i am back in amherst, after many hours of travel halfway around the world, but want to recap my last days in india.
then i went back to the hotel and slept - - my game plan was to spend half of each day fully exploring the city, and half the day relaxing so as not to get overwhelmed.
i arrived in mumbai at 7 am on sunday morning, having slept only slightly on the sleeper bus from jamkhed. it was a bus without seats, but with bunk beds - wide enough for two - 
along either side of the aisle. they had little curtains covering them, and windows in each that i opened for the ride to get some air (AC sleeper doesn't mean the AC is on, apparently). abhi, a driver from CRHP, came with me, and we spent the night foot to head on the double bunk. not too comfortable. when i got to mumbai, the city was silent - no traffic, no masses, fewer smells. i got to the hotel and took a shower, turned on the AC and went to sleep until noon.
along either side of the aisle. they had little curtains covering them, and windows in each that i opened for the ride to get some air (AC sleeper doesn't mean the AC is on, apparently). abhi, a driver from CRHP, came with me, and we spent the night foot to head on the double bunk. not too comfortable. when i got to mumbai, the city was silent - no traffic, no masses, fewer smells. i got to the hotel and took a shower, turned on the AC and went to sleep until noon.when i got up, i made a b-line for mahesh lunch home, where david, june and i ate the f
irst time we were in mumbai. i got spicy house special prawns, which were even better than i remembered them. after a long lunch, i walked down mahatma gandhi (MG) road, and went shopping for some souvenirs. then i hopped in a taxi and went to mani bhavan, gandhi's house in mumbai that is now an historical society and museum (at right). it was free, which was an added bonus. then i took a taxi over to crossword bookstore, an indian barnes & noble's with a cafe and everything. i got a toasted cheese sandwich and a smoothie... pretty funny now that i think about it, but i was so excited to be eating non-indian food at that point. i bought a book on yoga and the alchemist, by paulo coelho (for the plane).
irst time we were in mumbai. i got spicy house special prawns, which were even better than i remembered them. after a long lunch, i walked down mahatma gandhi (MG) road, and went shopping for some souvenirs. then i hopped in a taxi and went to mani bhavan, gandhi's house in mumbai that is now an historical society and museum (at right). it was free, which was an added bonus. then i took a taxi over to crossword bookstore, an indian barnes & noble's with a cafe and everything. i got a toasted cheese sandwich and a smoothie... pretty funny now that i think about it, but i was so excited to be eating non-indian food at that point. i bought a book on yoga and the alchemist, by paulo coelho (for the plane).then i went back to the hotel and slept - - my game plan was to spend half of each day fully exploring the city, and half the day relaxing so as not to get overwhelmed.
monday morning, i woke and had 
breakfast at a little place across the way. i got idli sambar, which are (picture right) little cakes served with a spicy broth and coconut chutney. i had mango juice with it. oh god it was so good, thinking about it now... if you've had ethiopian food, the idli (cakes) taste like that large flat ethipian bread that you dip in stew
s. it is slightly fermented-tasting, but not bitter, and quite spongy. then i was off to colaba causeway by foot. i walked for a good hour downtown in the tourist district, where i bought hand-made chappals (little sandals with the toe-loop like those at left, but mine are red). then i bought indian sweets, which taste like a sweet cheese mixed with nuts, but it's formed into a cube with edible silver decorations on it. i stopped into coffee day, a chain around india which always promises air conditioning and purified water in cold foods (a concern at all times - only eat hot things! we are told as travelers, but this place made it possible, on a 90 degree day, to enjoy icy beverages and cool sandwiches). i got a mango milkshake that was dynamite. on my way back up colaba causeway, i bought a $6 suitcase to carry home all the things i had bought in india. as i hopped in a taxi, i hoped secretly that it would make it home (to give you an idea, the straps inside that clip together to hold your clothes in place were made out of fruit of the loom underwear elastic!)
breakfast at a little place across the way. i got idli sambar, which are (picture right) little cakes served with a spicy broth and coconut chutney. i had mango juice with it. oh god it was so good, thinking about it now... if you've had ethiopian food, the idli (cakes) taste like that large flat ethipian bread that you dip in stew
s. it is slightly fermented-tasting, but not bitter, and quite spongy. then i was off to colaba causeway by foot. i walked for a good hour downtown in the tourist district, where i bought hand-made chappals (little sandals with the toe-loop like those at left, but mine are red). then i bought indian sweets, which taste like a sweet cheese mixed with nuts, but it's formed into a cube with edible silver decorations on it. i stopped into coffee day, a chain around india which always promises air conditioning and purified water in cold foods (a concern at all times - only eat hot things! we are told as travelers, but this place made it possible, on a 90 degree day, to enjoy icy beverages and cool sandwiches). i got a mango milkshake that was dynamite. on my way back up colaba causeway, i bought a $6 suitcase to carry home all the things i had bought in india. as i hopped in a taxi, i hoped secretly that it would make it home (to give you an idea, the straps inside that clip together to hold your clothes in place were made out of fruit of the loom underwear elastic!)i went home and napped, then ventured out to find some snacks and mango juice for the room. i wandered around some outdoor markets near my hotel, where there were no tourists at all, and enjoyed the city as the sun set. then i went back to mahesh lunch home - i couldn't get enough! - and had another delicious meal of chicken tikka and garlic naan, and ice cream made of some ingredient i'd never had that was really delicious. it had little nuts and gummied-fruit in it and was orange.
on tuesday, i woke up early and walked down to the prince of wales museum, the major museum in mumbai that houses all the indian sculpture, miniatures, tibetan and nepali art, as 
well as a natural history museum. you get a free audio tour with admission, so i spent a good two hours wandering around the museum, which - at left - is housed in a gorgeous indo-saracenic style building from the empire days. then i went to a great restaurant called delhi darbar, where i ordered north indian naan and butter chicken, then had custard apple-flavored ice cream. i had heard of custard apple all throughout my stay, as they grow it on the farm in jamkhed, and one of the main things i had heard was that it was a favorite ice cream flavor in india. it looks like an unripe cauliflower ball, and inside are little nubs, each containing an inedible black seed. but it's a very creamy fruit that tastes like a combination of milk and pear. it's really good.
well as a natural history museum. you get a free audio tour with admission, so i spent a good two hours wandering around the museum, which - at left - is housed in a gorgeous indo-saracenic style building from the empire days. then i went to a great restaurant called delhi darbar, where i ordered north indian naan and butter chicken, then had custard apple-flavored ice cream. i had heard of custard apple all throughout my stay, as they grow it on the farm in jamkhed, and one of the main things i had heard was that it was a favorite ice cream flavor in india. it looks like an unripe cauliflower ball, and inside are little nubs, each containing an inedible black seed. but it's a very creamy fruit that tastes like a combination of milk and pear. it's really good.then i was going to take a tour of bombay, but none were running, so i decided to take the ferry to elephanta island, a site in the middle of the harbor an hour from the shore that has some hindu caves. but when i got there, i was so happy to see... monkeys! they looked like this one (i searched "elephanta island monkeys" and this came up, so this monkey is actually from elephanta):
if it hadn't been for the monkeys, i would not have been glad i went to elephanta.
i came back, and took a taxi to swati snacks - a kind of swanky place where all the food is made with purified water, so i got bhel puri and pani puri - - generally served on chowpatty beach by vendors with carts, but safe to eat at this place. they are little spherical puffs that are popped at the top so that they can be filled with lentils, puffed rice, chutney and some spices. they explode in your mouth. i also had a kesar lassi, which was a sweet yogurt drink.
i headed back to the hotel to pack and prepare for the long trip home, and slept poorly because i watched a tv show documenting flight accidents and plane fires. not the brightest idea the night before 24 hours of air travel.
in the morning i woke to a call from dave, who was in the lobby (he was going on to delhi with june, and had come back to mumbai on the way). we had breakfast at the place across the street - masala dosa - and then i got into the taxi and headed to the airport.
the plane flight back was the longest of my life. as we landed i almost started crying because i was so happy to be home. then i saw zeke, who came to get me at the airport. and now i am home in amherst, picturing the imaginary line across the globe i took to get from jamkhed to amherst. i can't believe what a massive journey that is.
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