Mumbai and Goa

Monday 13th December

Long lie-in. The hostel is really sociable and there are always other travellers to hang out with and eat with, but I often prefer to go sightseeing by myself, at my own pace. So at lunchtime I set off for a long walk around Mumbai. From the Gateway of India I headed up Mahatma Ghandi road and turned off to go see the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue which is a bright pastel blue. I had not been in a Synagogue before so after passing the army officers and presenting my passport, I went inside. It was similar to a church but more like a southern America (baptist?) church than an English church. There was an American Jewish couple and  the rabbi(?) and a local woman. The rabbi opened a cabinet and inside was a canisiter inside of which we could see the Torah, which is a handwritten scroll of the Old Testament. A part of the scroll is read out each day until, they told me, the end is reached at the end of the year?

I moved on to the restored St Thomas' cathedral which is the oldest English building in Mumbai; construction began in 1672. There were a few locals praying. Some of the colonial memorials are elaborate but I wasn't sure about the words stating their noble and courageous lives defending Britain against the locals.

Stopped for Dal fry and chapatis for lunch. Walked past the Central Terminus again and under a large underpass and got directions to Crawford Market. Its mostly fruit and veg but there is also a dirty meat market, the chicken shop was sorting through the chickens on the concrete and they had all sorts of animals in cages; cats, dogs, ducks, mice, geese, many types of bird. I guess they are to be sold as pets, but anyway it was quite disturbing.

I walked down to the street market known as Fashion Street and after much searching found a t-shirt to replace my ripped one. The market guys were friendly and laid-back, not pushy, and we had some banter.

So, after 5 hours of walking I arrived back at the hostel. Sat around for a bit then went for dinner with Eimer who is going home tonight after a year on the road. Went to the Sports Bar at 11pm. Played pool and won four games with different doubles partner. Then stuffed up badly. Then my partner, an older Indian guy, was too drunk to even see the ball so it got a bit silly, as the losers have to pay for the game. And the bar wouldn't stay open and let us watch the footy at 1:30am. Boo.


Tuesday 14th December

I had plans for today, but as soon I got up I realised I had Bombay belly again so I couldn't go far. Pretty annoying really as there is still much to see in Mumbai. Had street food with Auusie Tim which was good but a ripoff; not enough food to feed a small child.  We then went to the popular 'Leopold's' restaurant which is featured in Shantaram; mostly tourists and overpriced menu. I asked for chai and they laughed at me and I could only get English tea. Feeling ok.


Wednesday 15th

Food poisoning seems to come down to luck. Tim and I ate the same food last night; i was fine and he spent the night vomiting. Today my mission was to go for a long walk and see as many of the sights as possible. I walked to Churchgate station and got the 4 rupee train to Mahalaxmi station. On the other side of the station are ghats used for laundry so heaps of peope washing clothes in open baths, smacking the clothes into the concrete baths, and lines and lines of washing. Three small girls followed me for a while asking for money. They were mostly playful and kept pinching my back. Then a local shooed them away.

I then walked around the outside of the racecourse looking for the Nehru Centre but missed it and briefly looked around a western style mall with a rolls-royce showroom. Walked back and found the Nehru Centre which was excellent, and free. They had lots of photos and excerpts from inspirational speeches made by Nehru, the first Indian Prime Minister, and by Gandhi. I enjoyed the history lesson. There were also parts on natural history and larger exhbits about significant events in India's fight for independence from the British.

More walking and a banana milkshake. With help from a friendly local, I found Mani Bhavan. This a house on a normal street, where Gandhi would stay when he visited Mumbai. He directed many peaceful campaigns from here. I was struck by a stamp collection on the wall. The stamps were all from 1969 to commemorate 100 years since Gandhi's birth - but they were from many different countries around the world, such as Congo, Chile, Italy. So I was amazed to see that he was so revered in so many disparate countries. I walked around the exhibition which included photos and letters he sent to Hitler, asking him not lead the world into war, and to American presidents and Russian leaders. His wife died in prison and yet still he insisted on passive resistance.

I walked down to Chowpatty Beach. Its fairly clean on the sand but no swimming as the water is toxic. Mumbai is actually an island joined to the mainland by roads. I walked down the side of the peninsula, past a jain temple, and again with local help, found the Banganga Tank which is like a whole other small town on the edge of Mumbai, like a fishing village, or being in the countryside. There is small bathing lake and ghats with houses and temples around the outside. And from there I walked down some narrow side streets towards the sea. I tried to be unobtrusive as I walked right past people homes but they smiled back at me and didnt seem to mind. I went out onto the rocks, dodging the human poo. Would have liked to see the sun set from there but sunset was still an hour or so away. So i walked back to Chowpatty Beach and ate Bhelpuri and then walked back to Colaba, past India Gate and to the hostel. A 9 hour and very rewarding day in Mumbai.

Taxi to train station with Aussie Tim. Chatted to local guy who travelled 40 hours from Kolkata (Calcutta) to Mumbai for an interview and 3 hours later was doing the same trip home. I hope he gets the job.


Thursday 16th December

Pretty good sleep on the train and woke up in the state of Goa. Got off at Thivim , fewer tourists around than I expected. 200 rupees for a taxi so I got 20 rupees local bus to Mapusa and onto the Anjuna. Met Scotish John who brought me to 175 rupee dorm room. Walked down to the beach, past all the stalls selling travellers garb. A row of bars along the beach with quite a few Russian and Inidan tourists. Its a fairly average beach and everyone was lolling around sweating. Not too impressed but on my way back stumbled across The Ashes on a big screen so sat and watched the game with some English guys. Out for dinner and movies (Wall Street2 and Shrek4) with London Pete.


Friday 17th December

Watched some of the cricket while having breakfast. Then walked to Vagator Beach and Chapora Fort, and back. Nice walk and at least I did something before watching the cricket for the rest of the afternoon.

Mostly sat in the cafe, drank Chai Masala and watched the cricket. The food here is excellent and I have drunk heaps of Chai Masala. In the evening, Ian and I had dinner at the beach, a bit expensive. Came back to the movie place.

Saturday 18th December

Hanging out with London Pete and Portuguese Ruth. Watched the cricket and some of the football in the evening but disappointed that the games were off because of the snow in England. Pete is an older guy who has travelled much more than me and has some good stories and we have some good banter.

Sunday 19th December

Missed the end of the cricket, and there's no football. So just hanging round today, will probably move on tomorrow.