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Right- the much awaited blog is finally happening. Our motivation: fear of being forgotten. We're in Australia right now (08/01/08) but will recall the past two months over the next few blog entries. We ll also eventually put up photos to illustrate the events detailed below (which will probably mean nothing to you without them...).
Bombay 06/11/07-12/11/07
06/11/07-We arrived in Bombay late at night both excited and tired. Within an hour or so of landing we had already reached the pre-booked (thanks kavi) and long awaited Hotel Samrat (situated in the Khar West District of Bombay). All was hunkydory until I realised my bag intended to last for 8 months had broken after 1 day.
07/11/07-The next day we hoped to ease slowly into the Bombay way of life but the city hit us pretty full on. The place is so hectic; the streets are filled with market vendors selling tat, underfed cows and rickshaw/taxi drivers who seem completely oblivious to oncoming traffic. It gives the place a certain charm but became a nuisance towards the end of our stay. We headed to Lower Parrell to get essentials (where a very proud Kavi flexed his Gujurati skills). Seminal moment: Naomi said her first Hindi words ("how do i speak Indian?") ordering a 'Garam Masala Chai'.That night we headed to Poison Club in Bhandra where Kavi and I were ignored, whilst the whitie was accosted by girls proclaiming their love for her.
08/11/07-The following afternoon was spent at my uncle's house, from where we headed off to Juhu Beach, which resembles a traditional beach only in the fact that there is sand. Its cluttered with rubbish, stray dogs and leashed monkeys expected to perform tricks for tourists by their owners. That night I got pooed on by a crow (the first poo of many).
9/11/07 DIWALI!! the day of Sam The Man (and his epic romance with Kavi)
We moved to the 'Fort' area of town- more central than our old hotel in Khar West. Our new accommodation apparently used to be a brothel. In Fort and the neighbouring Colaba, the colonial influence was more apparent than in Khar West- portrayed in much of the architecture, notably the central train station. There was also a s***load of crows- cue more poo on my head.
In the afternoon we headed off to Elephanta, a little island about an hours ferry ride from Bombay. The island has caves in which images and statues of the Lord Siva were carved thousands of yrs ago. Here, there was another opportunity to flex the lingo to get a discounted, local entrance price. The caves were ok but not up to expectations. Kavi made the most of the day by striking up a friendship with our tour guide Sam and even got us an invite to his humble abode. There we were treated to and an hour presentation of a series of dubious modelshots of Sexy Sam himself, photos of his cousins- with whom he had a very confused relationship- "I want to marry him but I do not like it, he is too clever" *points to female cousin*, and snaps of a middle aged American benefactor who clearly had a hidden agenda. For whatever reason, Kavi decided it would be a good idea to exchange numbers with Sam..and ended up ignoring his calls for 2 whole weeks. That evening we went back to my uncle's house for a traditional Diwali celebration.
During our last few days in Bombay we grew tired of roughing it and spent most of our days frequenting the Lobby (and toilets- Kavi's oh so regular bowel movements confined us to a 100 metre radius of them, see photos for further evidence) of the 5* Taj hotel- unfortunately we were too poor to stay there. Loads more stuff happened but the internet cafe is about to close and I'm getting tired of typing. The next chapter is Goa. Hope you enjoyed the story so far- better late than never! Love Shamal, Kavi & Bambi (in spirit- gone but not forgotten)
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