Waking in Mumbai on the first morning, there was a certain apprehension to go and explore the city. Having been told far too much from others who didn't like the country, we were unsure of what exactly to expect. After some breakfast with our home stay Usha, we decided to go and explore at our own pace.
First stop - train station ticketing office. Directed to #14 foreigner counter, only to be told there were no overnight trains to Jaipur (our next destination) and to return 8am the next day to buy Tak Tal tickets. These tickets are only opened to the public a day before the train travels, and cost more. They are intended to stop agencies buying up all the tickets and scalping them to tourists and locals alike.
"8am, you be here right on time. Get ticket no problem".
Lunch consisted of a hole in the wall restaurant serving thalis. These steel trays are dirty cheap and come with multiple compartments - a meat or veg curry, a bread, rice and a sweet pot of...not sure. We arrived to meet the gaze of locals fully packing the place. We sat across from two business men and looked around to realise everyone was eating with their hands. My chicken masala thali was incredibly delicious, and every messy eaters dream. One uses only the right hand, scooping handfuls of sauce soaked rice and meat into the hand and depositing it neatly as possible into the mouth.
We then attempted following an architecture walk outlined in the lonely planet guide, but when our first day all became a bit hectic we retreated to a garden full of locals. Here, we found a group of women in beautiful saris all sitting around. Exchanging smiles and hellos, we were swept up in photos before we knew it, all enjoying the cool of the park and one another's company.
At my side appeared a fellow foreigner. Jess, a young woman from Canada was a solo traveler doing 2 months in India.
"I'm doing a walk in my lonely planet guide" she explained.
As fate would have it, we not only had the same guide but were on the exact same architecture walk out of the thousands of pages in the hefty guidebook. With the difference being Jess had stuck to it.
"It's alright, but it's not really very...wow or anything".
It was good to know we weren't missing much.
Skipping the walk, we headed south for the Gateway of India. A monument built during the British raj, it sits overlooking the Arabian Sea and stands tall, attracting hundreds of people at once. People who apparently wanted photos with us. And to talk to us. And for us to hold their babies. And to film us for a documentary on the history channel. To stand still for too long was to invite attention and requests. After watching the sun set over the Gateway and the Taj Palace we decided we had held enough babies and walked home.
"Maybe I should get my hair cut". Having failed to book a hair cut before departing Australia, Jakob stood outside the barber around the corner from our apartment.
"Maybe, depends if you want to potentially look really silly for a while"
"Maybe, but you're the one who would have to look at it"
"Fair point".
The place was booming with life at 10 at night - with 12 seats occupied by men having cuts, shaves and massages. I sat and waited as the only female in the store to see if Jakob's fate was a bowl cut. An excellent haircut and cut throat shave later, Jakob emerged looking brand new.
After some late night talks with Usha, Jakob's snoring in his chair signified the end of our first day in Mumbai.
