Saturday 16-10-2010

We went to explore Chembur a little more. Walking on pavement is not always possible so we do like locals and walk a lot on the road. You have to really look out for all the traffic; taxiricksjaws, motorcycles and cars drive chaoticly together trying to be faster then the other. They are horning their claxons continuously to let everybody know they are coming and they sometimes use their hands for pointing out direction in stead of having blinking lights. Survival in the city, trying to safely walk and cross the streets without getting hit by one of them.

The little shops along the road look dirty and abondoned like they haven't had customers in years. Eventough some definately have their charm; colorful shrines, flowers and incense make them quite attractive. Even for a person who doesn't need anything that they would sell.

There are multiple restaurants to choose from. From a distance they seem always full of people but there is always space for us. Locals eat a light meal at lunchtime so usually they are fastly gone again. We found a 'Pure Veg' restaurant Krishna where we had a nice lunch. We noticed that the standard portions are almost big enough to share one together but somehow we still like to order two different dishes and some naanbread. The price is around 1 euro per dish.

Diwali flowers

Around town men, woman and children are making preparations for the Diwali Festival. They sit with big piles of orange flowers everywhere on the pavement making strings for decoration. We have been wondering how the flowerheads survive after a few days but they still look brighter then ever. The streets are also getting more and more decorated with lights, Diwali is the festival of light. (And time to dye your hair orange.)

Arriving to Mumbai, India

The last 2 hours in the plane were above sea. I really noticed heavy winds and turbulance and wondered what would be a better place to crash with a plane water or land... I guess you will anyway die both ways. Meanwhile Jaakko was trying to be nicely asleep. When we flew above Mumbai I was surpriced and shocked at the same time; the beauty of mountains and forrest and then suddenly on the outskirts of the city huge slums. All the same small huts made of cardboard and scrapmetal.

We arrived at Mumbai Airport around 9 o'clock in the morning. Our luggage was already dropped off the plane and was waiting for us next to the conveyrbelt. In search of an ATM we found out that the only one at the airport was not working. So we had to go change some euro's for rupees at a row of competing desks with men screaming for our attention. After that we walked outside into the heat as if walking into a hot oven. We took a taxi to Chembur. The ride was impressive; traffic seems to have no rules in here. So depending on the drivingskills of your driver (and the size of your vehicle) we made it through dense, crowded streets. While begging children sticked their hands through the windows for "small coins" or "chocolate", we tried to stay cool hoping we wouldn't  drive them over or get hit ourselves. The driver seemed to not know the address we showed to him, so he parked the car and had to ask around when we arrived in Chembur. In the end the ride took an hour in stead of 20 minutes due to the chaotic streets full of people and traffic.

The room we reserved in Hotel Pearl was ok. The man who brought us to the fourth floor was armed with multiple airfresheners. He sprayed into the room while turning on the fan to make it feel fresh. Later I understood why, when the lemonsmells faded it made way for the stench of trash from outside. We walked around the hotel for a while to check out the neighbourhood. I got a little uncomfortable with everybody staring at us, especially men as they are the majority in the street. I feel like one of the only women that is not hiding the shape of my body in a wide dress with scarfs around it. I'm not sure yet if the people are offended by us white westerners or that they might just be interested in something that they don't see daily. The streets are crowded, the air is humid and every now and then the smell of the air changes into something nice like incense or then again into something disgusting like shit. The animals we have seen untill now are stray dogs, dead rats, cows on the sidewalk and tropical birds in the trees that we see from our hotelroom.

For the rest of the day we slept and at night we ate at a nice restaurant. The menu was pleasantly surprising for us, as most of it was vegetarian. We chose something we didn't know and it was great food. I later found out that the 'tofu' I had was actually a kind of cheese called paneer. The staff kept coming to our table to fill our plates again and finished the meal with a cup of water with lemon in it. I asked what I had to do with it because I was afraid to just drink it. Luckily I didn't because it was to wash your hand in. When we left we got a mouthfreshener; a rolled up leave with Indian spices inside of it. Again we had a funny moment doubting to swallow it or spit it out. We both swallowed it, to act a little polite I guess, but I really regretted it. When it gets dark the streets become nightmarket and the atmosphere is a lot more relaxed. In the hotel we ordered 2 big Indian beers and drank them in bed while reading what to do and where to go next.