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Gatwick - Heathrow - Mumbai - Goa .
Met shellys sister and her boyfriend for dinner in London. They both know India well and pretty much wrote our travel itinerary for the first few weeks. We ended up each spending 20 quid on a burger. This became a benchmark against which our meals in India would be compared. At premiere inn we had a beautiful room, these 2 words would not be used together anytime soon. shelly managed to spill hair dye all over hotel room floor and despite scrubbing it all morning with a toothbrush, it looked like someone had mistaken the carpet for the toilet. Flight over on BA was excellent, highlight was watching Shelly open a bottle of water and somehow spill it all over herself and then knocking her full white wine glass over her lap. 3 spillages in 10 hours.
The heat was the first thing we noticed in Mumbai. Around 30 degs compared to about 8 when we left London. The 45 minute taxi ride to our hotel in Fort was a massive eye opener. We drove through the main slum and got a glimpse of the poverty that inflicts many of the Indian population. We would later return and visit the slum. Driving in India is best done with your eyes closed and some rosary beeds, unless of course you're the one driving.
INDIA HIGHWAY CODE
> Road Traffic Signs
- no such thing
> Pedestrians
- You have no priority
- Get out of vehicles way
- Don't look before crossing road, they will beep to tell you they're there
- If you get run over and are likely to die, make sure it doesn't inconvenience cars or bikes MEN ONLY - spit constantly, never smile, if you see non Indian women stare at them and don't be subtle about it
> Motorbikes
- If you see a pedestrian or car or bike then hoot your horn
- If you're not hooting your horn, then hoot it
- If in any doubt hoot horn
> Cars
-You have priority over everything If they don't stop and let you pass, hoot horn and run them over
- Ignore any green crossing lights for pedestrians
- If driving through area with many people walking on road, continue at normal speed
Our Mumbai hotel was very basic. Having had probably 2 hrs sleep tops, we walked to The Gateway to India and experienced midday heat and the very pro-active salesman techniques used by locals (ie yes = sale, no = follow me and keep trying, I can be persuaded.) Spent that day and the next wandering around Mumbai soaking up the sun and the atmosphere, whilst trying not to get run over. At the hotel we spent hours sat in the hallway, as it was the only place to get on wireless. We were severely jetlagged and totally disorientated the first couple of days, so perhaps we didn't see Mumbai in the best light. However, the food more than compensated for this. It scored a perfect 10 on the 3 essential criteria (ie quantity quality and price). Ate the best curries I have ever eaten, best one so far being a chicken rara where we had 2 waiters assigned to our table and no-one elses'. This meal for 2 and with beers including our own 2 waiters cost less than half a burger. Dress etiquette was something we hadn't read up on. Women are frowned upon if they expose their knees and shoulders. Unfortunately, not doing tthis is extremely uncomfortable with the insane heat. We therefore spent many hours trying to find Shelly some non offensive clothes.
By far the highlight of Mumbai was doing a guided tour of the biggest slum in Asia called Dharavi. Was featured in Slumdog Millionaire. The proceeds from the tour paid for community programs for the locals, so there was no hostility or ill feeling towards us from the habitants. The slum is very self sufficient and is rresponsible for all the plastic recycling in Mumbai. Everyone we saw was working hard in the most hideous conditions. Many would sleep on the cramped factory floor after working a long dire shift. The richer ones could afford to rent a room (8 ft by 8 ft) where they would eat and sleep with their partner and 4 kids. These hard working people would dream of having the living conditions a prisoner in the UK would receive. It also gave an idea of the population density in the poorest parts ie Dharavi is 1.75 square km with over a million population. We got to experience the local trains to the slum, having to go in seperate single sex carriages.
Our final day involved lots of walking everywhere and was very spontaneous, we tried to book a night train to goa for the next day, then found there was nothing free for the next 2 days. We were quite keen to get to the beach in goa , our next stop, so despite being advised against these by lonely planet and every other online travel forum, we opted at the last minute for a sleeper bus.
- comments
Martin RW Love your first insite!
Laura Awesome - sounds amazing and love the highway code!