India... now we're traveling!!!

Gateway to India & boat cruise to Elephanta Island

Mumbai (Bombay), India. It's frenetic; has manic traffic where seemingly imminent crashes are avoided by inches; has indescribably horrid smells; extreme poverty and beggars on each corner; fabulous street food for under $1 (yes, we have tried lots of it), too many people; unbelievable public transit where crowded train stations serve millions each day; unsafe drinking water; malaria; really nice people; and a lot of charm! We visited Elephanta Island by boat too and noticed that the brown water was very dirty and men were seen scrubbing the bottom of the boat shown above. The Taj Palace 5 star hotel was right next door to our Seashore Hotel (pictured above with the horse statues). Mumbai has all you would expect from India and more. Paul got over 200 bed-bug bites from our first night's stay. They became huge itchy puss-filled sores later (and we got a free upgrade for his suffering). Nothing says welcome to India like bed-bugs, check them out on Paul's back...

However, on a religious note, cows are sacred in India and they are everywhere (even in the big cities and lying out on the beach eating trash). The women here are all covered up in beautiful bright colored saris. I had to go shopping because my attire was whore of Babylon where a nun's habit would be more appropriate. Check me out in the next blog's photos coming soon... Paul and I love bustling cities like Mumbai and the food has been amazingly delicious (e.g. spicy curry, masala chai tea, tandoori chicken, roti barti, masala dosa, pakora, etc).

We want to give a BIG THANK YOU to Pradeep's uncle, Mr. Venkat Chury(pictured above in front of the VT train station), for taking the time to show us his city. He grew up in Bombay and was the former Chief Commissioner (City Manager) of Bombay for 3 years and oversaw a workforce of 130,000. He speaks atleast 8 languages, has a MBA and Law Degree, was a Profesor at the University for a few years, etc. etc.. his resume is incredible! We enjoyed Chowpatty Beach with the locals and then a skyline view of the Quenn's Necklace from Malabar Hill (pictured above). The city tour ended with him treating us to a lovely dinner at CCI, the very exclusive Cricket Club of India.

Flora Fountain and street food on Elephanta Island are pictured above. We read a fabulous book called Shantaram about Mumbai and it was great to finally be here to walk in the same footsteps as the author. This town is bustling and watch the video below of the train station so you can feel the energy too!