Bombay

Because my sleeping pattern had been so messed up, I was up fairly early and after another beautiful shower and some reorganizing of my backpack, I headed outside into the abusive heat with a lot to do. Particularly because the heat and humidity was so much worse than I had anticipated, and also because Bombay is much more expensive than most of the rest of India; I was keen to leave quickly on my way to Pondicherry on the south-west coast, where I had a friend and free accomodation waiting. I figured this would be the best way to start as acclimitizing would be far more comfortable if I had a relaxing base. My plan was to get an overnight sleeper train accross the country to Madras (a 23-29 hour trip depending on train) and then get a two hour bus south to Pondy. I had attempted to reserve myself a seat a few days before leaving England but the trains had been largely booked up, the best I could find was to be put on the waiting list for a train leaving in the evening; 10 people needed to cancel their tickets in order for me to get one but I had heard this was not entirely unlikley so remained hopeful about my chances.

The first thing for me to do therefore was to find an internet cafe from where to check my emails to see if I was down for a ticket. It was harder than I expected to find a place, but after having a nice walk around and seeing off numerous local touts prowling for tourist rupees I was finally able to establish that I had still not made it past the waiting list and was thus somewhat screwed. I was a little overwhelmed by the size, heat and bustle of the city so figured the best thing I could do was to make my way down to the central train station and see what I could arrange, as trying to sort out tickets on the internet was proving something of a nightmare. I got myself a taxi to the station and ended up going to one of the many travel companies littered around the place. Unfortunately all trains other than first class (too expensive) and general second class seater (too crowded for a long trip) were fully booked, so in the end I opted for an A/C semi-sleeper bus to Bangalore, slightly further away than Pondicherry than Madras but nonetheless within a bus journey. The bus left at around 1800 so I had the whole day to have a look around Bombay.

Rather than attempt to navigate my way around the megopolis in my still rather dazed state, I eventually found a decent tour with a friendly Sikh taxi driver who spoke good English and had a seriously impressive beard. I hadn't planned on a tour but figured it would be a shame to leave Bombay without having a good look around. The tour lasted around 5 hours and was every bit as dizzying as my taxi ride had been the day before. Once again, I saw far more than I can give an account of, but some of the highlights were a particularly impressive Jain temple, the Hanging Gardens and the famous Gates of India. Watching incredibly poor Indian men and women wash hundreds of clothes in huge tubs of soapy water; no doubt agonizingly hard work in the unbearable heat, is something that really makes you reevaluate your perspectives. The poverty I saw on the first day was again very apparant; as was the contrast between the rich and poor here, and my taxi driver explained with a clear ring of rage and resentment just how well some of the richer Indians live.

The temples were all beautifully lavish and artistic, and although I am certainly not religous I did enjoy the ambience in most of the places I visited; they had a very relaxed air and were inexplicably cool for lack of any A/C or fans. Perhaps the cooler temperature in the temples is the reason for the popularity of religion in India, heh. My tour included the expected visit to a not so toury spot; in my case an Indian tailors (many tour guides have arrangements with shops wherein they get a commission if any toursists make purchases) where I was dutifully shown around before assuring the man that although I wasn't making any purchases, I would come back at a later date if I had the chance. Of course, I may not get the chance; things to do and all that.

As I said I had a huge number of scam and extortion attempts thrown at me in the course of the day as my tour guide left me to look around by myself and thus making me presumably look like easy pickings. At the Gates of India in particular I was subject to some highly amusing attempts. I refrained from giving money out in general but there was one case where I did give the kid something just for making me laugh. While wandering around the Gates a smiling Indian boy approached me and after asking where I was from etc. told me a a good deal about the history of the Gates of India. As it was actually pretty detailed, after he had finished I started getting out ten rupees to give him. However the boy shook his head and insisted that he was a friend and didn't want money. He then suggested that if I wanted to help I could buy some baby milk for his young sister. Thinking this seemed reasonable I went with him to a conveniently located little stall nearby which sold the stuff. Heh, Rs200 for a small tin of it. To be fair to the kid and his accomplice at the stall, they both smiled good naturedly when I burst out laughing at the price. In the end I gave the kid Rs20 for the show.

I hadn't eaten the previous night so was eager for my first taste of Indian food, and I was not disappointed. Although I have no idea what exactly it was I was eating, the assortment of various foods which a small place at the Hanging Gardens prepared for me were incredibly rich in flavour; by comparison most British food seems rather bland. Apart from you know.. bacon. By the time my tour was done I had just under an hour to kill before my bus left, so after having a bit more of a wander round and having a man try to take me for Rs20 for using the public toilets (not that I need have bothered; most men here seem to feel they have the God given right to urinate on any wall they like regardless of the proximity of other people); I finally fought my way past the hordes of touts and scammers nested by the bus stand and embarked my bus. All in all it was a successful first day, the only slight damper was that I discovered to my chagrin that I had been ripped off by the travel agency for Rs300 more than the price of the ticket should have been. Still, for my first day and considering I was operating at well below 100% due to the heat; it could have been far worse and the loss of just under five pounds will serve as a very good lesson for the future and I will certainly be much more careful in the future.

Having successfully arranged transport out of Bombay and having done a good day's sightseeing, I got to see more of the outskirts of the city as the bus took several hours to leave the last remnants of Bombay behind. Fortunately I was able to get the window seat, so I settled in and got comfortable for a long 20 hour trip.