After nearly three weeks in Mumbai, albeit for a two night sojourn to Aurangabhad, we were ready to leave the big city and start the travelling wheels rolling again. We had decided to take a night bus to Udaipur. 16 hours on a bs was going to be a whole new experience. We had located the departure point earlier in the week in true Boy Scout style,so just needed to get there for the 6pm departure. So far, every day in Mumbai had culminated in soaking my feet in a bucket of cold water, or taking a shower to reduce the sweating. Tramping round in bright sunshine and 37 degree heat means it's something that's difficult to avoid. As we were due to checkout at 9.30am I wasn't quite sure how we were going to avoid getting onto the bus like wet rags. The solution seemed to be to head to an air conditioned mall. As neither of us are particularly keen on spending the day in malls we agreed to use the morning to locate a Hari Krishna temple and then move onto the mall after this. Assuming that the air conditioning would enable us to return to a reasonable non sweaty temperature. The Iskon temple proved to be quite an experience. After entering through the security screening we headed to the shoe deposit desk to leave our footwear, and then headed off to wash our feet. Leaving our wet footprints on the marble we followed some of the other visitors through to the main temple area. There was a strange atmosphere in there. Perfectly peaceful and serene despite the musical beats from the small group who were playing in front of the three effigies, and the chanting of some of the worshippers. We were soon joined by a bald headed guy from Mauritius dressed in robes who proceeded to explain the various pictures on display. I'm not even sure I could try to reiterate for you as there were so many strange looking characters, with equally strange looking names. Obtusely the fierce looking ones often turned out to be the good guys. We spent a further 10 minutes just taking in the coolness and the mesmerising chanting before heading for the exit signs. Doing a duck and a dive past all the various stalls we found ourselves reclaiming our shoes again. Having let us slip in the Temple our little Mauritian monk caught up with us, replete with half a library of books he wanted us to buy. Don't you hate it when they say "just give a donation" we tried to explain we had absolutely no space to carry books, and beat a hasty retreat leaving him standing on the marble looking for his next victim. On the map the nearest mall was just a short walk away so we headed off, navigating our way through roaming dogs, goats and cattle along the main road. Whilst in Mumbai my poor legs took a real hammering with all the high kerbs (I know it'll come as a disappointment to my OT chums, but I no longer carry a tape measure). However I would say many were a good 10-12 inches depending on the state of the road. En route to the mall there was not only a severe absence of kerbs, but pavements as well, as we plodded on through the dust at the edge of the road surrounded by a cacophony of car, scooter and tuk tuk horns. We past the metro station, and some of the new high rise complete with luxury car showrooms and gym/spas. On the other side were tarpaulin shelters and families who had made these their homes in the city. Eventually next to the refuse dump we found the mall. It turned out to be a complex with a fantastic looking gym on the top floor. Obviously I didn't go in, but I recognise good gym equipment when I see it. The rest of the complex was empty except for a supermarket on the ground floor. A joint enterprise between Tata, the famous Indian company with seemingly a finger in every pie, and Tesco. This we had to experience. It was fascinating to see the big brand names in evidence amongst the weigh your own pulses, and Indian fruits and veg. McCains, Mcvities, Cadburys, Kellogg's, all seemed to have a weighty presence and the supermarket had a distinctly British feel. Even the till receipts were the obligatory minimum 18", or more- making you feel as though you'd bought far more than you intended. We stocked up on liquids, and headed off to find something we could have for a picnic when we got outside. Instead we discovered the samosa, pakora, and other nibbles were served up on a plate complete with pickles and chutneys. After leaving the mall suitably refreshed we both had the same idea"let's try out the Metro". The Mumbai metro is only active in the area around the airport area at present although new lines are in the pipeline. In contrast to all the other metros we know this one is more of a monorail. It's more expensive than the train, but offers "one class" compartments, which are clean and air conditioned. We arrived back at Anheri station ready to transfer to the train for the last few stops back to the coach base. Having never travelled on a night bus we had no idea what to expect, and it was like a scene from the Secret Seven when we both climbed into our little sleeping den. Equipped with food supplies, four litres of water, torches, and our tickets we rearranged our belongings into the little bay. The coach had a series of double mattresses along one side of the coach each in little compartments with curtains, a small TV and supposedly wifi. There were an equal number above and single dens on the other side if the passage. We soon realised that all these little luxuries are nothing if you don't have a loo onboard. 16 hours is a long time yo keep your legs crossed, and it seems impossible to go to sleep. Eventually about two hours into the journey we made a toilet stop. An interesting experience trying to use a squat toilet in the dark.! We then rolled back onto the road for the remaining journey stopping by the side of the road as travellers realised they could no longer hold on either. This led to an experience even more challenging than the squat toilet , but for the sake of my reputation I won't elaborate. Needless to say we arrived in Udaipur in one piece with lots of new stories to tell, and more to experience.