We're just not city people
Mumbai was certainly an experience..... however, if anything, I think it just reconfirmed to both of us; we are just not city people.
After a long sleep to recover from the previous day's travel, we were up and ready to explore by early afternoon (because obviously the hottest part of the day is the best time to go and explore the local markets!). We got all of about ten steps out of our hotel before being stopped by an Aussie guy in his fifties who was delighted to be bumping into two other tourists for the first time in his week long stay. He asked us where we going, and we told him. He quickly stepped in and told us we were heading in the complete wrong direction, and redirected us with his questionable looking map. Us, being the slightly naive people that we are and having no idea where we were, happily accepted his help and set off again. Turns out.... he just sent us on one massive loop, and about an hour later we returned to pretty much the same spot. Lesson learnt: have faith in your own map reading abilities and don't accept help from strangers!
We arrived at 'the market', not in the orderly fashion we expected, but rather by being sort of bundled into a mass of bodies, bikes, mopeds, carts, dogs, stalls, and tuk tuks. Trying to cross the road was a challenge in itself, and we quickly caught on you just have to 'go' ... as in, walk out, stick your hand out and hope for the best, as the traffic swerves around you.
The markets were colourful, vibrant and full of variety (from rabbits in a cage to saris to pots of Nutella) but ultimately, we were just concentrating on making it through in one piece! We arrived back at the 'apartment' hot, tired and a little overwhelmed. In our slightly delicate states, we decided we would leave Mumbai the next day in search of somewhere just a little more chilled.
That being said, after a little nap and a cold shower, we headed back out that evening to give Mumbai another shot. We walked to the infamous Marine Drive where we experienced a moments peace as the sun came down, followed by the most delicious dinner at 'Cafe Ideal'. We ended the day feeling much more positive.
Day 2 was upon us, and we were up early ready to start our sightseeing before heading to the train station to get a sleeper train to Jaipur. We made our way to the Gateway of India which was, expectantly, very impressive before jumping on a boat for the hour long voyage to Elephanta Island. It was a fun morning, meeting some new and some slightly interesting characters, and exploring the incredible carved caves linked to the cult of Shiva.
It is crazy how quickly you adjust to things. By the end of day 2 we felt much more comfortable in Mumbai but also excited to be going up north to start the next part of our adventure.
After a long sleep to recover from the previous day's travel, we were up and ready to explore by early afternoon (because obviously the hottest part of the day is the best time to go and explore the local markets!). We got all of about ten steps out of our hotel before being stopped by an Aussie guy in his fifties who was delighted to be bumping into two other tourists for the first time in his week long stay. He asked us where we going, and we told him. He quickly stepped in and told us we were heading in the complete wrong direction, and redirected us with his questionable looking map. Us, being the slightly naive people that we are and having no idea where we were, happily accepted his help and set off again. Turns out.... he just sent us on one massive loop, and about an hour later we returned to pretty much the same spot. Lesson learnt: have faith in your own map reading abilities and don't accept help from strangers!
We arrived at 'the market', not in the orderly fashion we expected, but rather by being sort of bundled into a mass of bodies, bikes, mopeds, carts, dogs, stalls, and tuk tuks. Trying to cross the road was a challenge in itself, and we quickly caught on you just have to 'go' ... as in, walk out, stick your hand out and hope for the best, as the traffic swerves around you.The markets were colourful, vibrant and full of variety (from rabbits in a cage to saris to pots of Nutella) but ultimately, we were just concentrating on making it through in one piece! We arrived back at the 'apartment' hot, tired and a little overwhelmed. In our slightly delicate states, we decided we would leave Mumbai the next day in search of somewhere just a little more chilled.
That being said, after a little nap and a cold shower, we headed back out that evening to give Mumbai another shot. We walked to the infamous Marine Drive where we experienced a moments peace as the sun came down, followed by the most delicious dinner at 'Cafe Ideal'. We ended the day feeling much more positive.
Day 2 was upon us, and we were up early ready to start our sightseeing before heading to the train station to get a sleeper train to Jaipur. We made our way to the Gateway of India which was, expectantly, very impressive before jumping on a boat for the hour long voyage to Elephanta Island. It was a fun morning, meeting some new and some slightly interesting characters, and exploring the incredible carved caves linked to the cult of Shiva.
It is crazy how quickly you adjust to things. By the end of day 2 we felt much more comfortable in Mumbai but also excited to be going up north to start the next part of our adventure.
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