Blogs from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Asia - page 94

Well, today is my last day in India, at least for this trip. I have a taxi lined-up to take me to the airport at 9:30 PM. Hopefully, this taxi trip will not have the excitement that the one had for my trip from Agra to the train station. Today, I spent most of the day at the bazaars. I especially liked the Chor Bazaar (Thieves Market). I walked and walked and looked and looked. I even bought a few things. These items included a cheap bag so I can repack my all my “stuff” and divide its weight among two bags for the airline. Actually, I was thinking today was working out just as I planned when I decided to have dinner at a Chinese restaurant, Chopsticks, recommended by my guidebook. It showed up relatively ... read more

After taking a bus from Diu to Ahmedabad we were assuming to have train tickets waiting for us. Wrong again. We had booked the tickets through an agency and although there were seats available in the train at the time of booking it had taken the agency a couple of days before actually retrieving the tickets for us. So the tickets we had were on the waiting list numbers 41 and 42 and we had no chance on getting seats on the train. We cancelled the train tickets and booked a night bus to Mumbai. For us it seems unacceptable that the agencies, who are there to book the tickets, can fail to do it properly. "If you want something done, do it yourself." When approaching Mumbai we saw how big a city it is. Slums ... read more

Geo: 19.048, 73.0828So, a month has passed since we left home and we are settling into some semblance of a routine. Life here is not a vacation, but we will get to those white sand beaches, with idyllic palm trees and sparkling blue waters, and when we do we will be sure to tell you all about it.Even though we walk the same path each day and see the same sights now, the differences from what we experience at home still make an impact. I'm not sure we will ever become used to the goings on here, like one becomes used to things at home and stops seeing things after a while. For example, we have decided that Mumbai is the land of discarded shoes. You can be walking down the road and there is a ... read more

One of the amazing things of India is how cultures and stereotypes seem to crash together, clashing and intertwining all at once. In the mornings as I go on my way to work, I'm always taken by the morning market I pass. It's not a market in the way that Safeway or Shaws is so much as it's a busy road. The smell of fresh green chilis and coriander prickle my nose as I pass amidst the large trucks, waving bicycles with ringing bells, black cabs with yellow tops and red buses. Flocks of people with impossibly large bundles resting on their heads walk between the trucks, darting between the moving vehicles that cover the street, all honking their horns. Still more people squat on the groung haggling over a particularly fresh looking bundle of curry ... read more

Well, the good news is we are still well and having a good time. Classic Claire and Marc we got the wrong day to catch our coach to Bombay from Goa so we got a bonus day at Benaulim beach which turned out to be fantastic. Also it meant we got more Goan bus riding - an ace experience. So now we are in Bomaby, finding it a lot easier than before....seasoned travellers! well trying to be. A 37 hr train ride to calcutta awaits us now, but will be a welcome break from the sunshine for those of us who get toasted in the shade! All in all unforgetable experiences all round. Bring it on!... read more