Day 2, Mumbai [Wednesday 5th December 2007]
Previous day: Day 1, England to India [Tuesday 4th December 2007]
Next day: Day 3, Mumbai [Thursday 6th December 2007]
Arrive in Mumbai at around 1pm. I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth. Suddenly terror struck by the thought of the infectious Indian water sloshing around my mouth, I spit it all out and spend the next half hour trying not to swallow. We book a taxi into Mumbai, which takes about an hour in heavy traffic. The driver points out several hospitals on the way, as well as the areas we travel through - Worli.
At the hotel, Chateau Windsor ("South Mumbai's Leading Budget Hotel"), we shower and change our clothes. We're centrally located on Veer Nariman Road, with Marine Drive and the sea gently arcing past the end of our road. The hotel has a lift, and a lift attendant. It's clean and they seem friendly. They bring us bottled water, but the fact that it's "treated water" rather than mineral water confuses us. Is this safe? I try it. It tastes like water. Apparently it's been filtered and ozonised. Is that safe? Time will tell.
We go out and wander around the High Court. Inspired by Suketu Mehta's description of a "vadapav eaters' city" I get one - and it's delicious. Steaming hot spicy potato deep fried and put in a bun with green and red sauces. Wandering through markets and side streets we get lost somewhere near Sassoon Dock. We get some samosas in a shop then get an autorickshaw to drop us to Chowpatty Beach. There are floodlights set up which cover the beach in silvery light. People sit around on newspapers while boys walk around with music systems blasting out noise, others sell rides on stuttering electric toy cars, yet more go from group to group with big metal urns of chai. It's one of the least relaxing places I've been to, but everyone else seems to be enjoying it.
To one side there is a large group of food stalls, with Bhelpuri appearing to be the speciality. We get a small plate for Rs. 15 - it's a taste explosion of puffed rice, tamarind, chilli, potato, yoghurt and any number of spices. I get another one. It's pretty addictive.
For dinner we go over the road from our hotel to Gaylord, a restaurant that seems to have been around for a very long time. We have a plate of smoky, black chickpeas and a few other things. The bill comes to Rs. 858.
Next day: Day 3, Mumbai [Thursday 6th December 2007]
Previous day: Day 1, England to India [Tuesday 4th December 2007]