Arrival

  Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra, India
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

I arrived in Mumbai international airport at around 12:00pm local time. The hours between 11:00 and 15:00 are generally accepted as being the hottest of the day, and so you can imagine my reaction as I stepped off the plane into what seemed to be an unhabitable climate. You will all roll your eyes, no doubt, at such cliches as "Hot as an oven", and so suffice to say - it is very hot here.
Having changed my cash to rupees, I was relieved to see a driver holding up a card with "O Edwards" printed on it in big letters. He lead me to his car and we began the journey to the pre-booked hotel. The driving style here is incredible, and certainly takes some getting used to. There are no lanes, no gentlemen of the road and seemingly no rules. You go where you want, when you want. The use of the horn is a big part of driving here - it is in constant use, and unlike back home where it is reserved for matters of urgency, I am sitting in a cyber cafe listening to the constant toots and beeps outside.
Hotel Singhs was very nice - relatively cheap for Mumbai, with friendly staff and 24 hour room service.

1st hotel room

 I placed my bags on the bed and took a walk around the area. For the first day I was scared to go outside. Locals do give you looks, and though some will randomly say "Hello my friend how are you?" , there are some that will hiss at you, and stare intently. This can be very intimidating, and makes you want to retire immediately to the safety of the hotel room.
For the first couple of days I set myself targets - little things like buying fresh food from a stall in the street. I realised very early that the locals have no shame in trying to fleece you, as the vendor's price of 50 rupees per samosa was reduced to 4 rupees as I pretended not to be interested and walked away.
On the second day I decided to take a train to central Mumbai. This was scary, as I bought the ticket and found that everything was in Hindi - I couldn't understand a word. Through trial and error I found the correct platform and took the train to the city centre. Mounting the train was actually quite fun, as you had to run alongside and jump through an open door, grabbing onto anything to stop yourself from falling out.

2nd class train ride

Seeing that the city centre had little to offer, I returned to the hotel and arranged for a bus trip to Ahmedabad.
The bus was due to leave at 8 o'clock, and so I was anxious, to say the least, at 9pm when the bus still hadn't showed. Sat alone in the middle of nowhere, I was cursing the hotel receptionist, and planning my next move. Luckily the bus showed at 9:30, and I embarked on a 10 hour trip to Ahmedabad.

Bus from Mumbai to Ahmedabad