Before discussing Mumbai, let me tell you something: I am super happy to come back home. The past week has been sort of a nightmare, since I have been sick for 4 or 5 days. I thought my stomach would go through this trip without any harm, there you go! I have to say it is really difficult when you have to g to the toilets 50 times a day (and night) and those toilets are outside of your room... I could not eat anything but plain rice and drink black tea and water. It obviously took its toll on me and I probably lost 6 kilos in the process! In any case, I feel better now, but the end of this trip has been epic and I am wondering what I did to deserve this bad karma, when I have kept calm, been very nice and kept smiling all the way during this trip! I thought the bad things would come once I am back home, but hopefully this won't be the case since I have had enough for a while in the last two weeks.
As for Mumbai, it is probably the best big city I have visited in India. It is relatively clean, there not many touts harassing you at every corner, I understand the street map, there are no rickshaws so traffic is actually OK... Yes, I like Mumbai. During my two stays, I stayed in Colaba, which is at the tip of the peninsula and the backpacker area. During my first stay, I went for a bit of sightseeing: Elephanta Island, an island with temple-caves a bit like Ajanta and Ellora, but very underwhelming since there are only few caves, a walk through the city's colonial area (looks a lot like Londond), a walk in the city's bazaar, a view of the sea at Chowpatty beach (where the water stinks more than sewers)... Yes Mumbai has a lot to offer. I went to see my second Bollywood movie: a horror movie called Ghost (not a remake of the piece of shit with Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze) and it is probably one of the worst horror movie I have seen in my entire life. The scenario does not make sense at all (it builds up and suddenly changes direction for no reason), there are romance/singing/dancing scenes like in any Bollywood movie, except that it does not fit here, the actors are really bad and the film is full of cliches (the best part being the introduction of the hero with a 10 minutes scene where is is riding bikes and sports cars, playing with kids on the side of the road, helping old people, all this with horrible music in the background...). It was ridiculous. I am just wondering how this works...
My second stay has been less active in terms of visits, since I was sick for the most part! So nothing much to say...
Now, let me tell you the reasons that make me want to be back in Europe:
- I am done with the food here: I have had enough Indian food for a long while, I mostly do not like what they make in terms of Western food
- I want to eat a good steak, and a burger (with bacon and cheddar), and a pizza (with ham and mozzarella), and a normal salad (with feta, olives, lettuce, and no peppers, cabbage, or onions), and French cheese, and drink some wine and some draught beer, and have a normal breakfast and a full English with bacon and baked beans, and eat some fried fish (and not something too salty and that always has an extra ingredient that ruins the taste of everything) and some pasta that is not overcooked and/or over oily and/or over salty, and some chocolate (proper one) and drink some proper coffee and...
- I have had enough rice and tea and dahl (lentils soup) and flat bread (chapatti and naan) and chocolate biscuits with no chocolate in them but only sugar
- I will kill the next person that lights sandalwood incense next to me (that smell gives me headache now)
- I will also kill the next person that plays some Hindu mantras/music next to me (that gives me headache too)
- I want to be in a city or on a road where everyone is not using their horns to drive (that also gives me headache)
- I want to take public transports and not be 400 people in a carriage or a bus that was built to take 50... even the London tube at peak time will seem OK now
- I want to take public transports and know that I will not be late by more than 15 minutes from what is announced on schedule (sometimes, shit happens, but not every time...)
- I want to be able to walk a street without being asked something every 10 seconds (where I am from, if I want to take a picture, if I want to buy something, to give money, etc.)
- I want that when I say "no" to someone, it actually means "no" and that there is no point asking again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again... until I yell at them
- I want a place where there aren't consistently hundreds of mosquitoes or flies (not sure which ones I hate most: flies do not bite, but you can't kill them easily) flying around me
- I want a place where there is constant, good internet connection
- I want my TV, and my Playstation, and my computer
- I want to sleep in my own bed, shower with unlimited hot running water (and not with a bucket of cold water), cook my own food and wear clean clothes every day
- I need a haircut, but there is no way I let these guys take care of it (no, I do not want to shave my head again)
- I am not being shocked by anything anymore (begging children, crippled, poverty, dirtiness, all of the above)
- I can't stand seeing the standard Westerner outfit on people that think it is cool to dress like (what they think is) Indian style: Ali Baba pants (who ever said this looked cool), scarves on the head, tika on the forehead, lungi, etc. My message to them: guys you'll never be Indians, and in fact, you don't really want to be Indians, so stop pretending!
- I miss you guys!
All that said this was a great trip where I saw amazing things, met amazing people, did amazing stuffs, learnt a lot about myself and what I can (and cannot) cope with, and which made me step back a bit and helped me think about what I want to do in the future. I will come back soon to visit the very North of the country (I have not had enough of the mountains) and maybe for different things, so if you are interested, let me know!
Now, I am back in Europe, I am mean again (I had become way too soft recently), and full of ideas. So be ready!
See you soon,
Matt
Now, pictures from Mumbai:
Gateway of India
Finsbury Circus? No we are in Mumbai
The University's architecture could rival Cambridge's (don't tell the English...)
The Victoria Terminus... sorry they changed its name to the one of a Maharati hero: Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus, which is easier to pronounce...
The three headed Shiva in Elephanta Island: for real, it is quite impressive
Leopold Cafe, a Mumbaiker institution, but the food is disgusting and also extremely expensive
"No parking in front of this gate, else tyres will be deflated"
This is certainly going to help move the car from the front of the gate thereafter...
