Nick’s world tour

Well “Go” did go, albeit in a very shocking pink plane. But did it arrive at the domestic or international airports? The international is known as Chhapatri Shivaji, or colonially as Sahar. Whereas the domestic is known as Chhapatri Shivaji, or Santa Cruz. It was supposed to land at the domestic, the sign on the building as we taxied said International, but however it was the domestic airport…. How very confusingly Indian! It took 90 minutes to get to the apparently fashionable district of Colaba, where I was staying, and then a further 45minutes to find my hotel. The driver spoke no English, and couldn’t read a map either… Mumbai is great fun- it’s such a culture clash. Rich and poor. East and west: women in saris drinking beer in bars where Oasis and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers are on the juke box. The streets are nice to walk, leafy with a mixture of colonial and neo-classical buildings. And there are no cows roaming the streets- strangely coincident with beef reappearing on the menus. To the north are the markets and bazaars to remind you that you are still in India; and the grim Chowpatty Beach joins the port. Colaba has the Gateway to India archway, and from here boats leave for Elephanta Island to see the rock temples and carving of a three headed Shiva. Obsessive hawkers sell huge 1m long ballons (why?) and drums. I wandered for a few days, spent 1 hour posting a parcel (though it is quaintly stitched and sealed with candle wax), and had a few beers one lunchtime with a random businessman I got chatting to… By luck of Singapore Airlines choosing to have their office inside a 5 star hotel, I got to see inside the Taj Hotel, supposedly India’s poshest – though I think the doorman didn’t want to let me in! Oh and in a city of sixteen and a half million people, I bumped into two people I’d been in Agra with. As Harry Hill would say, “what are the chances?” I very nearly got my 15 minutes of fame as a Bollywood extra. For the first 2 days I was here, no-one approaches me. Then for the day I am leaving, three people ask me to go to the studio. Talent scouts looking for “heavily perspiring tourist #3” evidently. It’s hot, and humid, and today I got stuck in a 2 hour long pre-monsoonal storm. Must be time to leave.

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