Our train journey to Mumbai did not get off to the greatest start, the train was delayed by 45 minutes and I was getting quite worried that we were in the wrong place and had missed it. Thankfully though the train arrived, but it made the trains we took between Delhi and Varanasi look like luxury. It was an old train and just felt dirty, however we got used to it and after what felt like a really long journey, we made it to Mumbai.

After the laid back, calmness of Goa it was back into city living again. However Mumbai was not like the northern cities we had visited, here there are mainly cars and taxis, not really any rickshaws and significantly less mopeds or motorbikes. The traffic even appears to stick to its own side of the road and adhere to the traffic lights. This city feels more modern; walking down some of the streets you really could be anywhere, even London, which is a strange realisation.

So after we settled into our very nice hotel, situated right in the middle of all the places we wanted to visit, we decided to head off and explore the sites. First we head to the Chhatrapati Shicaji Maharaj Vestu Sangrahalya,(formally the Prince of Wales Museum and a much easier name to describe the place) the museum was brilliant and included, in our overpriced foreigner ticket, was an audio tour guide. It is surprising the difference that it makes having a 'person' tell you about things rather than just reading the one line next to each object.

Heading south we make our way to the Gateway of India, a huge arch built to commemorate the 1911 visit of King George V. It would appear that this is the place to visit should you want a massive balloon, there seems to be people everywhere selling these 4ft long balloons. From the Gateway you can see the famous Taj Mahal Hotel, certainly an impressive building, but I must say I was expecting it to look like the Taj Mahal, when in fact it looks (in my opinion) more like an exceptionally large seaside resort hotel in Great Yarmouth.

We wander past the Mumbai University buildings; all the university buildings we have seen so far in India seem to have the most wonderful architecture and beautiful grounds. As it is nearly time for Sarah to fly home we decide to splash out and have posh meal in Khyber restaurant, after an epic trek up and down the same stretch of road at least 4 times, we manage to stumble across the restaurant but it was definitely worth the effort of searching for it.

On Sarah's last full day in India we plan a journey north this time, we walk along Marine Drive which is a massive curve along the sea front. From here you can see the more business side of Mumbai, with the tall office blocks and residential areas. A fair way along the stretch there is a small beach which is a little bizarre for a city. Then navigating our way through the back streets we find Mani Bhavan which is a museum about Mahatma Ghandi inside the building he stayed in while in Mumbai. The museum was fascinating, for such a small, off the beaten track museum, it was brilliant and told his life story excellently.

When we arrived in Mumbai we came into Victoria Terminus Station, a marvel in itself, however we didn't really look at the building as our bags were heavy (mine especially) and we just wanted to get to our hotel. So today we went past again to take in the building and its gothic elegance. Being Sunday we end up stumbling across what appears to be a local market, we certainly stood out amongst the locals but it was quite nice not to be in a particularly touristy area.

Another splash out tonight, we head to the Taj Palace Hotel for a drink. It was certainly posh in all senses of the word. To get into the Harbour Bar there is an automatic swipe slide door. I'm sure it loses something in the description but it was very exciting at the time. This was my first alcoholic drink in India, I had wine from India, and it was very tasty. With our drinks we got some cashew nuts, peanuts and these rice cake/crisps things. I am fairly certain this is my last bit of luxury for a while.

Well it is a sad day today as Sarah is leaving to go home, so now its time to head off on my own for a bit. Well actually after all that walking we have done around Mumbai for the last couple of days; I think I will have a relaxing day. So I head over to my next hotel where I start my next tour from tomorrow, I was certainly right when I mentioned the luxury being over. The hotel is clean and perfectly fine, but the bathrooms are something to be desired, I was shown 2 rooms, one was small with a shower about 2 ft away from the toilet, so I imagine the water either dribbles out the head or you soak the whole room. The other room was large but the bathroom ceiling was about 4ft off the floor, so I decided to have a smaller room, but the possibility of standing up in the shower.

After doing so well for 2 weeks I finally lost my glasses, with some clever thinking and looking back through our photos, we realised I had left them in the Taj Palace Hotel, so I head off through this part of town back to the Taj Palace Hotel, and thankfully after some time relaxing in their amazing lounge area, they found my glasses. I then wander off a bit further, find a coffee shop and sit and read my book. Later I head back to my hotel and log on the internet, especially as I'm not sure how possible it will be when we hit the road again. In the evening I meet up with some of the Dragoman tour group, some who were departing the trip in Mumbai and my to-be room mate, Teri.

The next day me and Teri meet up and head off out for the day. We decide to head off on a boat to Elephanta Island. The name is somewhat misleading, there are no elephants on the island and the elephant statue the island is named after is no longer there. However there were some pretty impressive caves to see and impressively large cannon.

In the evening we meet the Dragoman tour leaders and the rest of the group, it's a really small group only 5 of us plus the 2 staff, which is a little weird but more people will be joining when we get to Chennai and Calcutta. So time to head off again, another early morning, a 5am start, after a couple of hours we have a puncture, but with some good team work, it was fixed within the hour. 13 hours later we arrive in Ganpatipule.