I had been waiting in Mumbai for what felt like weeks (5 days) for my camera to be fixed and I was itching to get out. Not that I don't like it but how anyone can stand it for more than a week is beyond me. Luckily I was saved by the arrival of Shaan, Rhys and Will, on their way from Goa to Sri Lanka. It was nice to see some familiar faces after being stared at since I got here and I managed to get some good tips on where to stay (not Delhi), where to eat (not hair thali) and what to drink (my discovery of sweet lassis is now a full blown addiction, rivaling my former penchant for Diet Coke). Check out their blog at http://wellstreetwanderers.blogspot.com, they're now off to the rest of Asia which has made me jealous as I realise I will be eating only curry for the next 6 months.
I was finally able to quit the hot sweat of Mumbai, leaving behind the enormous rats and constant buzz for streets full of horses and not a lot else. I arrived in Matheran yesterday, it's a tiny (in fact, the smallest in the world apparently) hill station about 300kms east of Mumbai. It's a great little place and the rather ardous journey ends with a tiny toy train (think thunder mountain at Disney) that rolls up the impossibly steep hillside for 2 hours. Luckily I was entertained my three wonderful old French Hippie ladies who made jokes about Toulouse being known for rugby, saucisson et le saucisson de jouer rugby. Putains sale!
It struck me just now, as I write this in some internet cafe next to a child playing GTA in Spanish and someone just stop for a chat while saddled up, that this really is the only place where people actually ride through the middle of the town to get to the shops. Cars and auto-rickshaws are banned so the now familiar tooting has been replaced my the clip-clopping. It's all rather lovely and definitely cured me of Bombay malaise (... I sound like a Raj civil servant, dear god). I actually got the balls to go out for a ride today (bearing in mind most of the bridle ways are next to sheer cliffs) and it was bloody amazing. Before I wanted to buy a Hindustan Ambassador and drive around, now I want to ride a horse to Goa. Unfortunately, there were no photos, I was too scared for the safety of my accident prone camera, and today also happened to be laundry day so I rode in shorts. Suffice to say I'm in pain.
I head back down tomorrow and back into Mumbai to hop on a train to Goa. I'm not quite shore what ticket I have so god knows what will happen but hopefully I'll arrive in one piece eventually. Wish me luck! As always, love to all. Send me an email and I solemnly swear I'll write back.
I was finally able to quit the hot sweat of Mumbai, leaving behind the enormous rats and constant buzz for streets full of horses and not a lot else. I arrived in Matheran yesterday, it's a tiny (in fact, the smallest in the world apparently) hill station about 300kms east of Mumbai. It's a great little place and the rather ardous journey ends with a tiny toy train (think thunder mountain at Disney) that rolls up the impossibly steep hillside for 2 hours. Luckily I was entertained my three wonderful old French Hippie ladies who made jokes about Toulouse being known for rugby, saucisson et le saucisson de jouer rugby. Putains sale!
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| Ganesh on the way up. |
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| Thunder Mountain! |
It struck me just now, as I write this in some internet cafe next to a child playing GTA in Spanish and someone just stop for a chat while saddled up, that this really is the only place where people actually ride through the middle of the town to get to the shops. Cars and auto-rickshaws are banned so the now familiar tooting has been replaced my the clip-clopping. It's all rather lovely and definitely cured me of Bombay malaise (... I sound like a Raj civil servant, dear god). I actually got the balls to go out for a ride today (bearing in mind most of the bridle ways are next to sheer cliffs) and it was bloody amazing. Before I wanted to buy a Hindustan Ambassador and drive around, now I want to ride a horse to Goa. Unfortunately, there were no photos, I was too scared for the safety of my accident prone camera, and today also happened to be laundry day so I rode in shorts. Suffice to say I'm in pain.
I head back down tomorrow and back into Mumbai to hop on a train to Goa. I'm not quite shore what ticket I have so god knows what will happen but hopefully I'll arrive in one piece eventually. Wish me luck! As always, love to all. Send me an email and I solemnly swear I'll write back.
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| P.S Check out where I'm staying! |
Gx
