Mumbai, India

I have arrived safely in Mumbai. I got here at 3:00am, what an awful time to arrive in a new city. I waited in the airport until 6:30am before getting a taxi into the city. The drive in was interesting, even at 6:30 in the morning it was pretty busy with people and cars. The other noticeable thing is the abundance of smog, its making my allergies go crazy. I'm staying at a Salvation Army hostel in the Calaba area, it's right across the road from the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. It's a great location, just a five minute walk to the water. Yesterday I took a boat out to Elephanta Island, it was a nine km ride. Elephanta Island is famous for its temples that are carved into the side of huge rock faces.



Here are a few photos courtesy of Google Images. I did take loads of pictures, just haven't uploaded them yet.

Today I had to make my way by foot to the train station. Again my sense of direction (or lack thereof) kept me wandering for a while. What was supposed to be a 20 minute walk turned into a hour and a bit. The process of buying a train ticket is in itself a little mesmerizing. First you find the reservations area in a very chaotic station with 1000's of people, then you have to find the name of the train you want (there are many) , then you have to go to a particular window (also many). Fortunately for me there was a 'foreign traveller' window. Yeah for that. Tomorrow I have to take a 7:10am train to Pune, about a four hour trip south of Mumbai. Apparently there is a 'gas strike', so I may end up walking it again tomorrow. I think my next trip I'm going to buy a GPS to keep me on track.