Initially, the jeep somebody had booked was cancelled, so we had to reorganise a jeep to get from campus to Pune.
From there, we had to find some other sort of transport to get us to Bombay/Mumbai. Our original plan- getting public transport- was crushed when we found out that we were an hour away from the station. We picked up another jeep, and were on the road again.
Upon our arrival in Bombay, indicated by the bumper to bumper traffic, we went out to dinner with a bunch of MUWCI folk. Then our attempt to find our accommodation started.
We got into a cab with a MUWCI Hindi speaker, and asked him for the address. He shrugged his bony shoulders, and began to drive, his head barely reaching over the top of the wheel.
The Hindi speaker asked people on the street for directions, but there were several places with similar names which caused us much confusion and many u-turns. Eventually, a man in a white string vest, surrounded by beggars sleeping on the street, managed to point us in the right direction.
It was a rather surreal journey. The cabs here have floor to ceiling carpeting, the group we were with was an eclectic mix of Korean/Nepali/Thai/Indian/Norwegian/Dutch, and Bombay is bright and vibrant, even on a dry (no alcohol) day.
Right now, we're waiting for two fellow students, who were planning on booking into a hotel but haven't brought their passports. Genius.
I'll update on what this night and weekend turned out like soon :)
x
Hi Sophie - This is my first ever blog, so excuse mistakes. I'm so glad for you that you are having this time in India. I visited the Northern areas myself a few years ago, and hope to get back there one day, when my responsibilities at home have lessened. I loved it, and am enjoying reading about your trips in trains and taxis etc.
ReplyDeleteBut also I was brought up on stories of 'when I was in India' from my Father. He would have been 100 this year, and never forgot the details of his trips around India and Ceylon(as SriLanka was called then) whilst he was in the RAF during World War 2. I also have his memory for details (usually irrelevant to everyone else).
When my parents were living in North London, and as they became more elderly, and frail, they has some neighbours who were originally from SriLanka. They were really supportive friends, to each other, so the link was preserved to the end of his life.
Keep blogging, especially about the ordinary things you see. The longer you are there you will probably not find them so amazing, but I will. I have never taken so many photos as I did on my holiday there, the possibilities were endless.
We are still a bit snowbound here, in fact more is falling at present. Do you remember when I came to Holland one January - it was icy then? Must now e mail your Mum, and tell her that I've made contact, I think....... love from Gill