Mumbai-bai-bai

Our first mistake was not learning our lesson from the hotel we had booked in Egypt...you get what you pay for. Drew booked a hotel online that Lonely Planet had recommended and the cost turned out to be 14 USD a night...total. But hey, it was India so maybe....

The room was about the size of a batter's box and had no AC and no windows...we are fairly certain it used to be outside and they just decided to put walls and screens up. The screens could not do much to keep bugs out, and this was malaria country. The side-screen view was a collapsed bulding and the drainage from the building's toilet system. If anything, our accomodation was at least incentive to get out and see the city.

Mumbai has a famous mosque that is only accessable at low tide because it is on an island, the Haji Ali. We were hell bent on seeing it the first day so we quickly left the hotel and caught a cab to the access bridge. What we saw when we got there was far from what we expected.
Every mosque up to that point had been pristine...The Blue Mosque, Muhammed Ali Mosque, Jumeirah Mosque...all absolutely gorgeous. The Haji Ali was run-down and dirtier than a Chinese restaurant's kitchen. Thousands of people were trekking out because it was Friday and time for prayer.

The walkway was enough of a cultural experience to last me a lifetime. People without legs, hands, arms, eyes, feet...people who, for the most part, have been purposefully deformed for the purpose of begging...and it is hard to tell them you have nothing for them knowing full well that one of the bills in your wallet could feed them for days. Some lay on the ground convulsing while others harrass you to purchase their particular trinket.

To the right was a giant trash heap rising out of the water while to the left a young girl relieves herself (#2) and walks away sans wiping (sans is french for without). We walked through trying to make as little eye-contact as possible but we were the only white people within several city blocks...so we drew a good bit of attention.

We did some research afterward and decided to stick to the more touristee things the following day. Our meal was perhaps the saving grace of the afternoon...both Drew and I loved the Indian cuisine and probably ate more in one sitting than most people in the city eat in a week. We tried to get to bed early but the intense heat and bugspray covered bedsheets didn't help matters much.

The next day we surprisingly slept in and made our way to the Gate of India around noon. This was the historic spot where the British yada yada yada...we took a few pictures and then got swindled into taking a driving tour of the city...something like 60 USD...an absolute ripoff.
Drew and I were intrigued however by the section of the city where everyone sends their laundry. There is an outdoor laundromat that handles millions of articles of clothing every week. It was extremely impressive even though the driver only brought us there so he could pick up his laundry.

The only other thing we saw on this tour worth noting was Ghandi's house for when he was working in Bombay. It has been turned into a museum dedicated to the Mohatma and is actually extremely interesting to wander around. Our driver gave us as much time as we wanted here and then drove us back to the docks where we argued about the price significantly.

Drew and I would've blown up if it weren't for the subsequent trip to the island of Elephanta...about an hour ferry from Mumbai. The island is a series of caves that were carved into Hindu temples roughly a thousand years ago. (I just made that up...have no idea what year) The rock carvings of Krishna took up about 100 pictures while the mating monkeys covered the other 20 or so. This was the interesting cultural aspect of India we had wanted to experience.

After the hour ride back and another good meal, we returned to our cell and settled down for the night. Problem was that our stomachs would not settle down. Curry is like the guy who walks into your stomach party and begins causing some serious problems. This is not what you want happening when the toilet is actually a hole in the ground.

Though I held out, Drew is a much braver soul and did the squat. Strangely enough he actually enjoyed it and currently maintains that it is nearly as enjoyable as sitting down (I have since tried it and I disagree). With most of the major sights knocked out, we spent the rest of the night wondering what we would do the following day.

For the first time in days, we found an internet cafe in the morning and ended up spending four hours there. Afterwards we got some more curry and set out to see the markets. Some of the more interesting times we had in India were watching the local kids play cricket in the street and haggling with the market guys.

Watching Drew haggle is like watching a comedy and an M. Night Shamalan movie at the same time. He haggles down the price of any item as low as he can get it and then reveals at the end that he doesnt even want it. We probably bargained for about 100 items and ended up buying two...but at least it was entertaining. It was at the market that we also recognized an odd thing about India.

Men...everywhere...the entire country is separated like a middle school dance but it appears as if the only people outside are the men. They also were very fond of taking pictures with us...not just with us but also solo shots. At times it was funny but by the end it got to be a bit disconcerting. I often felt like I was back in Mykonos but the tan was permanant and the stench was aweful.

Anyway...long story short, India was a lot of culture for us...definately unlike any other place we had visited. But, we were scheduled to be there for five days and after three we had had enough. The beauty of the round the world ticket through Star Alliance is that if you give a day's notice, you can change your flight if there is room...I'm sure you can guess what we did.

Catching the early flight to Bangkok made me feel as if my mood had taken two cycles of HGH. Despite dirty frames and aching stomachs, we could not help but look forward to a two day RNR in Thailand while we waited for our flight to Beijing. India had given us a wonderful perspective, however, and a unique look into culture vastly different from our own.