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Published: November 13th 2011
In approximately 12 hours I'll be heading home. I arrived in Mumbai yesterday morning by deluxe sleeper bus from Udaipur. That was something else, again! I left Udaipur and decided to spring for the deluxe bus, since I thought the other one was so grungy. Turns out the deluxe bus is really no more deluxe than the other one, yet it costs $10 more, for a total of $40 for a 13 hr trip. However, the deluxe bus didn't have the aluminum door about which I made snide comments before, now all I had was a curtain and the driver who was trying to qualify for the "Grand Prix of Monaco". I was sure that I would fall out of my upper berth, so I used the scarf I had and tied myself to the bed. Then I worried all night long about how my face would be firmly planted on the pavement should we get in a wreck. Even with Valium, I didn't sleep much as I was tossed around on my bed. Miraculously enough, we made it to Mumbai.
Mumbai is shit, even worse than I expected. It's dirty and congested. I walked around quite a bit, but it was all very run down. My guest house is pretty shabby. I had intended to stay at a nicer place and spring for $40/night cost, but I tried to call them for a reservation and wasn't able to get through, so I followed some other travelers' advice and went to the India Guest House, for $10/night without a private bathroom. The good part is that I can afford to pay for another night and keep the room until I leave at 11pm tonight for the airport.
So now that it's almost over, I've been mulling over all the things I've seen.
I've seen some heart wrenching things as far as poverty is concerned. It was difficult to process, especially the fact that I was in no position to affect things. There are a lot of people that come to India to donated their time and energy to non-profit organizations. I think I would have to check into that for my next trip to India. The cause I would have to sign up for is some type of animal welfare. It seems that the dogs have the hardest life here, since they don't belong to anyone and they aren't protected my law or spiritual decree. One dog's fur was so encrusted with dirt and bugs, that I had to use a rock to scratch his back. Boy was he digging that! I just wanted to round them all up and give them a bath and tend to their sores.
The further north I went, the more poverty was evident all around. At the Camel Fair, there were 5 people who lost their legs and pushed themselves around on a small slab of wood with wheels attached to it. Then there are a lot of mothers with grime covered kids begging. It was hard to let it be.
As for all the wonderful things I experienced,
I couldn't have planned a better trip for myself than the route that I traveled. Palolem and Pushkar were definitely the highlights of my trip. Palolem for it's beautiful laid back beach scene and Pushkar for it's over the top celebration.
Will I come back to India? If an opportunity should present itself, you bet!
Anyway, thanks for sharing the journey with me and feel free to contact me with questions, should you find yourself planning such a trip. I have to tell you, there's nothing like traveling to make you feel alive.
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Stef
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Have à good trip home and if you need anything in Amsterdam, you have our phone number. We live only 15 min away from the airport!