Jalgaon

This was just a connection town, where I had a 4.50am train to catch, but found a dorm bed for 100rs ($2) with the help of a helpful French Canadian (who insists on only spending a max of 150rs for a nights stay), and managed to enjoy touring the town with him, a rather more seasoned India traveler.

This included getting a guided tour around a supermarket by its manager, including introductions to all the staff, explanations about the products, and seeing every last corner of his shop- it was very funny indeed.

We also visited a brand new mall, that seemed very out of place in this dusty market town, but I guess it means there is money to made in the area. It was full of the usual teenagers that all malls seem to attract.

Ajanta Caves

A new day, and new caves! These were a 2 hour bus ride away, in a far more remote part of the countryside. They occupy the outside cliffs of a sharp bend, and offer a much nicer location, even if the caves themselves are not as lavish. The location has also meant they were 'lost' for rather a long time, infact it was the British who stumbled across them, meaning that the caves were save from the Islamic destruction of Ellora.

A lot of the paint work has also survived here, so while the carvings are smaller in scale, there is more colour to see. It really is a lovely place! The time to visit, apparently, is just after the monsoon, when the river is full, creating a stunning waterfalls and adding some great sounds to the mix.

One thing that you cannot escape in India is the poverty of certain groups, and this manifests itself in people trying to make a living in a startling number of ways. The hills around Ajanta are full of amethyst and other crystals, and it is therefore for sale everywhere one turns. Not needing to carry rocks around India with me, I took up another offer, for a tour of the area above the caves, and it was a nice peaceful way to get a great look at everything from above. I tipped the guy 200 rupees, which in rural India can be as much as a days salary. This generosity from me wont last, as I become more hardened/numbed to it, but everything at the beginning of this trip is a learning experience, and that includes spending too much of my money. My budget of 300pounds a month is very low (I CAN afford more, but will try to aim for this), but seemingly do-able and will leave spending money for things like camel treks or bungee jumping.

Ellora Caves

So, my first visit to a city in a week, and therefore the ability to write something! Although at 20pence an hour for Internet, I am not sure I can afford to stay here more than a few hours!

It has been an eventful week out here in India, and almost all positive I am pleased to report. The only downside being that my lens broke (thankfully after visiting the caves), but it is in a small repair shop now, and I hope it will be ok! Fingers crossed anyway, likewise, with my ticket for the night train to Bhopal tonight. I am currently 75th on the waiting list (it was 96 two days ago, so i guess that is a good sign). Trains are SOO busy here, that pretty much every seat is taken on every train- making just turning up at the station almost impossible.

Anyway, back to talking about stuff I have done. The night bus from Mumbai to Aurangabad was CCOOOLLLDDD, seriously, I had to put my down-jacket on. This was due to a combination of cool weather, and the MASSIVE gaps between the windows and frames, allowing for a constant flow of fresh air.

The plan for my first day was to see the Ellora Caves, and nearby fort. After the bus, and the heat/dust, however, I just settled for the caves. They are spread over a 2km cliff, and feature carvings from 3 of the main religions in India - Jain, Hindu and Buddhist. Some of them were stunningly beautiful (others rather bleak). Unfortunately, most had suffered from the iconoclasm of the 4th major religion in India- Islam. The destruction of the giant Buddhist statues in Afghanistan a few years ago, is nothing new, and the wanton defacement of fantastic art has been going on for a long time.

There is no card reader on this computer, so no photos I am afraid, but google should be able to help you out!

Byebye Mumbai

I have an 8pm night bus today, to take me to Aurangabad, and the Ellora and Ajanta caves, which will keep me busy for the next few days.

But before that, an update on what I did in Mumbai today. I went for a tour of the Dharavi 'slums', called the largest slums in the world, and home of the highest population density as well. I was rather apprehensive about going, not because of safety, but because of not wanting to just be a gawping tourist, looking at the poor people.

But the Reality Tours tour was great, and we were shown around by a current inhabitant, and really got a feel for the industry and community of the place. It is a major center for recycling in the city, and is a regular hive of small workshops - melting down plastic bottles, washing and cleaning metal oil containers, making poppadoms and clay pots, and just generally being busy. It DIDN'T have a air of despair to it, despite being filthy and packed, and I am glad I visited. Not only to experience what I did, but to dispel some of the negative stereotypes I held about slums. I only took the photo at start, as we were asked not to take photos, out of respect of those living there. It was difficult to agree, as the colours and life of the place was very photogenic, but having my camera in my bag did allow me to absorb m

ore, and feel less touristy.

For lunch we went to a Goan restaurant, and had some delicious but SPICY foods, from an area of India I won't be visiting. I hope after 5 months, I will be able to eat spicier foods, otherwise I will feel like a kid, asking for the mildest items on menues.

Right..so packing begin the real beginning to the adventure, and it will be hard to leave the creature comforts of the lovely house behind. And for you, my dear readers, it spells the start of less access to internet, although, as blogs aren't blocked here (as they are in, say, Kazakhstan), I should be able to post from my Kindle at least... minus the pictures though.

Mumbai 2

The gateway to India

Train station
Commuting

Let loose in the city today, and nothing worse to report than blisters.

First of all though, this morning I visited the Hari Krishna temple near where I am staying, and it was interesting to learn about the starting of the movement - aided by some rather energetic dioramas. It was a beautiful temple complex though, and everyone was very friendly.

After that, the real adventure began (although I did accept a lift to the station, no need to turn down a free ride!) After 5 minutes of queuing for a ticket (There were 8 different lines, all the same length, and this was just a small local stop!), I got the 8rs (about 11pence) ticket and found my way onto what I thought was the right train. It was, thank goodness, as i really had no idea what was going on, but I arrived in downtown Mumbai 30 minutes later!

I met up with a Couch-surfer (google it) and spent a great afternoon seeing the tourist sites (lots of big old buildings built by the British), before meeting up with the Alexandra (wife of family i am staying with) for a show of 'The old man and the sea' by a friend of hers. It was entertaining, but helped greatly that I had read the book!

Ill try and get 1 more post tomorrow done, before I am deprived of the guaranteed use of a computer!

Mumbai

The flower delivery guy, in the local fishing village

Well, I am in India, Mumbai to be precise, and by the sounds of it, currently in a much warmer situation than England. Bloody typical, I ALWAYS MISS THE SNOW!!! It is currently in the low 30's (Celsius), and the locals are complaining how cold it is. I have seen numerous hats and sweaters. Crazy. This is just about perfect for me, although I know things will only get hotter until I am able to get up into the mountains (and can make use of the 4 season sleeping bag, down jacket, thermal underwear and beanie i brought with me).

So my experience of India so far has been, fr

ankly, less than typical, but still fantastic. I am staying with friends of a former boss, a lovely family living in the northern area of Mumbai. When I say 'less than typical'' its because of things like them having a cook, a cleaner, a house boy, a gardener and 2 drivers. Now, that may seem like a lot, but the cleaner is the daughter-in-law of the cook, and the houseboy has been part of the family for 4 years and is almost like a son. It doesn't feel like 'master' and 'servant', but more like 'boss' and 'staff'' and I haven't felt uncomfortable.

The lifestyle they lead though, is different to what I will be seeing in the rest of my Indian trip. I have been to The Club twice now, swimming in the pool, and for a wine tasting evening yesterday, and while is does have a certain Raj era feel to it, 80% of the members seem to be Indian, so at least some things have changed.

The neighbourhood where I am currently staying, has more expensive property prices than Manhattan apparently, with lots of swish apartment blocks, all with guards on the front door. In contrast with this, is, well, the real India, which is very close indeed. I went for a ramble around the block this morning, ostensibly to get a hair cut, but also for my first solo taste of India (I have been very lucky to have been driven everywhere with the family up until now). So I did find a barber, armed with a plastic stool, a small box with

his equipment, and a shaded spot on the pavement. For 50rs (75rs is a pound) I got a haircut, a shave with a cut-throat razor and a head massage - al

l from a guy who didn't speak any English and was probably illiterate. I had a view of road one side, packed with cars and auto-rickshaws, all following the standard road policy of complete anarchy (lanes/lights/indicating/stopping etc all seem to be optional), OR, the view the other way was over some waste ground that was frequently used as the toilet by the local market sellers. And less than 10 minutes away from the apartment.

Here is a photo of my new favorite barber...and the view

My new cut, modeled in my bedroom

This contrast between rich and poor, is something that I have never seen more clearly (I thought Kazakhstan was bad...at least most of the people in the village were roughly the same). I am going to see the famous Dharavi slum tomorrow morning - then finally take my first train downtown and finally see the sights of Mumbai (was given a car tour, but not the same as on foot), before attending an art show in the evening. And HOPEFULLY buy a bus ticket to my next destination - Aurangabad, stopping off point for the Ellora and Ajanta caves and Daulatabad fort.

This has been rather long and boring, sorry! A few other things I have done since I have been here... with less rambling I promise!

Flew kites on the beach

Ate sugar cane (it IS sweet, but easier to just suck on sugar cubes)

The local flute/whistle seller walks around playing on one- lovely sound

Drank from a coconut

Went to see a 3D film (journey 2- one of the kids in the family is 11).... ticket cost about 3 pounds

Went to Dominos Pizza

Dubai

So i am aware that this 'India' blog so far hasn't talked much about India, and I will remedy that with the next post (I am in Mumbai now, I promise!), but first stop for the trip was in Dubai.

I stayed here two nights, and I think that was long enough to get a pretty good feel of the city. On arrival at the airport, I was rather shocked to see the number of non-arab staff, basically running the place, and that thought stayed with me the entire time. It turns out 45% of the country is Indian, and only 15% are Emirate Arabs. Which is a very low number, but not one that seems to concern too many people living here.

The brand new metro is very shiny, and worked without fault, although it doesn't seem to have attracted too many customers yet. At less than £2 for a 20min trip from the Airport to where I was staying, it won me over anyway!

I stayed with a friend from Japan, and it was great to see him again, and hear more about his post-Japan experiences (Peace Boat then Dubai), and eat fantastic hummus! He had to work during the day, which left me free to explore. On crutches. Recipe for disaster, but actually accident free!

Instead of going to the malls to look at stuff I wasn't going to buy, I went to try and find some of the 'old' Dubai, rather a challenge, seeing as the city only started to gain the importance it now has, from the 1960's onwards, but some effort has been made downtown to preserve (or simply build from scratch) some of the traditional buildings. This is centered on the creek, and made a pleasant walk, with the water and palm trees providing more to look at than the identical apartment blocks that make up much of the city. I popped into an Islamic house, which had a very interesting exhibition on Calligraphy, and it was nice to see examples of stuff I had studied in my Islamic Art course. The rest of the house though, was rather evangelical in its information about Islam, and was rather odd. In the first room,

there were displays showing how the Qu'ran must be true, as there are scientific statements in it, that scientists have only just proved to be correct (womb having 3 layers, people being made of water etc)...the NEXT room though, was all about the creation story, which is basically the same as the Christian idea, which couldn't be further from science. Very odd indeed, and only reinforced my belief that people can believe in God and the stories from religious texts if they want, but dont ever try to use science to prove them as being correct, as it just looks silly.

Anyway, I leave you with this photo, and the promise that I will finally talk about India in the next post!