Our great Indian adventure started on a Friday evening, after a non-eventful trip to the Heathrow airport (something that’s pretty rare for us). We had planned an extensive tour of the country focusing on the southern region, the country is huge so it was impossible to get to see the north.

We managed to arrive and pass security without incident but for a change we had some very fortunate news when we were looking to start boarding, at first we were informed that we were not checked in which our first thoughts were that there was a mix-up and we will end up arguing or missing the flight but it actually turned out that we were upgraded to business class. This was brilliant!

Neither of us had ever flown in business class before so apart from being excited that we will finally manage to fly in anything better than cattle class (sometimes the airlines call this economy class but we all know what it is), we were happy that we might actually manage to sleep on the flight. There is a huge difference in economy and business, it’s like a different world – one with space and no annoying neighbours. The food was of course way better and overall the whole experience was not just double but probably ten times better than economy class.

 

After our 8-hour flight we arrived in Mumbai where we proceeded to pass through passport control, luggage reclaim and another security scan. Finally we were in India (officially). The Mumbai airport looked modern, clean and pretty well organised which actually did surprise us.

As part of my birthday treat, Izaskun had arranged to stay in Mumbai’s most luxurious hotel, called the Taj Mahal Hotel which we will moving to as soon as we could get out of the airport. Luckily, Izaskun arranged a driver to collect us and drop us off at the hotel who was actually waiting for us when we exited, something that we were pleasantly surprised about. The Taj Mahal was famous for its history but in recent times because it was the target of the 2008 terrorist attacks which had resulted in higher security measures, which we saw or even next door.

When we started driving we were also pretty surprised by the small amount of traffic, the highway was pretty much deserted and well maintained. We asked the driver, who spoke a bit of English, if this was ‘normal’. He essentially informed us that this is not allowed by all traffic, hence this is not the ‘real-deal’. In about 15 minutes we soon discovered the real traffic, auto-rickshaws (we were informed that in order parts of the world they would be called Tuk Tuks but in India they are ‘auto-rickshaws), cars, people, motorbikes, buses, trucks, cows, goats, dogs, chickens, etc… essentially everything goes on the road. This, as we will discover is a common theme across the country (or at least on what we saw), was probably the most chaotic driving we’ve ever seen and we like to believe we have seen some pretty driving across the world.

So after an hour or so trip through the chaotic town and a couple of heart attacks, we managed to see some interesting sights including cross the impressive bridge, called the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link which links Mumbai’s Bandra and Worli suburbs across a large mass of water of dubious colour. We also managed to see some other sights including various cricket stadiums (it is pretty clear that cricket is the most popular sport), drive along the ‘Queen’s necklace’ which is a pleasant boulevard overlooking the sea and various interesting buildings but most importantly we starting to see the slums and rich building styles next door to each other. We learnt that it is pretty common to see slums and fancy houses in the same neighbourhood.

 

Finally we arrived to the Taj Mahal Hotel, which was huge, it was about 5 blocks in size and absolutely dominates the area with its style and size. Located next to the Gate to India, it is clear that it’s a 5 star hotel and probably the main hotel in the area, or perhaps in the city. We proceeded to enter the hotel but before we could do so, we needed to be verified by security as a consequence of the terrorist attacks. It was pretty much like an airport’s security where our bags were scanned and we were also. After passing through that we checked in, we felt a bit self-conscience with out backpacks while all other guests where in formal attire. We proceeded to our rooms where they insist on carrying the Luggage, something we not fond of. In which when we arrived there was an awkward pause where I believe the bellboy expected a tip. I didn’t have any Rupees yet as we had just arrived so I just thanked him, however I am not particularly keen on tipping bellboys for carrying our luggage even when I don’t want them to do so.

 

Regardless, the room was amazing. We were on the 6^th floor with a view of the old colonial Yacht club and of course the chaotic streets below. The noise from the streets is relentless with the constant hooting sounds, we discovered this pretty much goes 24 hours a day. Luckily they were not too loud in our room but overall there is no possible way to have absolute silence.

 

We took some time to rest and recover from the trip, it was good to shower and freshen up. A bit later we dared to walk out side to see how it would be to see the authentic street life. The contrast between the hotel and outside couldn’t be more different, inside classic music and marble columns stand while outside were people rushing about and cars driving on each other’s tail. After a brief walk we came back to the hotel, Izaskun had prepared a birthday surprise dinner, which I needed to dress up for. This meant dressing up, pretty much the only opportunity where we needed to dress up in India. At 8pm we went down to the restaurant, it was an Indian restaurant for we will be trying some authentic Indian cuisine, well authentic while accommodating western tolerance to spice.

 

The meal was very good and we pretty stuffed by the end of it. We also even managed to try some local wine, which was very good. We even though about buying some and trying to bringing it back to London but unfortunately we couldn’t manage to keep that in our backpacks.

 

After dinner we went back to the room, where I had a special treat waiting for me – a chocolate cake with many heart balloons and a ‘Happy Birthday’ banner for us. Yet again, another well executed plan by Izaskun (apparently it took about 17 emails to get the staff at the hotel to understand what was wanted… difficult). It took us about 3 days to eat the cake, which mostly consisted of Izaskun forcing me to have cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Something I half complained about each time.

 

The following two days flew past in a blur, which consisted of us exploring the town, main attractions around us included walking through the colonial past with its pretty buildings (mostly Neo-Gothic style), honestly it is pretty clear that this area had better days. The buildings were a bit dirty and not very well maintained. Such highlights included the Victoria Terminii – is a very impressive train station building, it is a UNESCO world heritage sight, which is massive, pretty comparable to the St Pancreas station in London. It is a bit of a shame that it isn’t particularly maintained well however it definitely appears to be in working condition with many trains and people seeming to be rushing by.

 

Other impressive architectural buildings included the Prince of Wales museum, now called: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. We didn’t manage to go inside but we did manage to walk around the complex, I think we could of managed to sneak in but Izaskun wasn’t too keen as we didn’t want to get shouted at. We also had a schedule to keep with seeing other sights but apparently it houses an impressive collection of Indian art and historical items.

 

Overall on our walking around we noticed that people stared at us as if we were aliens coming from another world. Sometimes even, we had groups of people with their eyes fixed on us for several minutes, making the whole exploring the city experience, quite an adventure. We didn’t understand the language, few spoke English therefore we were unsure of the reason for those looks. Another remark is that India is a quite traditional country, western clothes and fashion is hardly seen on the streets and both, men and women wear the typical Indian attire. This meant for us, well for Izaskun, that her dressing code had to change. Therefore no skirts or dresses were used by her as they didn’t cover enough. Instead the renowned “Hammer Time“ trousers (inspired by the video MC Hammer’s classic song) came very handy.

 

Of course, we also had to visit the Gateway of India, which is a 26 metre high arch overlooking the Arabian Sea. It was completed in 1924 in commemoration for the royal visit by the, at the time, current King George V and Queen Mary. In which they visited in 1911, as you can see it wasn’t completed in time so when the King and Queen visited there was a temporary structure in place. It serves as the main entry and exit to India (well before that was when we had ships), ironically it is also the point that that British left from India when India gained its independence.

The time to leave our peaceful retreat to go and explore the proper India arrived so, again, we used the hotel taxi services to get into the airport. During this trip, we saw a 25 story building, who we were informed by the taxi driver, was owned by the richest man in India (who owns a company called Reliance). Apparently there are 2 floors used as parking, another used for the pool and who knows what the other floors hide! – he has a family of 5 members.

 

During our drive to the airport we also managed to see an interesting mosque which appeared to be built on the water’s edge. Apparently there is a long history around this which we didn’t fully understand but more or less I believe that the state has closed it as it is build on a Hindu temple (many years ago) and currently there has been a lot of conflict on what should be there, so the state has simply said that no-one can use it. Honestly, probably not a bad idea if it is impossible to get any agreement or negotiating going.

 

So overall, after our short stay in Mumbai (Bombay), it was already time for us to checkout and head to the airport. Next step was Bengaluru (Bangalore), about 2 hours flight.