Week 1: Photos pt.3

Mysterious shrine on a side street near our hotel in Colaba, Mumbai

Cock on the street near the High Courts

View of Taj Hotel and Gateway to India from ferry

beautiful butterfly at Elephanta

Gorgeous view of river from Elephanta caves

Me riding a log that looks like a dead cow at Elephanta

Ryan looking out to the river from the top of Elephanta Island

Week 1: PHOTOOOS pt. 2

Goat at Elephanta Island

Stone lion at Elephanta Island

Tiny hole in the wall at the Elephanta caves. I like holes.

Totally serene stone sculpture of Shiva at Elephanta caves

Statue of Shiva at Elephanta caves

Monkeys at Elephanta. Ryan got attacked by one while opening a bag of chips

Elephanta Island, and me.

Week 1: PHOTOOOOS

Ryan outside the famous Taj hotel, most luxurious in Mumbai. The next pic is the Gateway to India, a landmark where ferries depart for Elephanta Island.

Myself at the Oval Maidan, the quad where people play cricket right beside the High Court.

The tower at the University of Mumbai, right next to the high court.

Below is a bicycle tied to a great tree with crazy roots, and on the right are the High Courts with ppl playing cricket outside.

This pic with the truck just shows how wild dogs are everywhere, like the one sleeping under the tires here. The other pic is Ryan beside that tree, we liked it.

Here is our second hotel room in that dodgy place, the Hotel Singhs International. It was livable but as you can see, plywood doors gave it an ambiance I've rarely experienced.

Week 1 pt.2: The Eye of the Storm

Okay so my last entry was written right after my first day in downtown Mumbai, and I don't feel I did the city justice. I am writing again to tell you the good things Ryan and I have seen and experienced here as well.

First of all, Ryan so eloquently stated that when walking through the Oval Maidan (pics to come) where people play cricket outside the Court House, that it felt like the eye of the storm. It is so true. This place is where all people play and relax, in the middle of some of the busiest intersections in the world. You should see this place at rush hour...madness! When we left our hotel this morning to taxi it to our new downtown comfy place, we were literally surrounded from bumper to bumper by men, women, children, oxen, cows, dogs, you name it. We saw some extreme poverty contrasted against some absolutely stunning buildings.

We have been treated very well here and today we met a lovely woman when waiting to buy a train ticket to Goa for Sunday. We were given fresh Indian Chai too...yummm. Even on the train, which is insane, men moved out of the way for me to get a more prime spot. A side note: the trains here are packed like crazy. People literally jump on and off the train as it moves so they can beat the crowd. Ryan nearly lost an arm but I managed to squirm through very well.

I am amazed at how quickly Ryan and I have adapted to the city. We are getting quite adept at dodging cars and other vehicles, avoiding eye contact with market people, and turning away begging children. This makes me sad. It is hard to refuse a 6 year old girl begging for milk for her little sister, for 3 blocks. But you have to draw a line somewhere, and the begging is constant. Tragic. But on the bright side, I have decided to donate some of the extra clothing I brought with me to a children's charity in Goa. This will help people in need, and also clear some space for new clothes Ill buy.

Today we went to the beautiful Elephanta Island to see the cave sculptures of Shiva. We are staying in Mumbai a few more days so we plan to go see some movies (one called Gafla seems good), go see hundreds of people wash clothes at the laundry place, go to a paperie, and see the National Gallery of Modern Art. Ill try to post as often as possible so feel free to ignore some posts. I will be posting pics as soon as we get to a better net cafe.

Until next time, play safe!

Week 1: Wake Up Call

Hello.
Well, when the books said that India would overwhelm the senses there was no way for me to imagine how crazy it would be here. The first day was a wake up call most like a cold glass of water to the face.

So the flight from London to Mumbai went rather smoothly, and felt extremely fast. Ryan and I both had very little sleep over a period of a day and a half so arriving in Mumbai at midnight was a little rough. We walked right through customs and out into the warm, welcoming 30-degree heat of the night. At the time it was about the only good thing I was able to pick out from all the chaos. I had to use the loo when I got off the plane, and so began my first encounter with a squat toilet and beggars. The squat toilet looks much like they squeezed a regular porcelain toilet into a hole in the ground. There are footpads to stabilize yourself (I did quite well actually). There is also a tap and bucket for washing your hands...Here's the interesting part, in reality you are supposed to use your left hand to clean yourself after using the facilities and your right hand is reserved for things like eating and shaking hands. I chose to use toilet paper as this is one custom I refuse to take part in. But I know not to touch anyone's left hand now....

Okay so upon exiting the airport we soon realized that among the hundreds of people waiting to pick people up, my name was nowhere to be found. I accidentally booked the hotel for the 10th (because we were arriving at midnight on the 10th) but I should have booked it for the 9th. I later found out I shouldn't have booked that hotel at all, but Ill get to that soon. So we finally got a ride to the hotel after being hassled by greedy taxi drivers for an hour, at about 2 am. The drive was insane, even at midnight. We drove through slums, with wild dogs everywhere, and men sleeping in their streetside shops overnight.

Our hotel (Hotel Singhs Int'l) turned out to be in the north end of Mumbai, about 1 hour away from where smart tourists stay (which is Colaba, in the south). We were in a hotel that is has plywood doors and is literally falling apart. It is also right beside the train station, which makes it a challenge to sleep at night, even with earplugs. Luckily I brought sheets and a pillowcase, because everything about this place was dodgy. Let's just say it was a sleepless night for both Ryan and I, and I don't think the Malaria pills helped as I had some pretty ferocious dreams.

Daylight brought some solace and our stomachs stopped churning. We were switched to a nicer room (nice being relative, it still sucked but was livable) and we literally spent the entire day and night in bed sleeping, reading about Mumbai, and we ordered in room service (totaling about 5$ CAD for both of us). I must say, the food was pretty great, though I could have gone a whole day without eating I was so lazy. We wanted to catch up on sleep, refresh ourselves for our big day out in Mumbai (and we were both a little frightened to leave the hotel).

Today we got up later than we wanted to, but again, we needed sleep. Exiting the hotel was insane. People everywhere, garbage everywhere, and babies with (don't read this if you have a weak stomach) skin falling off and vomit all over their faces, practically abandoned among thousands of commuters waiting for a train. On the plus side, we took a train downtown from right next to the hotel and we haven't gotten lost yet. We have seen some beautiful things such as a cricket match outside the Courthouse which is stunning with enormous palm trees lining the maidan (quad), and the University of Mumbai. We had shopped a little, and I am getting ideas for gifts. I bought a notepad and Ryan bought a pillowcase. We will be shopping for a better and more central hotel today as well. I thought I'd stop in to a net cafe to let everyone know I am alive and well, and aside from that extremely overwhelming start, things are looking up and we're really beginning to enjoy ourselves. Ryan is great company and we are beginning to realize we are more similar than we thought.

Alright, thank you for sticking with me til the end. I will try to spice up my blogs more and add pics but we didn't have the cord with us today. I love you all and can't wait to tell you more...we're heading to Goa in a couple days, aahhhh beaches!

Leanne

Londontown

G'day! Cheerio!
I am in London with Ryan and my flight was almost seamless. Though some old lady kept kneeing me in the back (which I don't deserve cause I am pretty much the best passenger to fly with) I watched the Lakehouse, ate good food, and got a tiny bit of rest, and a few glasses of red wine to help me with that. I started my malaria drugs tonight duh duh duhhhhhhh!

Ryan was here to greet me at the airport. And good thing I was able to find a place to get change since apparently my bills were outdated ha haha.

So we're on to the next bit and Ill write more once I get some sleep in Mumbai.
Love you all,
Lego.