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We got to Mumbai at 7am, and got a tuk-tuk to the hostel (we were excited as the directions specified it was near McDonalds and Mahesh Lunch Home; somewhere recommended in the Lonely Planet) but we had to get driven to the dorm as it was in a different place.
We tried to find a nearby café for breakfast, but we gambled a bit by having a masala dosa and coffee from a street stall-we're still ok at time of writing.
Since we weren't supposed to check in until 12, we felt bad hogging the shower before everyone else in the hostel had had theirs, so we sat and festered in our 2 day old bus journey filth for a while. When we had finally cleansed ourselves, we set off to get the train into the city centre. We got a bit lost trying to find the tourist information, and asked some Russians if they knew. They were a bit weird and said we were cheating by wanting map despite the fact that they had one, then laughed at every country we said we were visiting and then took a random photo of us.
After discovering the location of the tourist information and the fact it isn't open on Sundays, we walked to Chowpatty beach to find somewhere to eat, since we didn't know anywhere else to go. Couldn't find the Lonely Planet recommended Gelato Italiono who sell custard apple sorbetto, so we finished off our Mexican meal with Choco almond kulfi at New Kulfi Centre. They were selling the kulfi to locals on leaves but thankfully gave us plates to eat ours off and we ate it on benches round the back of their stall. One of the things recommended to do is buy dhelpuri on Chowpatty beach so I decided to be a pig, and while we were there have a plate, but it was really strange (like rice krispies, with cracked crisp bread, tomato, onion and chickpea flour crisps) and too spicy.
When we got off at the train station we had a look around the night market and both brought a pair of flip-flops (Alice's had broken whilst she was in a grotty toilet- convenient timing- and I felt a bit frumpy just wearing my trekking sandals).
The tuk-tuks all use a funny rate system, so our driver was clearly hoodwinking us when he first told us Rs 62, then 100, then 500! So we got out and refused to pay any more than 62, and got a bit scared he might follow us or get us arrested or something. Everything looked different in the dark so we had to get someone to show us back to our hostel.
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