So its Sunday night at about 7:45 in lovely MUMBAI and my adventurous weekend is at its most mellow point for the next couple of hours at least. I had the opportunity of getting well acquainted with Mumbai these past couple of days. Yesterday I head out to explore Elephant Island. It is an island off the coast of South Mumbai and takes about an hour to get there in a ferry ride. Sounds pleasant??? Well lets just say I sat very close to the edge of the boat so I could barf over it if I needed to. This boat was swaying all over the place, and it didn't help to sit in there for a half hour before beginning the trip. The water was the diritest water I have EVER seen, it was dark BROWN. People on the boat just added to dirtiness by through shit overboard ( wrappers, food, cigs... etc). So the trip really took an hour and felt like forever. We passed the navy ships and I accidentally took pics and was told to stop or I would get fined ( great.... already getting into trouble). Upon approaching this lovely island we paid twice as much as we should have for a guide book and hired a village boy to guide us through the island - neither of which helped. The island was basically a shrine for God Shiva and in the old days was elaborately designed with statues and carvings. It was at one time used for british target practice and now only the remains exist. This island was quite a hike but definitely a wonderful experience. Most importantly I got to see tons of MONKEEEEYS!!!! There were so cute picking out lice from one another. ( pictures will come soon).
I had a taste of the states when I walked in to the Taj Hotel- all I have to say is thank god for AC!!! We were being true fobs when we walked in there to use the restroom. They had REAL toilets and a lady who works in the restroom . It was great!!! The pool was amazing and just about everyone there was a foreigner. Afterwards we walked to a store called Westside - Ladies it is heaven !!! Everything we would want for the cost of about NOTHING!!!! I controlled myself actually its more like pacing myself for the next few months.
The fun doesn't end here ... we caught a train back to our flat and were planning on eating and getting ready within an hour so I could finally experience Mumbai nightlife. Well it didn't quite happen according to plan. We get to our flat and there is NO running water... NONE.... NADA!!! We are sweaty, sticky, and stinky and there is no water. Half of us ran downstairs to the "market" and bought bada bada bisleri ( gallons of water) to take a bath with, the rest of us stole water from the neighbors and were extremely conservative. Amazing how little water we really need to clean ourselves.
There's more.... so we overcome the cleansing issue and are on our way to Athena a popular nightclub in South Mumbai. This place usually costs about 500 rupees a person and includes 2 drinks, last night there was no line and no cover... we walk in and come to find out there is also NO DRINKS!!! Yup.... NONE.... NADA!!!! WHY??? It was Ghandi's b-day yesterday and out of respect the whole city is dry meaning no alcohol is served at all. My fellow party goers you must understand how we felt and looked when we found out. So basically we left, jumped in a cabby drove around to 3 other places which were either closed or also dry and then ended up back at Athena where we finally were able to get one drink at 1am and then finally were getting into it when the lights turned on , the music stopped, and the dj said "thank you all for coming" thats it !!! We left, very irritated, and on a mission to find somewhere to go so we jumped in a cab again went ALL the way across town to a club which had way to many weirdo guys in line and later we came to find out it was because there are a bunch of hookers there. So needless to say, despite the fact we wanted to succeed in our mission, there was no where left to go. We jumped back in a cab and ended up paying this cabby the fare of his life and went to bed at 2:30 am!!!
FUN FUN FUN!!!
So today I got a dose of living in India when I went to visit my dad's good friend from years ago. I had my first on a motorbike which scared the shit out of me because people in India do NOT know how to drive. Im scared in a taxi, me on a bike was just not pretty!!! I came downstairs to meet my ride and it was pooring so I go up to get a jacket and come back down 2 minutes later and its completely dry- craziness. I busted out all the Hindi I knew at their house and learned a little bit of gujrati in the process ( more to mix and match with). I played little twins who were 3 years old and absolutely fascinated by my digital camera and had me take a million pics of them- they were adorable. And, I ate home made pizza - yeah they have that here - it was yummy. It was amazing to see how a family makes use of every little space in their house... the one thing about India is they don't waste ANYTHING!!!
So thats my little recap - so far this is has been a very eye-opening experience and its been fun. I don't feel like I'm in a different country yet... ask me when I get back.
I think I am going to chill somewhere or as the locals say freak out tonight !!!
Peace out yaar
