India 1

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I've been in India now for over 2 weeks and am having a fantastic time! Me and Dylan have spent the last 2 weeks traveling around Maharastra and south Rajasthan. Here's what's happened so far:

Wed 27th July - we met up in London and went to the BBC proms to see a concert including Stravinsky's Firebird (really good), then headed to Heathrow

Thu 28th July - flight from London to Mumbai, arrived late at night local time and got taxi to our hotel. Bit of a cray taxi ride as the roads were pot-holed and flooded and the driving here is mental! Also saw lots of slums. Bit of a culture shock, but we expected that.

Fri 29th July - lay in in the morning to recover from jet lag, before heading out to see some of the sights near by. Saw Victoria Terminus, a Colonial era train station, and Crawford Market, where I bought a Shalwar Kameez. The streets around our hotel were quite a shock. There's just so many people and so so many cars, which are constantly beeping their horns, oh and the odd cow too! Crossing the road is a mission. When it rains (it's monsoon season) the streets are covered in mud, which me and Dylan seem to be expert at kicking up the back of our legs! Anyway, we had Thali for lunch (selection of different curries with rice and chapati). We also went to Chowpatty Beach and walked along the coast for a while, which was a bit more peaceful.

Sat 30th July - first thing we went to the Gateway of India, a famous landmark of Mumbai, planning to catch a boat from there to Elephanta Island, but they were unfortunately not running because of heavy rains. We got persuaded into having a city tour by taxi instead, which was expensive but really good! We saw Malabar Hill, where some of the richest people in the world live, and visited a beautifully serene Jain Temple there, as well as the peaceful Hanging Gardens. We also visited Nani Bhavan, Ghandi's headquarters in Mumbai, and drove around the fort area with lots of Colonial architecture. We were also taken to a slum area, which I felt quite weird about as it shouldn't be a tourist attraction, but it was interesting to see that the slums we went to were right next to some of the most expensive houses in India, which is really shocking. The last stop on the tour was the driver's friend's gift shop, of course!
On this day, we also had our first taste of Masala Dosa (large pancake stuffed with spiced potato) and went to a wonderful restaurant in the evening called Zaffran.

Sun 31st July - we went to Sanjay Ghandi National Park, which is surprisingly a conservation area in the middle of Mumbai! We braved the suburban train network to get there and back too. The park was beautiful, so lush and green because of the monsoon. We went on a short bus safari around the tiger and lion enclosures. The animals didn't seem to have a huge amount of space, despite the exhibitions boasting about how well looked after they are. Heavy rains continued, with some absolute torrential downpours in the evening which were quite dramatic to watch from our balcony.

Mon 1st August - A bit of a westernised day. Had pizza for lunch, went shoe shopping (as my sandals had broken) and watched a Bollywood film about three men traveling around Spain! Caught overnight train to Aurangabad, and actually got more sleep than expected. Train stations are manic places, especially busy ones like CST in Mumbai, but the actual sleeper trains themselves are generally quiet and restful.

Tue 2nd August - arrived in Aurangabad at 4am and waited in the station until it got light, then caught a tuk-tuk (autorickshaw) to our hotel. We spent the day visiting the Ajanta Caves, which are 2 hour drive out of Aurangabad. They are Buddhist Cave temples, which were carved out of the rock face in the 1st-2nd and 5th-6th centuries. They are beautifully preserved. The caves are decorated with carvings, including large statues of Buddha, as well as colourful and detailed wall paintings. The valley where the caves are situated is lovely and so serene. This was a welcome break after hectic Mumbai!

Wed 3rd August - On this day we visited Daulatabad Fort and the Ellora Caves, which are both a drive out of Aurangabad. We really only stoed off at Daulatabad because it was on the way to Ellora, but it turned out to be magnificent. It's a ruined 15th century fort, which has lots of interesting buildings and temples, and is on a huge steep hill (which we made it to the top of, just!) The views from the hill of the surrounding countryside were stunning. We continued on to the Ellora Caves, which are a collection of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cave temples. The carvings here were even more elaborate than at Ajanta, and the sheer scale of some of the temples was amazing! Overnight train to Mumbai.

Thu 4th August - Arrived in Mumbai early and had a bit of a chill-out day. We had our first taste of street-food, ordering what other people seemed to be having, which turned out to be a deep fried sandwich! We also saw a cheesy Bollywood action/comedy film called Singham.

Fri 5th August - Caught the suburban line to explore the Mahalaxmi area of Mumbai. We saw the Siji Ali Mosque, which is out to sea and only accessible at low tide by a causeway. We also visited the huge busy Mahalaxmi Temple, where worshipers were quickly and efficiently bustled through the temple and past the icons! In the evening, we went to a free Indian classical music concert at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, which included recitals by a female vocalist and a man virtuosically playing bowls of water!
We had an overnight train to Ahmedabad, which went from a station in the north of Mumbai so we attempted to get there by the Mumbai subrban trains. But it was about 10pm, when the last trains were going and the stop we got off at was packed - we had to be pushed off the train into the wall of people on the platform pushing towards us! A bit scary!

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