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We made it to Matheran. We took a train to Neral; convinced Dean to go 1st class - an extra pound for some sponge on your seat and a rickety old fan that probably used to work. Once in Neral we took a cab to Matheran. Cabs only go up to a certain point in Matheran as the area is protected, meaning we had to make the last 2 miles on foot. As we set off Dean became surrounded by local men offering to carry our bags. Nobody bothered to approach me - they wrongly assumed that Dean was the sole breadwinner and carrying all 'our' money. Ha ha (evil laugh). So we paid two men 50 Rupees each (about 50p) to carry our bags for the two mile hike. And then the rain came. England style. Luckily, we managed to buy some waterproofs (large carrier bags with holes cut out for head and arms.) The journey was pretty cool; we passed monkeys and frogs and Dean became very excited when we saw local ladies carrying water on their heads. Reminded him of a scene from the Jungle Book or something.
Our guesthouse is very grand, but as for Matheran I have no idea because there has been heavy rain and storms ever since we arrived, forcing me to make friends with the gameboy. Dean thinks we are going for a walk in a minute. He is wrong. I don't do storms. Not after being hit by lightning on the Great Wall of China.
There are lots of monkeys round here - the locals advised us to keep our door locked at all times because they break in and steal your stuff! Apparently, the other guests were woken yesterday by two opposing tribes of over 100 monkeys, doing battle in the courtyard. Welcome to India!
Claire x
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