Continent hopping

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Before touching down in charismatic India we had a brief stopover in London. Clearing customs after some initial doubt that they might chain us to the terminal, we brought our Oyster cards back to life and got the tube to South Kensington. We had little trouble in locating a pub to bunker down in and then hung out with Marian, George, Jane, Jatinder (all old work people) and Schillo from back home. A few pints later and it was time to head back to Heathrow – great to catch up. The short sojourn only encouraged Zoe’s desire to move back to London!

Eight or so hours later and we hit the tarmac in India. Our bags eventually arrived and we were greeted outside by Nerida – Zoe’s sister. It was great to see her – Zoe had been looking forward to her sibling reunion for months so very glad to see it come to fruition. Mumbai was just as we had remembered it – chaotic, traffic jammed, dirty, busy but somehow vibrant and intriguing. Nez got us back to her place and we almost instantaneously filled her cool little apartment with our big backpacks. We met Nez’s boyfriend Khaliq later that day and then headed out for a bite to eat and a bit of a wander. Knackered, an early mark for bed was heeded.

We braved Mumbai’s trains the next day – albeit with Nerida’s trusty guidance. It wasn’t that bad though. It was a Saturday after all. We ventured over to Nerida’s uni and watched some presentations that were going on as part of her course. Nez’s presentation on Australian media, censorship and Leunig was without question the best! Khaliq joined us for lunch, we then jumped back on the train and had a nap once back at the flat. Somewhat rested (jetlag still hanging about), we got out to the airport to meet Ade and Jaz. We got our perch and hung about for a good hour or so with no show from the impending arrivals. We were hoping they weren’t still in China. A phone call from Ade soon after clarified the delay – their bags did not come with them. After filling out the requisite paperwork they emerged battle weary soon after. A quick catch up was had and then we jumped in separate cabs to get to our temporary places of residence.

The following day we were back out at the airport around lunch time to meet my cousin Nic. Nic had no such dramas with her baggage and we were soon braving the streets and on our way back to Bandra West. Some lunch was called for and we found a place nearby with good biryani and dosa. Ade and Jaz came over later that afternoon and afterwards Nez took us to a place for dinner. Here the trouble began. Dinner was great – kebabs, assorted curries, naan, etc. Dessert was had by a few also from this shop choc-a-bloc with sweets and apparently went down well. But the queasiness soon emerged. Trying to ignore it, I went to bed but soon woke up in a sweat. Zoe duly got me a bucket and I somehow managed to crawl to the toilet. I’ll spare you the rest of the details, only to say that both ends were in operation throughout the night. Hello Mumbai belly! The night wasn’t all bad though. After dinner Ade asked me to be his best man for his wedding in July – very honoured and looking forward to it!

Thoroughly exhausted the next day, the morning induced Nez to join the club. It seemingly wasn’t just me who got what we think was some undercooked chicken. The rest were fine although Zoe had a bit of an upset stomach. We got the cab into town to meet Ade and Jaz – I only just made it without having to pull up sticks and improvise. After meeting them we confirmed our train tickets for our upcoming journeys. After some lovely customer service from a delightful Indian woman (which included bashing the computer and dismissively asserting we had no reservation) our tickets were located and confirmed. Some tea and a quick bite later, Zoe, Nez and I said goodbye to the others as we were fading. The rest of the day, for me anyway, pretty much consisted of sleep. The night before had taken its toll.

The following day I was feeling much better, albeit a little tender still in the stomach. Zoe, Nic and I jumped in a taxi, made our way to Ade and Jaz and then all of us walked along Marine Drive to Chowpatty Beach. After a stroll along the sand we went and had a drink then kept wandering around the streets. We then got cabs over to Dhobi Ghats (where pretty much all of Mumbai’s laundry gets done) and checked out the pounding of textiles. Hard work. Lunch was had soon after and then it was in a cab again to Crawford Market. More wandering of the streets ensued and then we finally found our way to the Oval Maidan. We plonked ourselves here for a while and watched some local cricket, with the High Court and University of Mumbai as our backdrop. In search of a refreshing ale, we then ambled to Colaba and found a rooftop restaurant that Nez and Khaliq had recommended. And it was a good call. We had a couple of beers and some food looking out over the harbour (at least as far as the haze would permit) and up to the Gateway of India. A good way to pass a couple of hours. Nic, Zoe and I were back at Nez’s after that for some beauty sleep.

The following morning was lazy. Nic and I went in search of coffee but only could find the milkiest, sugariest coffee imaginable. I got down about two sips. We then finished off our packing as were getting the train to Udaipur later in the afternoon. Ade and Jaz turned up and we grabbed some lunch before getting taxi’s to the station. We got there in one piece thankfully – I thought our taxi driver was going to hit a car, kill a passenger (was very close to doing so) or do something crazy – he was a mad man! We found our carriage pretty easily and bunkered down for the journey. A guy from a group of rail guards going on a training course who was sitting nearby started chatting to us. I chatted with him a bit and he seemed friendly enough. He gave me a funny looking hat. He then got closer and the alcohol coming from his breath gave him away. True to form, he started getting more and more passionate/aggressive in asserting the plight of a train guard. At one point he was bringing his hand down on my leg, gradually getting more forceful as he asserted his point. He went too far (he was drunk remember) and whacked me a little too hard. He got the cold shoulder and his mates reined him in. We weren’t really bothered by him after that and thankfully didn’t have to sample the homemade sweets that he was trying to peddle to us earlier. The night wasn’t exactly restful – the group of guards in conjunction with a couple of big families with little kids made it difficult to sleep. Zoe and I seemingly got the most.

Nevertheless we awoke to daylight and were in Udaipur soon after. We weren’t harassed by too many touts surprisingly and jumped in a rickshaw to our hotel. We were all pretty stoked with our rooms – great views over the lake, with balconies and in good shape. The dining area was great aswell – big lounges/cushions facing over the lake. We had breakfast here before checking in. Udaipur even by this point was living up to its reputation as India’s most romantic and beautiful city. Ade and Jaz were nearly, but not quite, tempted to elope and bypass the formalities in July. Ready to explore, we crossed the little bridge near our hotel over to Lal Ghat and went up to the City Palace. We wandered through its maze like rooms and through the museum exhibits for a couple of hours. Interesting place with some great views. Hunger soon beckoned but it wasn’t satisfied – the place we went to by the lake was pretty ordinary for all of us. We made our way back to the hotel and I chatted to mum and dad on skype, catching up with all of the things going on back home. Ade and I then went in search of beer and didn’t have to go far. The first shop we went into the guy told us he could sell us some but it was obviously not legit to do so. He made a call and a couple of minutes later a kid came with a covert delivery of four Kingfishers. Ask and ye shall receive. They went down well up in our room over a game of uno. We should’ve stopped after the first game because then I would still be the ultimate Udaipur uno champion. Dinner was had at our hotel’s rooftop restaurant – the food not fantastic but the view and company once again sublime.

The lake beckoned us (although not the green sludginess of it) the following day. After brekky we wandered through the streets on the other side of the lake and eventually found the launching pad for the boat trips. Surprisingly there were fish living in it – don’t think I’d be eating them. The boat puttered along and we saw some of the sights from the water – we then got dropped off at Jagmandir Island. It costs $500 a night to get a room at the hotel on this island so we avoided the check in area. But we took in the views and hung about here for a little bit with the chipmunks until another boat came to whisk us away. A place to have lunch was found and it turned out to be very ordinary – no sickness from this cuisine but just no flavour. Afterwards, the girls went shopping and the boys returned for beer and lounging about. A couple of hours later, we headed to the nearby Ambrai for dinner and great views. The food was great. Back at the hotel it was time to say goodbye to Ade and Jaz who were set to head off to do a whirlwind one week trip around Delhi, Agra, etc early in the morning. See you in Guangzhou guys!

Just the three of us now and our day consisted of not much. We went for a little walk across the way and scouted out a cooking class for the following day. That done and dusted we went for a wander up to Jagdish Temple given we were in the area. Avoiding the attempts to procure money from us, we had a brief look around and made our way out. After a coffee and cake break, a substantial part of the rest of the day consisted of lounging. Come late afternoon we summonsed the motivation to move and negotiated a trip up to the Monsoon Palace, high above Udaipur city with supposedly great sunset views. After our auto to the gates, we discovered that to get up the top, large amounts of Rs would need to be handed over – this far we shelled out. The view was worth it thankfully and the sunset was not too bad either. On the return trip we saw a big elephant being walked around the streets! Craving some non-Indian food, we managed to scout out an Italian place for dinner. I shouldn’t have got the Indian red wine – pretty ordinary.

The troubles again commenced – but not for me this time! Twas Zoe who was in the firing line this time. Udaipur belly had arrived! Read above with my dramas in Mumbai and insert Zoe’s name. Not feeling well the next morning after being up and down all night, Zoe firmly camped herself in bed for the day. I decided to stick around to make sure she was ok and Nic went and did the cooking class. I got in some chatting with the fam, read my book and perfected this relaxing caper. Zoe slept. And slept. Nic returned from the cooking class and said it was great – hopefully she can remember some tricks and whip us all up a storm. Nic and I lounged about for a while and watched a movie while Zoe slept some more. After some dinner, bed beckoned for all.

Our last full day consisted of very little. But Udaipur belly was officially declared the winner as Nic greeted the morning this time having been up on numerous occasions throughout the evening needing to be near the loo. Not too bad a case but still enough to be a pain in the arse - pun intended! So another day of relaxing was had. Zoe was evidently recovering and managed to keep food down - the progress was maintained throughout the day. I went for a walk, got some dosh and decided against buying a bag after some haggling didn't get to the level I was prepared to pay. We took full advantage of the big day beds and napped on and off. Tough. We then had ourselves an Outrageous Fortune session and finished off the series. Dinner transpired but none of us really felt too hungry. Just about to head to bed now - we jump on the bus to Jodhpur tomorrow for the next adventure!

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Photos

Ade kept hitting his head
And Zoe was loving it!!

Group shot
From Jagmandir Island