12:40pm - Internet Cafe, Colaba Mumbai

Hey Everyone; hope you're all well!

Well just about to get on the train this evening heading to Jaipur, which is in the North of India. The last week or so has been a bit crazy... but great fun all the same. Most nights here in Colaba are pretty eventful, which is great as I've met a lot of interesting people.

Been doing lots of sight-seeing things in Mumbai too... Like heading out (by boat) to Elephanta Island, which is like 30 minutes from Mumbai, with a German girl we met at the hostel. The island is really beautiful and authentic looking (there were monkeys everywhere!!). The Island itself is famous for its caves, which are in tribute to Shiva (or Siva). However we paid like 150rs to get to the island, then a 5rs "foreigner tax" to get in... then climbed about a squillion stairs to get to the cave entrance to find a sign reading: [Entrance Fees: Indian Citizen=25rs Foreigner=250rs] so we were a bit annoyed about that. So we just walked about the Island, taking snaps of monkeys and coming across remote hamlets.

At the beginning of this week, however, Camilla and I decided to spend our last week in India on our own (as we'd been living in each other's pockets for the past 5weeks!!) So, instead of heading North together, I stayed here a couple of days extra and Camilla headed to Jaipur. At first I planned to bus it down to Pune for a couple of days and then head up to Jaipur on Saturday (today), but the oddest thing happened when I tried to book my bus ticket. Firstly, I went to the place and they told me it wasn't possible for me to get a ticket (instead, I'd have to go on a 30min cab journey to Dardar)... So I headed back to the hostel to pick up the address of another bus company I knew and was sort of thinking that the Pune thing wouldn't work out after all.. and then, at the hostel, an Australian guy came over and asked if I'd like to do a fashion shoot that evening in Pune? I was a bit aprehensive to begin with but he seemed genuine guy and this other English guy (Daniel) was up for it too... so it seemed ok. So Daniel and I were set up to do a bollywood movie shoot on the Thursday and then a fashion shoot on Friday... which sounded like heaps of fun. Then Daniel and I headed out to the Bollywood shoot (which was a popular Hindi series called 'Yeh Meri Life Hai" [It's my life]) which was an interesting experience. I think I must have gotten the worst costume possible though... it was this really awful brown skirt with a bright pink top and a brown leather jacket... not nice!! But then they were taking ages to film and made us wait like 10hours and stuff... so we left early at about 7pm (having been there from about 8am!) But a fun experience.

Then on the Friday, the day of the fashion thing, I woke up (again) with conjunctivitis... so there was no way I could do that... which I was annoyed about :-( But it's amazing how media-obbsessed people are here! I've had so many offers for things so far... Like yesterday I was just walking about and a lady asked me to come to this wedding, wear a Sahri, get free food and drink and she'd pay me 1000rs!!!

It's actually been quite fun out here on my own, and I think I'm learning a lot from it. I haven't ever felt on my own though as I meet new people all the time! I also have a good friend here - Scott, from Australia - and we're going travelling up north together (which is nice, as I was a bit cautious to do it entirely alone!!)

So everything is going really well, and I'm thinking I'm really going to miss India (particularly Mumbai) when I leave in a week... But I here that Jaipur and Agra (Taj Mahal) are really worth seeing so I'm looking forward to that!

Anyways, today me and Scott are just trying to fill the hours before our train leaves at 18:50... so not sure what I'll be up to!!! :-)

Hope everything is going well with you!

Speak soon - love kirsty, x~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~x