Mumbai

Monday 24th November (Al).
Flew in to Mumbai from Varanasi. We caught a rickshaw to Vile Parle station to then get a local train to Victoria Terminus in the Fort area where our hotel (Hotel Oasis) was. We must have had stood out like sore thumbs as the packed train carriage stared at us from the moment we got on to arrival at the station. Its something you learn to put up with after a while.
Checked into our room on the top floor and then headed out for dinner at around 11pm. The next morning we headed to the Colaba district down the road (colaba causeway) and came across a coffee store called barista. it’s a bit like a star bucks. It was the first time we’ve had real coffee in India and didn’t we enjoy it. A walk past the Metro cinema I made a mental note to indulge in an English speaking movie (Qantum of Solace) for the following day. We walked around the Colaba area, taking in the atmosphere around the Taj Hotel on the harbour front. Wend thought we looked a little shabby in our shorts and thongs to step in for a look so we didn’t bother and kept walking towards the markets. We enjoyed lunch at a felafel/hummous bar, which is a godsend after weeks of only Indian food, and some further window shopping before heading back to the hotel. We had booked a train ticket for 11pm on Wed 26th but after checking our status on the net discovered we were still on a waiting list, so we decided to head back to Victoria Terminus to see if we could get an earlier train to Goa. The cost of staying at our hotel as well as no guarantee of getting on another train for a few days if we remained on the waiting list convinced us to try the tourist office for another ticket. The only option given to us was a 6.55am train the next morning (Tues 25th). It was a 12 hour trip and I’m not keen on long day time journeys. However, Wend was keen and I reluctantly gave in and bought the tickets. I was enjoying the feel of Mumbai….it’s a vibrant city so was disappointed to have only the one full day and 2 nights there.
I had been reading Shantaram through this trip so was keen to spend a night at Leopold’s café (which features heavily in the book). We headed down Colaba Causeway and got a table right in front of the window facing the street at Leopolds. It was full (as usual apparently) and we enjoyed a couple of beers and dinner and a chat about fish with our nice waiter. We left Leopolds about 10.30pm and headed back to the hotel to get an early night. Would like to visit Mumbai again.