Until tomorrow...we'll just keep movin' on

Trip Start Nov 01, 2006
1
21
179
Trip End Oct 31, 2007


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow
Where I stayed
Hotel Oasis Mumbai
(Mumbai (Bombay) hotels)

Flag of India  , Maharashtra,
Wednesday, December 6, 2006

We left Ahmedebad on the afternoon train today, heading south to the couuntry's second city, Mumbai.  Our train journey was in AC Chair Class, and certainly a step up from First Class.  We had free water and were also served about 4 complimentary meals during the 7 hr ride, including: samosas with ketchup (I'm sure your average Indian wouldn't dream of having ketchup as an accompaniment to anything, but then the Indians who travel by AC Chair Class are a jolly posh lot and not at all average - it's all expensive leather handbags and the latest mobiles); then green soup (apparently 'pumpkin and spinach' - but mostly just green flavour); followed by a full thali meal with two curries, rice, pickle and yoghurt; and finally vanilla ice-cream. The ice cream had been presumably been made by the cook responsible for the green soup, since it tasted nothing like vanilla - still it was nice enough.
We passed the journey playing backgammon and gin rummy and reading.  (One of the disadvantages of travelling in a/c coaches is that the double-sealed windows means you can't see much out of the windows.). 
We had to avoid the taxi sharks at Mumbai Central Station: one showed us an official-looking chart which he said demonstrated that the fare to CST Station (where we are staying tonight and from where tomorrow's train leaves) was 350 Rupees.  We'd been told by a lady on the train that we should pay no more than 50 Rs though, so we immediately smelt a rat. (Normally you smell a lot more from an Indian railway station, so it could have been worse).  We threatened to walk out on to the main street and get our own transport and eventually got someone to take us for 100 Rs, so only double the correct price! Sometimes you just have to accept that you're going to have to pay more than the local price, and frankly when it's 10.00pm and completely dark and you've just arrived in a city of 17 odd million people, that's fairly easy to swallow.
Our hotel, Hotel Oasis, is not in fact an oasis.  But it's fine for one night and very near the UNESCO World Heritage listed Victoria Terminus station (now known as CST Station).  Next morning we have an early train (our last for a while) down to Madgaon (or Margao) in Goa. It's only 12 hours or so, so it should just fly by...
Print this entry