Mumbai to Udaipur - day 4 and sick already!

We took a 9 hour non air-conditioned second class train from Mumbai to Ahmadabad and then a sleeper train from Ahmadabad to Udaipur for another 10 hours. Udaipur is a city in Rajasthan north of Mumbai. The train rides were quite an experience as they were packed but we chatted to some of the locals and enjoyed the views from our open bar windows which almost made me feel like I was imprisoned. Especially when you ride past other trains and you see what it looks like from the outside. Coincidentally, as I was enjoying the scenes, Slumdog Millionnaire song 'Paper Planes' came on my ipod. That was not planned!

We started to get very hungry and with there not being much choice to eat on the train, we decided to be brave and eat the dhal puri which is served in a paper cone. It was delicious however I paid the price later on that night. I awoke in my sleeper bed on the train at 4am cold sweating and serious stomach cramps. It was pitch darkness and I was scared to go to the bathroom so I curled up in a ball in my bed and suffered silently till daylight. As soon as I got out of bed I ran to the toliet--which was a shitter smelly hole in the train and I vomitted out all my curry dinner! It was disgusting. Then I knew I had Dheli Belli. As our train arrived in Udaipur and I got off carrying my massive bagpack, with hot sun beating down and crowds of people everywhere, I felt so sick, weak and ready to faint and had to sit on the ground and wait for the crowds to go. We got into a tuk-tuk of Firoz who took us to his uncle's villas called Amar Villas which is where I am staying now. The people are so welcoming and treat you like family.

I spent the entire day (20 hours) in bed with fever, naseau, dirhea and stomach cramps and all I wanted was my mummy next to me to look after me. I knew I would get sick at some point but I didn't think it would be this soon, but in a sense I guess it's better to get it over with in the beginning and hopefully I build some form of immunity against it.

  

Royal Memorials

Camels symbolize love

Luckily, when I awoke the next morning, I felt a little better but still weak from not eating. Karen went for yoga and when she got back we took a tour of the city and went to Fateh Sagar lake, the King Garden called Moti Magri, the princess garden called Sahwlion Ki Bari. Here we had locals coming up to us asking to take pictures of us. We also visited the Royal Memorials which is where they buried the Kings and wives of the city. They spent 50+ years building these beautiful buildings of marble and carefully engraved with various symbols. Along the way, we came across camels which symbolise Love in India. The horse symbolises power, the elephant - good luck and of course the cow- holy! I am really liking this city, it's not as hectic as Mumbai and the people are even friendlier. Almost everyone who walks by says hello. There are also cows everywhere - all over the streets, eating foodf rom the garbage! As you know, they are sacred so nobody hurts them or eats them--instead they feed them and treat them with respect.   

During the day we relaxed at the guest house and then later on headed to the Lake Palace in the old city, 20 mins walk from where we are staying. Karen and I went with two guys we met at our villas - Danny from South Africa and Ben from Israel, both really nice people. We browsed the village on the way and bought our bus tickets to Pushkar. Udaipur is filled with lots of roof top cafes so we stopped off to eat. I had some nuts in my bag and ended up vomitting again at the cafe. The boys tried the 'Special Lassi' which is a traditional indian yoghurt drink made with different flavours such as mango etc. The special lassi however has a special ingredient - marijuana! I wanted to try it but my stomach would refuse any dairy at that point. I enjoyed watching how happy these boys became after trying it--nothing but big smiles!

Vegetable market

Indian spices market

We went to the vegetable and spice market which was filled with vibrant colors of fruits and vegetables in baskets and the noises of vendors trying to sell their foods. Karen bought some fruits but with my bad stomach  I feel reluctant eat anything but toast and noodle soup. Luckily with our tour guide we got local prices or otherwise we would have been ripped off. He was lovely, he showed us around the city, villages and taught us alot about the Indian culture and Udaipur history.

City Palace

Dinner nearby Palace with Raul

We continued on to the City Palace where we saw the palace of the royal family of Udaipur. The palace is massive - the biggest in Rajasthan and is divided into 2 hotels, a museum, and the actual residence of the roya

l family. Danny knew the manager of one of the hotels  called Raul so we were very lucky to get an exclusive private tour of this luxurious indian hotel overlooking the lake - a room costing almost 50,000 rupees a night, which is alot of money for here! We saw the rooms, the pool, the bar...all beautifully designed and peaceful. After 3 hours of browsing this large building we headed for dinner and met up with the guy who showed us the hotel, and his friends.We shared alot about each other and our cultures. Was a nice evening and Raul invited us to come to his home the next day for dinner with his family. Really kind and welcoming and I am looking forward to that.

  

Normel!

Going back to my earlier comments about the driving, I have been noticing that the women sit on the back of the motorbikes with no helmet and holding their baby. If this was the western world, you would be immediately stopped and fined.  It's unbelievable, but when I asked our driver he says that there are not really any accidents, considering the lack of safety measures. That's what you call driving skills.



First Impressions - Mumbai

When we arrived at Mumbai, based on what I've heard from other people, I expected there to be hundreds of Indians waiting for their families outside the terminal and to my surprise, there wasn't. Seemed like the average airport, actually quiet. As we got into the taxi though, the chaos began! They say if you can drive in Trinidad, you can drive anywhere in the world. WRONG. It's more like Mumbai! They are insane here- bicycles, taxis, motorbikes and my favourite - tuk tuks - all honking their horns constantly like it's going out of style. There is no order in the roads, you pretty much drive where and how you want. You almost feel like you're in a video game race and everyone's trying to win. And despitet the madness on the roads, you trust their driving skills.

Tuk Tuk Ride in Andheri, Mumbai

We stayed for our first 2 nights at Anjali Inn in Sakanaka, Andheri East which was near the airport and very far out from the places we wanted to see. In a way, it was a good exp
erience because we were forced to travel further and therefore see more of Mumbai. The tuk-tuk ride from the Inn to the train station to go venture out was fun for Karen and I. Coming from a busy city like London, it's a little easier to adjust to the chaos but it's still very much a culture shock. As we walked through the train station and surrounded ourselves with the locals, I couldn't help but feel anything but out of my comfort zone from not having a clue where I was and from everyone staring at us like aliens who just landed from space. That is probably the best way I could describe it. I am used to it being a white girl growing up in Cunupia, Trinidad, but this was worse. By the end of our first day, I got very accustomed to the staring and it really didnt bother me anymore. Despite that, almost everyone was quite pleasant and friendly to
us. And despite the number of people and the poverty, I felt very safe. The women are beautiful here, all dressed in bright colorful saris and the men all in clean, ironed color shirts and long work pants. I have yet to see a man in shorts even in 35 degree celcius weather, still can't figure out why though. Everyone has their shoulders co
vered, and of course my massive backpack is filled with sleeve less vests and tops. So within a few hours of feeling over exposed, I have had to use my shawl to cover up and show respect for their culture.

We spent the first two days commuting out to various parts of Mumbai by train, bus, taxi and tuktuk. The train rides were my favoruite - airy and breezy because the doors are open and everyone hangs out of them. People jump on and off the train tracks and for some strange reason there is always a mad rush to get on and off. When I say mad rush - I don't mean the rush like getting on the northern line tube during rush hour in London. I mean proper shouting, pushing and scurrying! Survival of the fittest, as if a lion is chasing them and they need to jump on the train to escape. Of course, we got caught up in the bacannal/chaos of pushing through the crowds and couldnt help but bust into laughter after we finally managed to get off. It was really shocking the slums we saw from the train rides. It's poverty like I have never seen before, not even on televsion. There is garbage everywhere - and children playing on it. Clothes were not even hanging up to dry, they were spread out across the garbage and gravel to dry. It's hard to describe in words what the slums were like, you need to see it to understand. Almost everywhere we went, there were people begging for money. Mostly children and handicapped people so you couldn't help but want to give. Then after a few days of it, you realise you can't help everyone and you build up strength to say no.

All the images I wanted to capture of Mumbai, I felt I couldn't because being surrounded by such poverty, I feel guilty pulling out a digital camera to take photos. India truly challenges your senses - sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch. Not many people would want to travel India the challenging way, on government trains and buses, hot, sweaty, smelly and unsanitary, but it's all part of the experience. And you wouldn't get a true sense of the culture unless you submerge yourself into it fearlessly.

Thali food at Revival 

In Mumbai, we visited Crawford Market and ate at Revival, a thali restaurant which was recommended by the guide book. This type of food is a mixture of all types of food throughout the different parts of India. We also visited the Fashion clothes market where I bought a purple and pink Indian baggy pants to wear. Karen also got a black one. They are perfect for India, covered up, traditional and airy for the weather. I really want to wear a Sari here, going to make sure I do it before I leave.

We sat and watched some cricket in a park near the oval which was relaxing. Then one man helped us catch the bus to and Chowpatty beach which was like a bazaar on a beach - families come out and sit and enjoy the music, food and the scenes of city buildings nearby. One of my favourite parts of Mumbai was Fort, a colonial area which was where the British stayed. Beautiful buildings, peaceful with lots of big shady trees. We had some fresh coconut water and came across some cute goats with the longest ears!

Chowpatty Beach, Cricket & Goats

The food is all tasty and so ridiculously cheap - you can eat a nice meal for 20-80 rupees which is average 50 pence. A taxi ride for 15 mins is 40pence. You feel as they deserve so much more but to them it's good money. We have been asking alot of people how much things should be to avoid being ripped off. But sometimes it becomes such a hassle to get the right price, you give up and just give in to paying more.

Mumbai, a city on the mid west coast of India with over 20 million people - is busy, hussling, crowded, dirty and smelly - but there is always something interesting to see. It has some of the biggest slums in the world. The one from Slumdog Millionnaire movie, we drove past and it alone has 1 million people. Oh and this is quite an interesting fact : for every one million people in Mumbai, there are 17 public toliets! That will give you a good idea of how lovely the toliets are! How I love squatting in holes to pee and holding my breath! No complaints at all tho - I am loving this humbling experience and feel lucky to be here.

Enough of Mumbai and the hectic city life, we are now on an 18 hour public train heading north towards Udaipur, which is supposed to be the romantic place of India, with lakes and palaces.

Anticipation

Exactly 2 weeks from now, Karen & I will be landing in Mumbai, India. I can't believe how quickly time has passed. You know the time is near when you see expiry dates on foods that fall around the time we leave- April 23rd.  Feels like just yesterday when we started slowly planning this trip and now after months of preparation, the time is almost here. It's not just planning a 5 month trip thats hectic, but also trying to move country at the same time! And now that everything is done - I have the last 2 weeks left to enjoy London and make the most left of my time here. Beginning to feel a bit sad, realising how much I will miss London and the friends I will leave here after nearly 4 years. I've always said the best decision that I've ever made to this day was definitely moving to London. It has opened my eyes to a whole new world--- I discovered so much about myself and about other cultures and lifestyles. I have grown in so many ways here. It's not been an easy place to live---I remember my first few weeks here crying on the ever crowded northern line underground tube on the way to work, wondering what mess did I get myself into. The hussle and bussle of city life is not something I was ever familiar with, so it came as a bit of a shock to me. But like all new experiences, you adapt and things get easier. I went from being that laid back slow person in rush hour, to now the fast get out of my way walker. You tend to get a little cold in this city when you realise how anti social people can be on the trains. But there is so much to love about this city - so many memories I will take with me from drunken nights, to crazy people on the brixton buses, to fancy dress parties, after work pub drinks, sporting events, boyfriends, the odd sunny happy days, meeting people from places you never heard of, the trini london limes, nottinghill carnival, and the list goes on. Travelling to other parts of Europe is  the best part about being here.  It's definitely the end of an era for me, I will miss this alot - but who knows- I might just find myself back here one day. Words can't describe how many emotions going through my system right now about leaving - excitement, sadness, happiness, anxiety worry, fear and anticipation. But it's all good....change is good and I'm ready for the next chapter.