This last week was crazy...
Wednesday I sent my clothes to be cleaned and attempted to follow their journey to the
famous Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat ("The worlds largest man powered washing machine"). I proceeded to get lost on the Mumbai local trains somehow getting on the express train instead of the local and didn't know until I had overshot my stop by nearly a hour. Dhobi Ghat itself is pretty amazing; they soak the clothes in various solutions and then proceed to beat them against rocks until clean.
Wednesday night I went an exclusive members only club in Mumbai where the richest early 20 somethings party. We danced and partied till 2 then went to an after hours at someone's house until 5:30. It was awesome.
Thursday, slightly queasy from the night before, I had the bright idea to take a one hour boat ride to Elephanta Island. It's a miracle I didn't loose my lunch in the Mumbai Bay. The agonizing boat ride was well worth it though. The island was amazing, hand carved caves that had been abandoned for thousands of years have become a major tourist attraction in Mumbai.
Friday I went to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The park was amazing and I highly recommend it to everyone. They had hundreds of species of plants, birds and animals from all over India. My personal favorite was the white bangle tiger, very cool. The park is also host to an amazing mountain top Ghandi Memorial park and man made caves that were well worth the trip.
The park is also host to an amazing man made cave system (the Kanheri Caves) that functioned as a sanctuary for Buddhist Monks in the 2nd and 9th century. Fair warning, the cave system is about 7km from the park entrance... at the top of a massive mountain... facts which I overlooked and attempted to walk it instead of opting to rent a motorcycle for 70rupees (1.5 dollars US). I'm an idiot, I realize. It was worth the walk, but it should come as no surprise to anyone that I hitch hiked my way back to the entrance.
Sunday I hung out with some friends and packed for the next half of my journey. After Sid nearly gave me a panic attack by forgetting to tell me his car clock was 10 minutes fast, I (unnecessarily) sprinted to the train to Agra forgetting my hat in his car.
I had booked a 2 AC sleeper and for a 24 hour trip that spanned nearly the distance from florida to New York I paid 25 dollars US. I spent the first half of the trip in a cabin almost entirely to myself. It would have been very peaceful, but everyone from surrounding cabins decided to drop by (usually with their kids) and talk to the token white guy... Are we beginning to see a pattern here? I didn't mind that much, everyone was very nice but when I'm trying to read Midnights Children (great so far) I'm not in a very talkative mood.
After a few hours I was joined by the assigned passenger Rizwan Ahmed. We became fast friends and talked for hours about Indian and Arib politics, arranged marriages (in his region it is almost a given and was quite taken back by the concept of "dating"), India's attitudes towards their national land marks, ect. He was a great guy (even invited me to his wedding) and we'll hopefully stay in touch.
I'll break down the Taj, Agra Fort, and Fatehpur Sikri (along with some amazing pics and stories) in a later post.
Wednesday I sent my clothes to be cleaned and attempted to follow their journey to the
famous Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat ("The worlds largest man powered washing machine"). I proceeded to get lost on the Mumbai local trains somehow getting on the express train instead of the local and didn't know until I had overshot my stop by nearly a hour. Dhobi Ghat itself is pretty amazing; they soak the clothes in various solutions and then proceed to beat them against rocks until clean.Wednesday night I went an exclusive members only club in Mumbai where the richest early 20 somethings party. We danced and partied till 2 then went to an after hours at someone's house until 5:30. It was awesome.
Thursday, slightly queasy from the night before, I had the bright idea to take a one hour boat ride to Elephanta Island. It's a miracle I didn't loose my lunch in the Mumbai Bay. The agonizing boat ride was well worth it though. The island was amazing, hand carved caves that had been abandoned for thousands of years have become a major tourist attraction in Mumbai.
Friday I went to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The park was amazing and I highly recommend it to everyone. They had hundreds of species of plants, birds and animals from all over India. My personal favorite was the white bangle tiger, very cool. The park is also host to an amazing mountain top Ghandi Memorial park and man made caves that were well worth the trip.
The park is also host to an amazing man made cave system (the Kanheri Caves) that functioned as a sanctuary for Buddhist Monks in the 2nd and 9th century. Fair warning, the cave system is about 7km from the park entrance... at the top of a massive mountain... facts which I overlooked and attempted to walk it instead of opting to rent a motorcycle for 70rupees (1.5 dollars US). I'm an idiot, I realize. It was worth the walk, but it should come as no surprise to anyone that I hitch hiked my way back to the entrance. That night, exhausted from conquering the mountains at Sanjay Ghandi, I had an Indian interpretation of Gnocchi. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was delicious none the less.
Saturday I spent most of the day tooling around Mumbai, tieing up some lose ends and making 
travel arrangements for the remainder of my trip (details below). However the day was topped off with one of the best meals of my life. Hidden on the rooftop of an apartment building, KOYLA is an amazing hookah bar and restaurant which words alone could not do justice. The service is amazing, the food is some of the best I've ever eaten and the view of Mumbay and the Gateway to India was breathtaking... For more food then my friend Jo and I could finish (though we tried) and some amazing hookah it cost us $30 combined (tip included). Unbelievable. Jo took some great shots of the place that I'll post when I get them. Highly recommended.
travel arrangements for the remainder of my trip (details below). However the day was topped off with one of the best meals of my life. Hidden on the rooftop of an apartment building, KOYLA is an amazing hookah bar and restaurant which words alone could not do justice. The service is amazing, the food is some of the best I've ever eaten and the view of Mumbay and the Gateway to India was breathtaking... For more food then my friend Jo and I could finish (though we tried) and some amazing hookah it cost us $30 combined (tip included). Unbelievable. Jo took some great shots of the place that I'll post when I get them. Highly recommended.Sunday I hung out with some friends and packed for the next half of my journey. After Sid nearly gave me a panic attack by forgetting to tell me his car clock was 10 minutes fast, I (unnecessarily) sprinted to the train to Agra forgetting my hat in his car.
I had booked a 2 AC sleeper and for a 24 hour trip that spanned nearly the distance from florida to New York I paid 25 dollars US. I spent the first half of the trip in a cabin almost entirely to myself. It would have been very peaceful, but everyone from surrounding cabins decided to drop by (usually with their kids) and talk to the token white guy... Are we beginning to see a pattern here? I didn't mind that much, everyone was very nice but when I'm trying to read Midnights Children (great so far) I'm not in a very talkative mood.
After a few hours I was joined by the assigned passenger Rizwan Ahmed. We became fast friends and talked for hours about Indian and Arib politics, arranged marriages (in his region it is almost a given and was quite taken back by the concept of "dating"), India's attitudes towards their national land marks, ect. He was a great guy (even invited me to his wedding) and we'll hopefully stay in touch.
I'll break down the Taj, Agra Fort, and Fatehpur Sikri (along with some amazing pics and stories) in a later post.
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