rooms. I told them "Nehi, Danyavat bhaiyya" since I was hoping that I'll get a dorm bed in Salvation Army.

I went into the hostel, and ask on the availability of dorm beds. To my surprise, they do! I was relieved, and immediately paid the rate for the day, and went up to my dorm. I was really tired but at the same time, I was hoping for a beer. A nice cold Kingfisher beer to cool me down, from all the drama that I faced earlier on. I decided to walk around the streets in Colaba. While walking down the streets, I sensed that somebody was grabbing my hands. Annoyed, I looked back, and there was this Indian guy who started talking to me.

"Bhaiyya! Remember me?"
"Err no?"
"You always go to Kumar's bakery in Arambol? Remember, I'm Kumar's friend!"
"Oh yeah! Fuck no way, what are you doing here?!"
"I lived here actually, but I worked in Arambol. Where are you heading too?"
"Well I thought I just want to go around look for beer."
"Come! I bring you to a place where you can have cheap beer"

I followed him and went to this place (I forgot the name already, since it's been two months since I was there in Colaba, it's opposite Bagdadi's Restaurant). Nizar found a table for two, for both of us.

"When did you arrive?"
"I arrived here earlier this afternoon, but I fucking miss my train."
"Oh sorry to hear that. But still you managed to get a refund?"
"No. Because firstly, I booked through a travel agent, and no refund, and second, even if there's a refund, I've already passed the timeline for refund procedures"

We started talking and he asked if I need anything. Well that's the thing, in India, when they asked you whether you need anything, it means...

"Hi, you want hash? Marijuana? I give you cheap price!" seems like this is the first phrase in English they learnt before venturing into 'tourism' business.

I wanted to, but I was skeptical too about purchasing these stuff. In the end, we exchanged contacts, and I told Nizar that I'll call him if I ever need that stuff. We went on our separate ways. On the way back to my hostel, I decided to drop by a bookshop and get 'Shantaram.' It was in my head ever since I arrived here, that I should get this book somehow. I went back to the hostel and start to read.

In the dorm, there're like double decker beds, about 10-15 of them, so it could like accommodate up to 30 pax per room. I guess staying in dormitories are the best way of engaging with other people. I was even surprised when I met another fellow Singaporean, Kai Teo, living in the same dorm. The thing is, throughout my whole travelling experiences I didn't really encounter any Singaporean travellers, which I'm quite thankful for that. I find that most of Singaporeans are very pampered and spoiled and complain too much about certain things, and the thought of India makes them go 'Eww.. but why India?' you know. It turns me off totally.

I started to like Bombay because of the people/travellers I get to meet; it's really amazing. I've met people from all over the world, from South America to France to Germany to Israel to Russia to Austria to England and even the States! We decided to have like a traveller's hangout, and we went to the Seashore Hotel (hope I got that right) and went to the rooftop restaurant since Sam, from South Africa, kept on raving about it. It's a pretty decent restaurant with a nice view of the sea, and it reminds me much of an atmosphere back home. Even the staff working at the restaurant were shocked to see about 20 people just barge into the restaurant without any reservation, but they were happy because we are tourist; which means we have a lot of money to spend - I beg to differ. LOL.

We ordered quite a lot, mainly on alcohols, and from that moment we were like a bunch of hobos sharing our views, from our lives to certain things.. it's amazing how a one minute encounter would give such a positive impression forever. Among the friends that I've made were Kai from Singapore, Rob from England, Max & Eli from the States, Sam from South Africa. After that we went to the bar next to Leopold's, again I forgot the name, and have another round of beer. I'm telling you, for sure I'm gonna get that beer belly! We then remember about the curfew for Salvation Army, but Sam assured us that the guy at the reception will open the gate for us. And she was right, although the guy wasn't really happy at all about it. :S

So the next few days in Bombay, Kai, Rob and me hang around together, and walk along the streets in Colaba, doing nothing. Rob is into photography, while Kai is into more fun.. while I'm the guy who always take a chill pill and do nothing. I was getting a bit worried because I'm starting to like Bombay, in addition to 'Shantaram', which gives another special feeling. It's magical. The three of us went to Mumbai CST to book our Tatkal tickets (excluding Kai) to Udaipur. I guess I can visit Jodhpur some other time then!

Oh yes, I almost forgot that I got offered an 'extra' role in a Bollywood film, starring famous Salman Khan, but unfortunately, on that day I was supposed to leave for Udaipur with Rob. It's funny because every morning outside Salvation Army Red Shield House, there'll be like a number of performing agencies who'll ask us to be extras for Bollywood. I was surprised to know that they wanted me to be part of the team.

"Really Bhaiyya? You sure you want me to be an extra? I mean, come on, I look like one of you guys!"
"It's ok bhaiyya, you're an exception!" *raised eyebrow* Kai was disappointed too, because he told me that they don't need another Jackie Chan in a Bollywood film. LMAO. He's Chinese btw.

So I guess, it's time to move on, and soon I'm gonna make my way down to Udaipur, literally called the Venice of India.

---

Photos

Sleeper bus
Well just a glimpse of how does a 'Premium' sleeper bus looks like. FYI I slept next to a huge Indian guy.. so I guess it wasn't really like a sleeper to me.

My expensive Chicken Masala!
I can't believe I actually paid for like 12USD for this!

DSC00725
Erm.. I kinda forgot the name of this hotel. I think it was one of the hotel that got bombed.. or was it the terrorist attack?