Mumbai and Goa

People say that the first things that hit you upon arrival in India, and more specifically Mumbai is the smell and the heat. This may be true upon landing but long before that, once you have flown under the thick layer of smog that chokes the city, the first thing that strikes you is the immense size of the city and the jumbled up layout of the city with sky scrapers overlooking slums which in turn have mosques, temples and hotels for neighbours. There are even slum houses a matter of meters from the runway. It is a sight I am sure like no other upon landing in a new city. After that though, then the above statement comes true. Middle of October and the city does not change from 30C either day or night. And the smell, certainly gets you as well. Think Omar Kayam mixed with a changing room and a waste disposal site and you are pretty close to what greets you off the plane. I have visited big cities before with populations to rival Mumbai but this place is different. Its so much more intense, louder, busier, more hectic and madder than even the likes of Sao Paulo and Mexico City and they are full of 20m Latino's! Add to all this the complete lack of rules on the road and you have maybe the craziest city in the world.

For all this though, Mumbai contains some fantastic places and the above is in no way intended to put you off the idea of visiting the city. It is after all the home of Bollywood and has a district of the city named Mubai Hills...sounds familiar right. There are also sights of significant historical importance. The Haji Ali Mosque for example is built on the sight where the Islamic pilgrim Haji Ali's dead body was washed up. This is the most visited mosque by Indian Muslims and is an important place for all of Islam. Again, dont let the beggars and dying who line the path out through the sea put you off going.

It was here too that I received my first request to have my photo taken with a couple of Indian guys. This was to become a recurring theme throughout the day. It was mostly individuals who would ask but I did get asked to have my photo taken with a young baby by the mother and father. I must be like some kind of White God out here!!

The Gateway to India built in 1913 to commerate King George visiting is worth a look and its surrounded by some plush hotels, clearly the high end tourist district of the city. Not where we were staying however. Its surrounded by sellers trying to offload all kinds of crap to you, including photographs, jewellary and giant ballons...I also got blessed at the Gate, on my first day. After tying the string round my wrist, placing the spot on my forehead, handing me some puff candy to eat and reading some blessing to me, the chancer demanded that I return 250 rupees for the service. I felt that a 10 was sufficient, I never asked to be blessed after all.

A visit to Gandhi's Mumbai house contains a wealth of interesting details about the mans life as well as wood figure recreations of the more imporant events in his life. To be honest, they look like they were built for a P5 project but I guess that adds to the charm. The Vicotria Trainstation is a stunning building as well. Apparently a residence built for Queen Vic, the Indians decided that it would make a nice place to build their central train station. Why not right?

It was a nice change to leave the madness of Mumbai and head for the quiet, chilled out atmosphere that Goa has. Unfortunately we had mistimed or trip down the coast as the season was still a couple of weeks away but that doesnt stop you from having a good time relaxing on the beach, going for a swim in the Arabian sea and enjoying a Kingfisher or twelve in one of the many seaside bars. Yup, Goa was like the polar opposite to Mumbai and it was a good time spent there. The great thing about the state as well is being able to rent a scooter for the day and check out a couple of different beaches, chilling out on the quieter beaches and having a couple of drinks at some of the busier beaches. Its also a good laugh when flying round a corner and Cadge, riding in front of you, comes off of his scooter. That was pretty funny to see. He was ok after it, in case you were worried about his health. Provided you are cool with sharing your space with a couple of Boeing-loads of Russians (some of the signs are written in Russian along with Hindi) then Goa is a damn cool place.

So, first experience of India and able to visit two completely different regions. I think an interesting start is the best way to describe my arrival. Goa I would definitely visit again. Mumbai...