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“Not surprised by the smog that seeped its way in and greeted us.” |
Tovah and I arrived in Mumbai/Bombay around 1:30 am. Having had a hard time being allowed into Mauritius, due to not having a return flight to the USA, concerned us and left us busy trying to come up with identical responses incase we were questioned. Fortunately we did not have any problems and were, in fact, surprised by the ease and quickness of getting through customs (even being ushered through without having our bags xrayed while everyone else returning home had to wait in the long lines to have, what seemed to be, their cardboard crates inspected). We were not surprised, however, by the smog that seeped its way in and greeted us far before we reached the door to the outside. As we reached the door we noticed a man with a sign that 'Bentley Hotel' (not anywhere near as nice as it sounds, but affordable) and Tovah Shanok was written under it. He picked us out right away most likely because we stuck out in the sea of Indians returning home. We were then given our first taste of the complete chaos of the road. Even at 1:30am, with not even a fraction of the typical amount of vehicles on the road, it was clear that the 'rules of the road' are there are no rules, and that the driver with the most nerve was the one with the right of way.
After a few hours of sleep we awoke to attempt to get an overnight train ticket for that evening to Goa. When we got in a taxi, the driver, whose door was open, didn't even flinch when another car hit his open door! He merely unjarred it and closed it as if it didn't just happen. At the train station we were bombarded with people trying to scam us, telling us the train we wanted was full and that we should buy bus tickets from them. Luckily we were ready for this and got practice ignoring the many offers of unwanted help and headed straight upstairs for the tourist ticket line in the reservations area. While we were waiting in line we met three Australians who were also hoping to get tickets for the same train. The train was "sold out," but we asked from the "tourist quota" (emergency seats India Railways holds open for Tourist- you have to show them a foreign passport when purchasing), and were all lucky enough to get tickets. However, while we were all in the same train compartment, none of our seats/beds were next to each other.
Once we got our tickets, Tovah and I took off to explore Mumbai around the station and picked up the essentials such as toilet paper since you will not be able to find it in any bathroom even the ones with western (seat) toilets nor in our hotel's bathrooms. We also bought a SIM card for our phone. While we were told to buy a Hutch SIM card because you can use it everywhere in India, we later learned that you cannot get recharge minutes anywhere but Mumbai (where we purchased it) thus having to later purchase an Airtel SIM card for which you can. After running our errands we decided to go to McDonalds to see first hand the difference in menus that we had been told about. There were only two items that contained meat- a chicken sandwich and a fish sandwich. The rest of the menu consisted of a variety of different veggie burgers, various veggie curry/salad wraps, etc. Tovah was happy with the menu as she has decided to become vegetarian while in India (not to mention her excitement over french fries). While I would have ordinarily been thrilled with the choice in menu, I still wasn't feeling great and so continued to not have much of an appetite...crazy, I know!
I went back to rest in the hotel while Tovah did some more exploring. Later we ventured out to Leopold's Cafe which Tovah had reported was "hopping". It turned out the Aussies we met at the train station (Anna, her brother Tim, and his friend Gavin) were there, so we sat at the table next to them and chatted while we got some dinner. Then we had to bide our time before catching a taxi to the train station. Tovah and I both ended up liking Mumbai more than we thought we would and wished we spent more time there as we didn't see all that much of it.
We arrived at the train station around 10:15 pm for our 11 pm train. When the train pulled into the track there was a mad dash from the 2nd class/non -reservation riders to pack into their car, arms flying everywhere, children being handed over heads, we were to be headed to our 2nd class Sleaper Car. The car's compartments are divided into different sections, each section forming a rectangle. The two longer sides of the rectangle consisted of 3 tiers (beds/seats) each, that were separated by a narrow aisle. One end of the seats was against a wall with a window, while at the other end was the main aisle way leading through the compartment. Across the main aisle way was 2 tiered seats. While there was more room for those people to sit up, the seats were not as long as the others and thus seemingly less comfortable for taller passengers. Tovah and I had the top seats (of the 3 tiered) in adjacent sections. In my section no one was currently occupying that seat and so a very nice local man told Tovah to move to the seat across from mine. Even when someone came to take that seat he told them (or so we think as we could not understand the language) to let Tovah have it and to take her seat in the next section over.
It was quite an experience trying to make room for ourselves to lay down since our bags took up much of the seat. We had to find different ways of wrapping our legs over or around our bags to stop them from falling asleep or getting cramped up. In addition, there were 3 very dusty fans on the ceiling (turned on by those in the seats below us) blowing dust and air at full speed just inches from our face. Throughout the entire train ride there was a steady stream of people walking through shouting out repeatedly whatever food/drink they were selling (i.e. "chai, chai, chai...", "samosa, samosa, samosa...", "vege omelette, non-vege omelette, cheese sandwich.."). While I did not indulge in anything they were selling during the late night/early morning hours, I did have some excellent chai once I woke up around 8 am.
The most shocking part of the ride was the littering. Not only the passengers, but the guys who come around to clean the floors (often small childen at the train stops who use their shirts to wipe the dusk below your feet hoping you'll give them some rupees), throw the litter onto the tracks. After a passenger finishes a vege rice, they just throw the tin container out the window. What's worse is the toilets are just holes to the tracks, they ask that you use them while the train is moving.
Despite how negative my above description of our first overnight train sounds, both Tovah and I agreed that it is an excellent way to travel around India. Not only do you save money by not taking a plane (our ticket was about $12 USD), but you don't waste a whole day by traveling overnight and save on a nights accommodation as well.
As we neared our destination we gathered near Anna, Tim, and Gav to discuss our options for getting from the station to Palolem Beach (about an hour away). We enquired about catching another train from that station to the one closer, but it didn't leave for another couple hours, and so decided on sharing a taxi instead..
previous travel blog entry
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