Hello All and greetings from Mumbai! Apologies for not emailing sooner, however we have been very busy as you can imagine, and the jet lag has hit us hard! Insomnia at it's worst - putting it down to the spicy food, time difference and counterfeit cigarettes (supposedly laced with opium?!?!?!) Be that as it may, we had a wonderful journey to Mumbai from London and were picked up from the airport and promptly taken to our hotel nearby (situated in the malaria affected slums!). We spent the next day in our hotel room sleeping, watching Indian soap operas - "Shoosh!" dramatic close ups galore! and avoiding the mosquitos! Touch wood, to date we have not been bitten once between us (although this internet cafe looks like a breeding ground for the little mites! Caught a once in a lifetime taxi ride from the district surrounding the airport (the slums) to south Mumbai. The 1.5 hour ride took us through the poorest areas of Mumbai and the disease ridden sespits, otherwisew known as 'canals'. Neil noticed a big corporate bill board above the slums stating 'can you see the prosperity and opportunity' - he did not see the irony! The roads are the most chaotic we have ever seen and make the roads in Cairo look relatively well ordered! However, the government does like to remind the impatient drivers from time to time that 'someone is waiting for you' and 'your family loves you'! Supposedly there is a road traffic fatality every 2 mins in Mumbai! The journey was an amazing eye-opener to say the least, and I would have prayed on several occassions for our safety if it wasn't for my motion sickness! Neil later informed me of the very close call on a number of occasions! Don't worry Laura, I have my first aid kit at hand at all times (if not for the taxi rides then for crossing the roads - a new and exhilerating experince for both of us - I like to think of it as a form of extreme sport!) We are now settled in a cheap yet comfortable box room with bathroom in the Chruchgate and Fort area of Mumbai, just north of Colaba. I am very grateful that my good friend Pankaj has lived in this city for the past 2 years with his wife, and spent Sunday with us both taking us around the city and treating us to a yummy traditonal veg thali - an ulimited amount of several undescribably tasty veg curry dishes, chapatis, pickles and pud - including my favouite 'gulab jamon' - for those with a very sweet tooth! After our third or fourth serving we gave up (I gave up after discovering that most of my lunch ran down my top - eating with your hands is a skill that is definately learnt over time - I am still an amateur and for the sake of my clothes I opt for a fork more often than not!) By the way, the unlimited meal cost aroung 2 pounds per head and that was in one of he more upmarket establishments - just to give you an idea of how cheap it is here! The cheapest we have seen is aroung 50p for a feast fit for a king or queen! We have so far visited the 'Gateway to India', the famous 5* 'Taj Mahal Hotel' (not to be confused with the Taj Mahal!), Parliament, the beautiful High Court, and Mumbai university - with a clock tower that looks very similar to our Big Ben back at home. Had to buy a scarf on Oxford Street (Mahatma Ghandi St, aka Fashion St) to cover my chest upon the advice of my good friend Pankaj and to prevent Neil from causing some form of a public order offence! I think I walked further in one day than ever before! Finished the afternoon with some refreshing sugarcane juice at 3rp (about 5p a glass) although it was more Neil's cup of tea than mine (although the Indian tea is just as sweet - wish I brough some tea bags with me!) . Neil was transfixed by the oval maiden where there were seemingly hundrds of people playing their favourite national sport, he's a massive cricket fan as you probably know and he said the experience almost rivalled the last day at the Ashes a year ago. The city has many beautiful old colonial buildings that do not appear to have been given a lick of paint since India's independence, although surprisingly some of the Indians we have met wish the english would return, in particluar an elderly parsi gentlemen we met in a traditional parsi restaurant who kept a photo of the queen in his pocket and invites her to come to Mumbai and in return he will have her built a buckingham palace and grant her indian nationality! To sum up Mumbai is easy; the constant toots of thousands upon thousands of taxis, the squarks of the crows and hawks flying and swooping overhead (one of them pooed on Neil's head under his 'lucky tree' the other day!), the clear caste system and poverty, the designer shops and big baloon sellers! The thousands of people hurrying along their way or hanging aound street corners drinking small cups of sickly sweet chai tea and snacking on some toasted chickpeas, the chaos, the excitement, the colonial past, the divese religions and belief systems. As we sat in one of the legendary cafes in Colab, Mumbai, called "Mondigas", I could see the hussle and bustle outside and I felt surprisingly at home in the city (despite the sweltering heat of course!) I felt overwhelmed with excitement and very hapy to have visited this amazing city. We are meeting my friend Pankaj tomorrow evening for dinner somewhere special and might head to Chowpatty (beach) one evening for some street food and to take in the bustling atmosphere. In the daytime tomorrow, we are visiting some of the landmarks again to take some photos and have aftrnoon tea at the Taj Mahal hotel. Heading to Goa on Friday night by train (an eleven hour overnight sleeper train, Neil is on the bottom bunk and I'll be on top sleeping closely with all our money and passports), we should reach Arambol, North Goa by noon the following day. Cannot wait to put on my bikini and get some colour and start to really unwind (Mumbai is not the place to unwind you will be surprised to hear!) Hope you are well and look forward to hearing from you soon, All our love and best wishes, (A very tired but excited) Marie and Neil xxxxxxx