Goodbye Mumbai, Hello Ellora

Our last day in Mumbai could have been spent seeing more monuments and buildings or going to museums, but we were too tired of the tourist trail...

So we had lunch at Sher-E-Punjab instead, recommended by a Swiss guy we met on the train. This was when we discovered that the most famous Indian food are from Punjab. Butter Masala, naan, chicken tikka - you name it. So it wasn't hard to pick, and anyway, everything we ordered was good.

We wandered around the back streets and discovered more about every day life in Mumbai than a guidebook could tell us.

Mosque.

We also passed by a popular electronics store in Horniman Circle to replace the extension cord we got in Alleppey, the one that keeps on shooting sparks when we plug in the chargers. (We asked the vendor in Alleppey if it was made in China and he proudly said it was made in India. Not sure what to make of that...)

Bombay, visite touristique: Gateway of India, Hotel Taj et Elephanta Island

Jeudi 12 Janvier, après avoir marché dans le centre de Bombay la veille, nous partons faire les points les plus touristiques, là où tout touriste venant à Bombay se doit de passer. Le ciel est bleu, la journée promet d'être belle. Marche en direction du sud et les yeux en l'air, comme ces touristes visitant Paris. On a souvent tendance à oublier de regarder les bâtiments quand on habite un endroit, et ceux qui lèvent la tête ont une grande chance d'être de passage...

Jolie place avec bâtiment en rond, comme on pourrait voir à Londres. Ici au coin la boutique Hermes.

Passant devant et n'ayant pas encore petit-dejeuné, impossible de ne pas s'arrêter dans cette boulangerie belge appelée "Le Pain Quotidien" et qui a très bien compris le business à faire avec ces petits pains et croissants à la française, des prix hallucinants pour l'Inde! En même temps on est juste en face de l'Hotel Taj, avec toutes les boutiques de luxe aux alentours... c'est un peu notre Champs Elysées...

Rrrrrrrrrrrrr! Baguette!!!!!!!!!

Et voilà la traditionnelle et incontournable pose devant le Taj. Des dizaines (centaines?) de photographes avec petite imprimante sur batterie posée dans un coin se ruent pour prendre les touristes en photo, et à chaque fois nous leur montrons notre appareil... car ils ont tous le même. :)

Hello, Mumbai

We took the 8am bus from Arambol to Pernem and we arrived an hour before the train. We had breakfast at the train station and there was just one couple with a snack shop selling food in the area. The man sold us the best bhaji we had in Goa, and it was only 20 rupees with bread included!

We arrived in Mumbai at 9:30 in the evening. Looking for a place to stay was a nightmare, especially since some dodgy characters prowl the streets telling us all the places are full. There was, in particular, a pesky old guy sporting a walrus moustache in a butler uniform who would not leave us alone.

Another reason it was so hard to find a place in Mumbai was the ridiculous prices. One hotel in front of Victoria Terminus gave us a discount which we noticed they didn't give anyone else... was our mojo working again? Well, once you see the room you might not think so, but in our defense, this is the best 1,100 Rs can buy in Mumbai...

It's a mouse hole! But it had TV, airconditioning, butler service, and towels. We just had to share the bathroom with Punjabi businessmen staying overnight and endure someone with a sinus problem. Otherwise, it was paradise. If i stretch my arms and legs, I could reach both ends of the room. There was no room for our bags so we stepped over them and had to move them over every time we had to open the door... Otherwise, it's paradise. For the same price we had a "football stadium" in Kolkata.