The gate way to India
Oh India! After traveling for 48 hrs nonstop (except a 6hr layover in Miami and a 12hr layover in London) Mumbai greeted us with the harsh reality that we were the farthest East we have ever been. The first day we decided just to walk around where our hotel was, which was not the tourist district. Between the mass amounts of people, cars and rickshaws we navigated ourselves frightfully through the streets. Mumbai is the largest city in the world within city limits, and we could tell. We stopped at Crawford market to have a look around, it is a local market where they can by produce, meat, dairy and basic necessities. We were told that we needed a guide to show us around, so we began our tour with a small Indian. The market was filthy, I could’t believe that they were selling food there. When we arrived to the meat section of the market, I refused to go in. From where I was standing I could see raw meat covered in flies being put in a processor. Chell on the other hand wanted to go in and get a closer look. When she returned she looked disgusted and said “it took everything in me not to vomit” Needless to say neither of us have eaten meat while in India. The next few days while we wandered around the city, we could not believe what our eyes were seeing. The poverty is unreal, the slums make our “ghettos” look like high middle class. It is monsoon season, which is no joke, it would downpour for hours and when it finally would dry up the streets reeked of wet trash. India was not turning out to be the charming country to the east.
The third day after all optimism had disappeared, we deiced to go to Elphantana Island, which is an island with carved caves just a ferry boat away from Mumbia. On the ferry we met Ben, a brit that had been traveling India for 6 weeks, and loved it. We were confused "loved it" where had he been? With his trusty lonely planet and an hour ferry ride, he shared all the places he had been and explained that there was much more to India than Mumbia. Once we arrived to the island a local man greeted us and asked if we would like a guide. We agreed to a price and followed him into the caves. He explained to us in broken English that the caves were craved for the God Shiva and were depictions of his life. After the caves our guide invited us to his house in a nearby village for chai. His house was two stories of 4 tiny rooms, he had no furniture expect 2 folding chairs and a coffee table. Though a bit emtpy, it was very clean and I'm sure very nice for Indain standards. He made us delious chai and was very proud to have us in his home. On the ferry ride back we shared stories of travel and our times in India and Ben slowly opened our minds.
The next day we walked around Colba causeway (the tourist district) and realised that we had been hit by a bad case of culture shock. It had crept up on us, and we were to busy hating the city we hadn't even noticed. I'm not saying I love Mumbia but it is worth a short visit. While on the causeway we were approached by an Indian man and asked if we wanted to be extras in a Bollywood flim. The man explained it was a theater scene and they needed "western" looking people to sit in the audience. He also said we would be payed 500 rupees. The rupees sealed the deal and we agreed.
The following morning we met the other westerners at Mickey D's and we were off to our first film set. We had to take a 20 min train ride to the set, and that was our first experience with the Indian Railway. We found some seats (thankfully) and started our ride. They packed the train, I have never seen so many people smashed into a small tin box before, it was absolute madness. When we arrived to our stop the 2 men that were escorting us, had us stand up earlier to make our way to the always open door and when the train stopped literally pushed all 12 of the Westerners out, making sure we all made it out safely before the train started moving again. One thing Chell and I noticed is how pushy the Indians are...in restaurant lines, on the street, on the train, everywhere! We have came to the conclusion that they are not being rude, but when you live in a country with 6 million people you probably have to be a little pushy to get anything done. Once on the set we were whisked into the dressing rooms where all of the tiny dresses fit but a few of us. They searched for bigger dresses and came up with a couple that would fit our "larger frames". After hair and makeup we started our long day of sitting. The first couple hours were exciting to see how much work goes into to making a movie. But the excitement had disappeared after 10 hrs and we were all ready to leave. It took a bit of convincing since they were still filming but they allowed us to leave, and all of the westerners were ready to watch the final game of the World Cup. We found a small bar and the game began, since our new team Brazil was not in it, Chell and I decided to root for Holland, which was influenced by our two new Holland friends. It was a good night even though Holland lost, and we made alot of new friends.
The next day, after sleeping our hangovers off, it was time to leave Mumbia and catch a bus to Goa. We took a night bus and when we woke we were refreshed and excited to be at a beach. Goa is a state on the western coast of India and even thought it was "off season" and alot of the shops were closed up it was still a beach and a great place to relax. We found our hostel on a small beach in Anjuna and settled in. The first night we went to dinner with some fellow Evershine Hostel patrons and already started making new friends. Goa was just what we needed after Mumbia. We spent the days exploring on motorbikes and the evenings drinking honeybee (the local liquer) with our new friends. We didn't want to leave the good company but it was time to make our way Jaipur, so we did our best and tried to talk Max (who still had 4 weeks in India ) to met us there. He said maybe and we said our goodbye's and we were off to the airport.
Jaipur is the "pink city" in India. One of the rulers had the entire city painted pink for the arrival of the English prince. I thought it was more of a "peach city" but maybe it has just faded. Luckily for us the first day we met a tuk tuk driver Ali, normally we are pretty wary the tuk tuk driveer, but Ali seemed pretty trustworthy. He said he would take us around that evening and all the next day for a good price so we agreed. In the evening he showed us some sites and afterwards we met up with his friend Gabriela from South Africa, and her friend Vishel for dinner. They were both really nice and invited us to dinner the next night. The next morning Ali picked us up. He took us to the floating palace and city palace, a tower which we climbed to get a good view, a tomb where the royals were laid to rest and a couple of his "friends" shops. That night we went with Gaberalia, Vishel and Ali to a restaurant/amusement park/ culture center. It was a very interesting place where they had local dance, elephant rides, shops, a hand run ferris wheel, a magician, and a traditional Indian dinner. Vishel was so excited to have brought us there and really proud that we were seeing alot of his culture.
The next day Max had sent us a messaging saying that he was on his way to Jaipur to meet us! Yay! We were so excited to have a third travel mate. When Max arrived he only wanted to see Amber Fort so we had our trusty tuk tuk driver give us a ride. The Fort was huge and also included a palace which was really interesting to explore we spent our day there and that evening Ali took us to a sheshaw bar where we enjoyed some Hooka.
We said goodbye to our trusty tuk tuk driver, and headed to Agra to get a good look at the Taj Mahal. Agra is a small town, with alot of tourist all going to the Taj. Im not even sure how to describe the Taj Mahal... MASSIVE... i guess is the best way. It was quite impressive, something that large and that beautiful was built in the "name of love" so long ago. Pictures do this structure no justice, and seeing it with your own two eyes is breathtaking.
We saw the Taj and was ready to head up north, to try to find a cooler place to stay for our last 8 days in India. Bhagsu was recommended by our friend Ben, it is where the Tibetan exiles live in the Himalayas. Now.... we have been on ALOT of buses, but the bus ride to Bhagsu was the most terrifying of them all. I have never been so scared in a motor-vehicle in my life, and that was the first time on this trip that I thought we may not make it home. For 12 long hours Max, Chell and I thought we were going to fall of a mountain. When we finally arrived "safely" to Bhagsu it took a couple hours for our anxiety to fade away. Bhagsu was much cooler than where we had been, and the mountains were very beautiful. We settled in to our hotel, and than it happened. Chell started feeling sick. For the next couple days Chell stayed in bed fighting a fever and chills, and hopeful it would pass. Max and I would keep ourselves busy with coffee and beer, in between our checks on Chell. We found a yoga studio, where Max found out he was more flexible than he thought and I was happy to be getting some sort of exercise. After day 3, and still feeling sick, we decided Chell needed to go to a doctor. The problem was the "western" doctor was out of town and there was only the "natural" doctor. Chell was tired of feeling sick, so she went ahead and saw natural doctor. Luckily the "natural" doctor also has modern meds and set Chell up with an antibiotic and a fever reducer. We thought the problem was solved and was hopeful she would be able to enjoy some of Bhagsu. After days of taking the medicine and not feeling better Chell was getting frustrated. She would feel a bit better in the mornings, but by afternoon was back in bed. Our time in India was running out and we had a 12 hour bus ride back to Delhi. Chell was out of medicine and went back to the doctor where he gave her some new medicine and told here to go to a doctor when we arrived in Bangkok. We were so sad to be leaving Max but excited to be leaving India, and hopeful about the medical care in Bangkok.
India was an experience to say the least, when other travelers ask us about India we are reluctant to say much. Even though neither of us will probably ever return, it was a great learning experience and we are both glad that we went. India opened our eyes to a new culture and we met some pretty amazing people while we were there.
