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Solo Trip to India and Nepal
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Solo Trip to India and Nepal

This is my first solo overseas trip since Mark died earlier this year. I'm excited to return to India and to explore Nepal for the first time, but it will be strange not to have Mark with me to share the experience with. En savoir plus
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  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalVoyageur

    Breakfast by the lake

    29 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    It felt cold overnight. I was grateful for the quilt on the bed!

    This morning, I got up and went out for a walk. The city was so peaceful at that time, especially at the ghats by the lake. I enjoyed taking some photos and soaking up the atmosphere.

    I had breakfast at a lakeside café. The coffee was good and strong. The aloo paratha was tasty, but a bit too spicy for me. I had to have the curd that was served with it to cool it down.    En savoir plus

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  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalVoyageur

    Udaipur by night

    28 janvier, Inde ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    I took a taxi to my hotel in Old Udaipur, 27 kilometres from the airport. It was a few degrees cooler than I've been used to - a mere 21°C!

    The taxi couldn't get up the narrow streets of the old city, so he dropped me about 300 metres from my homestay. It's quite a maze. I had to ask a couple of people to direct me, but I found it eventually 😀.

    Once there, I met the lovely family who run the place and was shown to my room. It's basic, but clean. What more do I want for 5400 rupees (about £42) for seven nights? 😂

    I dropped my bags and went for a wander and to find something to eat. First impressions of Udaipur is that it is a lovely old city. It certainly looked pretty when it got dark and all the lights came on.

    I found a pharmacy that sold large plasters for my blisters - hoorah! I ended up having dinner overlooking Pichola Lake. There are far more vegetarian restaurants here than non-veg, so I chose one of those and had mushroom mutter with jeera rice and a butter paratha. It was really nice, but there was far too much, so I got the leftovers boxed up. I'll have them cold tomorrow. At the restaurant, I bumped into the couple from Liverpool. They like Udaipur because 'it's not like being in India'!    En savoir plus

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    From Mumbai to Udaipur

    28 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    I was up on time to pack the last few bits and head to Café Mondegar for a final breakfast in Mumbai. When I went to the loo, I witnessed how egg deliveries happen here 😂.

    I took an Uber to the airport. It was much clearer today than when I arrived, so I was able to see more of Marine Drive, the coastal highway, and the city skyline.

    I got to the airport very early for my flight, but as I've said before, I prefer it that way 😀. I read my book and watched the world go by until it was time to board. At the gate, I got talking to some Brits - a couple from Liverpool and a guy from Stratford-on-Avon. They all thought Mumbai was a dreadful place! I beg to differ.

    I had a window seat on the aircraft, so I was able to take photos and video of the slum that is literally on the perimeter of the airport!

    The flight to Udaipur is only an hour. As we came into land, I was struck by how green the area is, and I could easily see why locals refer to Udaipur as 'the city of lakes'.    En savoir plus

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    Visiting Elephanta Caves

    27 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    There are 120 steps up to the caves. I had no problem climbing them, but by the time we got to the top, my heels were bleeding and were incredibly painful! Luckily, I'd had the foresight to put a pair of flip flops in my bag. Not ideal for climbing up and down uneven steps, but better than being in agony!

    The Elephanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are a collection of cave temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The caves are hewn from solid basalt rock, and they contain rock-cut stone sculptures. Apart from a few exceptions, much of the artwork has been defaced and damaged. The main temple's orientation as well as the relative location of other temples form a mandala pattern. The carvings narrate Hindu legends, with the large monolithic 5.45 metre Trimurti Sadashiva (three-faced Shiva), Nataraja (Lord of the dance) and Yogishvara (Lord of Yogis) being the most celebrated.

    These date to the between the 5th and 9th centuries CE. Many scholars consider them to have been completed by about 550 CE.

    The main cave (Cave 1, or the Great Cave) was a Hindu place of worship until the Portuguese arrived and put a stop to all religious activities in the caves. The earliest attempts to prevent further damage to the caves were started by British India officials in 1909. The Indian government fully restored the monuments in the 1970s. Today, the site is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.

    Harish was very knowledgeable about the caves and described each scene in great detail. It was very interesting, but I know I will have forgotten most of it by tomorrow! 😂

    After the tour, Harish stayed on the island and the three of us returned to Mumbai by ferry. Once in the city, we said our goodbyes. They were going to the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel for afternoon tea, and I was heading to Bata to buy some new shoes. I don't know how comfortable they will be - it was difficult to try anything on with bleeding heels 😂. I couldn't walk any further, even in flip flops, so I cancelled my second walking tour of the day, had a meal, and then headed back to my hotel to pack.    En savoir plus

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    Trip to Elephanta Island

    27 janvier, Inde ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    I was up with my alarm at 7 and decided that, if I applied enough plasters, I could do my pre-booked tours today. I left the hotel at just before 8 to go the the Café Mondegar for breakfast. Afterwards, it was just a short stroll to the meeting point for the trip to the Elephanta Caves. There were two other tourists - a couple of friends from London. One was of Gujarati heritage, and the other was Italian. We had some interesting conversations during tge trip.

    Our guide, Harish, arrived on time and we walked to the Gateway of India to catch the 9am ferry to Elephanta Island. It takes an hour to reach the island. The ferry was packed, mainly with tourists. It was great to see the Gateway and the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel from the sea as we left the city.

    Elephanta Island, which covers 16 square kilometres, was originally called Gharapuri which means 'the city of caves'. It was renamed by 16th-century Portuguese explorers, after they found a monolithic basalt sculpture of an elephant near the entrance to the caves. They decided to take it home but ended up dropping it into the sea because their chains were not strong enough. Later, this sculpture was recovered by the British and moved to the Victoria Gardens in Mumbai where it still stands. The gardens are now part of Mumbai's zoo.

    Harish told us that the island today has 1200 inhabitants occupying three villages. He was born on the island and still lives there with his wife and two children. Most islanders earn a living from growing rice, fishing, and repairing boats. The island is heavily forested, mainly with palm, mango, and tamarind trees. There are no schools on Elephanta, so island children attend boarding schools in Mumbai from the age of three and a half! During monsoon season, heavy rains mean that the ferries can't run, making the island inaccessible from the city for around four months!

    Tourists are not allowed to be on the island after sunset. They must make sure they leave on the last ferry at 6.30pm.

    What makes the island such a popular tourist attraction is the Elephanta Caves. Once we reached Elephanta, we took the narrow-gauge toy train from the boat landing stage to the base of the steps leading up to the caves. It's only about 600 metres, but it meant we didn't have to run the gauntlet of the multitude of sellers who lined the walkway. We were also somewhat protected from the mischievous macacque monkeys!    En savoir plus

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    Personal stories about slum life

    26 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    My guide, Subhan, was born and raised in the slum, and still lives there with his parents and two younger sisters in a tiny space. He has little chance of escaping. To rent the smallest shared room would cost between 7000 and 8000 rupees a month (£56 - £64). Whilst this doesn't sound very much, the average wage in the slum is just 400 rupees a day (£3.20).

    Subhan's insights about living in the slum were very revealing. As he led me through narrow, dark alleyways, which are hot, and where inhabitants never get to see daylight, I tried to imagine what it must be like to live in such conditions for a lifetime. I couldn't!

    Dharavi was the setting for the blockbuster movie, Slumdog Millionaire. Knowing that I was coming here, I rewatched it the other night. Subhan pointed out some locations where filming took place. I asked him how they could film in such small spaces where so many people live and work. He explained that they were in and out very quickly, with Danny Boyle only shooting essential scenes in the slum itself - for authenticity. Subhan told me that Dharavi residents don't like the film, thinking that it only portrays the negative aspects of life in the slum. He said they are especially angry about the amount of violence and crime shown, believing that Dharavi is no more dangerous and has no more crime than anywhere else in the world. For the record, no local people benefited financially from the making of the movie. Any monies paid by the production company went directly to the state authorities and business owners, none of whom live in Dharavi.

    The future of Dharavi is under threat with plans afoot to redevelop the entire area within the next few years. Subhan is worried about what will happen to him and his family and friends.

    At the end of the tour, I called an Uber to take me back to Coloba, and Subhan disappeared back into the warren of alleys that make up the slum.

    In Coloba, I went to Delhi Darbar for a meal. They are celebrated for having the best biryani in Mumbai. I ordered the mutton version. It was good, but not a patch on the one served at Mandrem Beach Shack 😂.

    I was going to stay out for tge Republic Day celebrations at the Gateway of India, but I was knackered and had developed massive blisters on both heels, so I decided to go back to my hotel. I've got two tours booked for tomorrow, both of which involve a lot of walking. I hope I'll be able to do them! 🤞    En savoir plus

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    Dharavi Slum

    26 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    For the final part of the tour, we got back on the train and rode a couple of stops to visit Dharavi Slum, stopping for a much-needed coffee on the way. This slum is home to an estimated 2 million people, making it one of the largest slums in the world. Covering an area just half the size of New York's Central Park (2.2 square kilometres), it is the most densely populated place on earth!

    Dharavi began in the 1890s in the time of the British Raj and has continued to grow ever since as people have flocked to the city from rural areas. It is now home to diverse communities of locals, Nepalis, and Chinese, as well as Indians from every state in the country. Muslims, Hindus, Christians, and Buddhists all live alongside each other largely in communal harmony, although obviously tensions arise when so many people live in such cramped conditions in such close proximity.

    Despite this, these communities are major, thriving informal economic hubs, generating roughly $1 billion annually through industries like leather, textiles, plastic recycling, and pottery. There are thousands of single-room factories and businesses that produce goods for local and global markets. Despite, significant overcrowding, limited waste management, zero privacy, and poor sanitation with limited access to toilets and water only coming into the outside taps between 5pm and 7pm every day, they represent a resilient, multicultural community in the heart of Mumbai.    En savoir plus

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    Mumbai's wholesale flower market

    26 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Our next stop was at the wholesale flower market. Again, there were both legal and illegal stalls. They were all doing a roaring trade, both because it's Republic Day today, and also because it's the height of the wedding season. It is just the flower heads that are sold. They are priced by the kilo and are used to make garlands. Subhan pointed out the enterprising ladies who were walking through the legal market picking up stray flower heads off the floor and taking them to sell in the illegal market! They were being quite open about it. Nobody seemed to mind 😀.En savoir plus

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    Dhobi Ghat and the wholesale market

    26 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    From there, we got back in the taxi to go to Churchgate Station, where we caught a local train to Mahalaxmi to visit Dhobi Ghat, the world's largest open-air laundry. Here, thousands of washermen (dhobis) manually wash clothes and bedding from hotels, hospitals, and homes using concrete wash basins and flogging stones. It has been operating since 1890. 200,000 items are cleaned here every day. The dhobis and their families live in makeshift shelters built above the wash basins and between hundreds of lines of drying laundry. It's quite a sight - especially against the backdrop of newly-built skyscrapers which are part of Mumbai's thriving financial district!

    After visiting Dhobi Ghat, we got back on the train to go to the markets. I was gasping for a coffee by this point, but every kiosk and drinks seller I asked only had chai!

    We went to the wholesale fruit and veg market first. We walked through the illegal stalls set up on the road side to reach the legal stalls. The illegal sellers with their cheaper prices seemed busier. Both legal and illegal vendors had huge quantities of many different varieties of chillies. The air was thick with their pungent aroma, making buyers and sellers alike cough! My eyes were streaming and my nose was running. When I looked around, everyone seemed to be suffering in the same way 😀.    En savoir plus

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    Early morning at the fish market

    26 janvier, Inde ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    I didn't sleep very well, probably because I knew I had to be up early and was worried I would miss my 5.15 alarm! There's no kettle in my hotel room here, so I wasn't able to use any of the coffee sachets I've got in my luggage. There wasn't anywhere open to get a coffee en route to the meeting point for my tour either, so I had to start out without any refreshment. First world problems 😂.

    My guide, Subhan, arrived promptly in a taxi to take me to our first stop. I was the only one on today's tour. Our first call was at Sassoon Dock to see the wholesale fish market. This opens at 3am every day, 365 days a year - hence the early start. It was still dark, but the place was alive with activity and noise.

    Sassoon Dock was built in 1875 on reclaimed land. It was owned by the mercantile company David Sassoon & Co headed by Albert Abdullah David Sassoon (1818–1896), son of David Sassoon, a Baghdadi Jew and the leader of the Jewish community in Bombay. The Sassoon Docks were the first commercial wet dock in western India and helped establish the cotton trade.

    Now, fish is landed here and immediately sold, usually by auction, directly to hotels and restaurants, as well as to fish traders. It was fascinating, if a little smelly, to experience!    En savoir plus

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    Visiting a local market

    25 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    When we had finished, Yuka had to dash off to a Bollywood tour, so Dinesh and I went to the market. It was a small local market down a back street. Once I knew where it was, I told Dinesh he didn't need to stay with me. When he'd gone, I wandered around, bought some fruit, and then made my way back to my hotel for an evening posting and catching up with Penguins.

    I've got to be up at 5.30 tomorrow for a wholesale market tour.    En savoir plus

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    Cookery class

    25 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    I had booked a cookery class and market visit for this morning. Shortly before it was due to start, I got a message from the company saying the start time would be delayed by an hour. There seems to be a pattern here! It wasn't too much of an issue. The meeting point was a seven-minute walk from where I'm staying, so I gave myself enough time to gave a coffee and a croissant before the class.

    There was one other participant - Yuka, a Japanese lady living in Denmark. She is in India for just a week to attend a music festival. Dinesh, our guide, met us and took us to the kitchen where we were going to prepare a thali. Because we were late starting, he said we would go to the market later. 

    A lady (I forget her name) demonstrated each dish and then we prepared them ourselves. Although there was nothing revolutionary, I picked up some useful tips and I really enjoyed the three-hour session. We made potato bhaji, dahl fry, chicken keema, chicken curry, and chapattis. We ate these dishes with poppadoms, steamed rice, and mango pickle. It was all delicious - even if I say so myself 😂.    En savoir plus

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    The end of my second tour of the day

    24 janvier, Inde ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    Incredibly, the city council has built a special 'tourist podium' in the middle of a busy street to allow visitors to take photos of the outside of rhe station! While we were there, a sufi parade went by.

    I said goodbye to Jawwad at this point, so that he could catch his train home. LBy the time the tour ended, my head was full of information about Mumbai, and my daily step total was 33,435!! I was also very hungry, so I did something I never do - I grabbed a KFC as I walked back to my hotel! Mark would not approve! I didn't even enjoy it - it just filled a hole 😂.    En savoir plus

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    2

    Mumbai by night walking tour

    24 janvier, Inde ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    My evening tour was due to start at 6, but my guide Jawwad messaged to say he was stuck in traffic so could we move it to 6.30. The meeting point was only a 10-minute walk from my hotel, so I didn't have to leave until 6.15. Once I met up with Jawwad, we set off on a two-hour walk to see the city at night. We covered some of the same ground as I did with Dimple, but Jawwad had much more knowledge about Mumbai's history!

    We started at the Gateway of India which wasn't illuminated, and the Taj Mahal Palace which was. Even though it wasn't that dark, it looked nice lit up. From there, we walked up to the state police headquarters, Mumbai's main museum, Mumbai's 'Big Ben', the Flora Fountain, Mumbai University, the National Mint, the Supreme Court, the Asiatic Society, and the central post office, finishing up at the magnificent Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. The interior is very church-like!    En savoir plus

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    The end of our walking tour

    24 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We ended our tour at Flora Fountain (it wasn't working 😀) at 1pm and I made my way back to the vicinity of my hotel. I had a meal in Leopold again. It wasn't quite as rammed as yesterday.

    At the hotel, I booked some tours for the rest of my time in Mumbai, including a 'city by night' tour for later today. I caught up with my Penguin notes and tried to rest a bit - I'd already done almost 20,000 steps today - but I'm not very good at resting during the day!En savoir plus

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    Coffee and churches

    24 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    From there, we went to the Abode Hotel, one of the oldest in the city, with great displays of vintage luggage and a terrific book exchange. Sadly, we were too early for their coffee shop to be open. Their barista didn't come on shift until 11.

    We walked on through Coloba and into Fort, an area of Mumbai famous for its Gothic architecture. We stopped for coffee and spent an hour chatting. Dimple lived in Leeds and in London for a few years, so we had plenty to talk about.

    Afterwards, we visited St. Thomas's Cathedral, where Rudyard Kipling was baptised. This 300-year old building is the oldest church in Mumbai. It is named in honour of Saint Thomas the Apostle, who is believed to have first brought Christianity to India. The cathedral marks colonial Bombay's point zero, the exact centre of the city. From the church 16 mile stones were laid out, leading to the north of the city. I was particularly taken with the unusual decorative ironwork that adorns the pillars inside the cathedral. I don't remember seeing anything like it before.    En savoir plus

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    Out and about with Dimple

    24 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    I was meeting Dimple, my GreetHer greeter at 10am this morning near the Gateway of India, so I was up in good time, showered (hot water for the first time in weeks!), and on my way for breakfast by 8.30. I went to another renowned café on the Coloba Causeway - Café Mondegar. Founded in 1932, it is another Irani café. In the mid 20th century, the café introduced a jukebox, the first in Mumbai. In the 1990s, Cafe Mondegar was refurbished. Famous Indian cartoonist and painter Mario Miranda painted murals on all the inner walls and entrance ceiling. I had a cheese and mushroom omelette and a good strong coffee and then went to meet Dimple.

    We retraced my steps from yesterday and revisited the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Palace. This time, we walked all the way around the arch and Dimple explained what all the boats were doing out on the water. The queue for the ferry to visit the Elephanta Caves was ridiculous! We also ventured inside the hotel and spent a few minutes taking in their 'hall of fame', photos of the great and the good who have stayed their over the years, including William and Kate, John and Yoko, Barack and Michelle, Bill and Hilary, and, weirdly, Pierce Brosnan!    En savoir plus

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    Exploring Coloba

    23 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    There are other impressive buildings in the area including the state police headquarters and Mumbai's main museum. I also stopped to look at the historic Regal cinema. I was tempted by the idea of seeing a Bollywood movie in the place it was made, but the only one showing was the latest war film, so I decided not to bother.

    Many statues and buildings were decorated in orange flags and orange and yellow flowers for Republic Day. 

    I wandered around for a while and then went for something to eat. I ended up at the famous Leopold Café which was founded in 1871 by Iranis (a term used for Zoroastrians in Mumbai who arrived in India in the 19th century, as opposed to "Parsis") and named after King Leopold of the Belgians. These Zoroastrian Iranians came to India in the late 19th and early 20th century, and many of them opened restaurants now often termed Irani cafés. It started out as a wholesale cooking oil store and over the years has variously been a restaurant, store and pharmacy, hence the name "Leopold Cafe & Stores". It wad also targeted in the 2008 terrorist attack. Prior to that, the cafe was particularly known as a popular hangout for foreign tourists. After the attack, it is now also popular with many Indians to commemorate the spirit of defiance. The Leopold Cafe has preserved some of the signs of the attack as a memorial.

    People were queuing round the block to get in, but being on my own meant that I got seated quite quickly. It was extremely busy, and very noisy, but the lemon tandoori chicken was delicious. Unfortunately, the coffee machine was broken, so I ended up going to a coffee shop afterwards for a coffee and a blueberry Danish which, bizarrely, the waiter served to me with a sachet of tomato ketchup on the side! 😂

    Later, I went back to the hotel. It had been a long and tiring day.    En savoir plus

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    Arriving in Mumbai

    23 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    I woke up with my alarm at 5.15am. Sheetal and Ikjot had already left for the long drive to Bangalore. I packed my last few bits and was ready when Umesh came to pick me up at 6am. He was very happy that I had remembered that it was his son's first birthday and that I had got him a present 😊.

    Umesh dropped me off at Mopa at around 6.50am. My flight wasn't until 9.35, but I'd rather be early. Check-in was just opening, so I was first in line to drop my case off. Getting through security was relatively painless. I then got myself a coffee and had it with some buscuits I'd brought with me. A healthy breakfast!

    The flight took off on time and landed in Mumbai 10 minutes early. Despite having a window seat, I couldn't see anything - the smog over Mumbai had blanketed the entire city. Once on the ground, I discovered that I couldn't get on line - not via my Indian SIM, my Solis, or even the free airport wifi. I've no idea why, but it meant I couldn't summon an Uber as I'd planned. Instead, I ended up paying over the odds to get a taxi through one of the desks in the arrivals hall. It was convenient, though.

    The drive to Coloba in the south of the city took well over an hour. The traffic was horrendous! The noise and the pollution was something of a shock after two months in the peace and quiet of Goa!

    I checked in to my hotel. It was as expected - certainly not the best, but it was clean and adequate for my time in the city. I don't need to think about the view from my window - I don't have a window! 😂

    I dropped my bag and went for a walk to explore the local area. The location is ideal - just a few minutes from the Gateway of India and other attractions. The streets were heaving! It's the start of a long weekend to celebrate Republic Day, so there are thousands of Indian tourists in the city, and hundreds of police everywhere. Security was particularly tight around the Taj Mahal Palace which was the target of a bomb attack in 2008. This 5-star hotel is the second most photographed monument in India after the Taj Mahal itself. It was built in the Indo-Saracenic style in the time of the British Raj and first opened its doors in 1903. It's certainly an impressive looking building.

    Across the road is the Gateway of India, an arch-monument, completed in 1924, on the waterfront. It was erected to commemorate the landing of King George V and Queen Mary for his coronation as the Emperor of India in December 1911. The Gateway was used as a symbolic ceremonial entrance to India for important government personnel. It is also the monument from where the last British troops left in 1948, following Indian independence a year earlier. It is located on the waterfront at an angle, opposite the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and overlooks the Arabian Sea. Today, the monument is synonymous with the city of Mumbai, and is among its prime tourist attractions. The Gateway is also a gathering spot for locals, street vendors, and photographers soliciting services. Within a few minutes of being at the site, I was approached by three separate individuals offering to clean my ears out for me!! I declined! 😂    En savoir plus

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    Ladies day 😀

    21 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Another planned work day that didn't materialise! 😂 I saw Sheetal at breakfast, and she invited me to join her, her friend who's just arrived from Bangalore, and Ikjot on a trip to Mapusa market. Even though I've been there before, it's a great market, so I agreed! It was interesting seeing the place through Sheetal's eyes - she really didn't like the pungent aromas of the fish market 😂. She was very good at bargaining, though - she got me a great price on another outfit for Umesh's little boy. I'm much happier with this one! Other than that, I only bought some salted cashews. Sheetal bought masala spices to take home to Bangalore with her, and Ikjot stocked up on cake decorating supplies.En savoir plus

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    It's such a small world!! 😊

    20 janvier, Inde ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    Today was supposed to be a work day, but I spent most of it taking photos off my phone. It was getting too full for me to take any more! I know I could just delete them because they are stored in the cloud, but I want to make sure they are in proper files so that I can retrieve them easily. Hence, it took several hours!

    This evening, Blueberry Cheesecake came to play at Maya. It turns out that the Georgian drummer and I have a couple of mutual friends - Manda and Tom, whom I first met in Vietnam over ten years ago. We exchanged a couple of voice notes as a catch-up 😊. It's a very small world!!    En savoir plus

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    My last beach day

    19 janvier, Inde ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    Today was my last beach day, as I really need to spend the next few days working and organising myself to leave Maya and go on the road for three months.

    At the beach, I watched the fishermen bringing in their seine nets. They travel a huge distance along the beach as the nets get closer to the shore. The whole process takes hours rather than minutes. I didn't get to see what they actually caught.

     

    I had my usual breakfast and later, a chicken biryani for dinner. I didn't swim today as the sea was too rough. I spent my time reading and chatting to the friends I've made at the beach. It was sad to say goodbye. Finances permitting, I definitely want to come back next winter. To that end, I've arranged for Jasmine to send me the details of the flat she manages.

     

    I stayed at the beach to watch the sunset tonight. It was truly beautiful. I watched it with tears streaming down my face, caught in the moment and missing Mark 😊.

     

    I walked along Beach Street to buy a few bits to eat over the next three days, and I got a little outfit for Umesh's baby boy's first birthday. I'm not entirely happy with it, but it was the best I could find. 

     

    I took a taxi back to Maya. Sheetal and Ikjot were just ordering pizza and asked me to join them. I don't really understand, as there is a perfectly decent chef on site, but I had a margherita with them 😊.    En savoir plus

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    Playing with soil and rocks 😊

    18 janvier, Inde ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    I spent the past week alternating work days and beach days. It's been very pleasant. Maya is very quiet - I am the only guest! The scheduled Lohri (harvest festival) celebration on Tuesday and the live music events on Friday and last night were all cancelled due to lack of interest! 😊

    A planned visit by Sheetal's parents has also been cancelled. Sadly, her Dad fell down the stairs yesterday and broke his leg.

    The only excitement all week was when the police turned up to question the family about the unexplained death of a singer who performed here in November. She's been linked to a Russian guy who murdered two Russian women earlier this week by slitting their throats! Now in police custody, he has admitted to killing 10 women!

    Today, I had booked for Neha and I to do an all-day 'colours of earth' workshop at Mati Earth where I did the cyanotype printing last week. Despite living here for four years, and being an artist herself, Neha didn't know the place existed. She came to Maya at 9.45am so that we could have breakfast before Umesh drove us to Mati.

    We talked about the murders. Neha knows the perpetrator and one of the victims. She and Saahil had bern chatting to them a few hours before the incident! Chilling!!

    Once at Mati, we met our tutor, Aastha. There were nine of us doing the workshop and Aastha explained how the day would shape up. The aim was to learn how to extract natural pigments from soil and rock, and use them to make watercolour paints with which we would create art.

    We spent the morning session extracting the pigments and making the paints. The rocks had to be crushed to a powder first. Then the soils and powdered rocks had to be washed, rinsed, and allowed to settle. We had to separate the clay part from the sand and silt. We then dried the clay and crushed it again. The next step was to make a natural binder with gum arabic, boiling water, honey, and clove oil. We mixed this with the powder and then mulled it to create the paint. It was a fascinating process, and I was amazed at the range of colours we ended up with.

    After a delicious vegetarian lunch, we spent the afternoon painting. I'm definitely no artist, but I enjoyed the process. My 'artwork' was more of a doodle which sort of looked like a fabric patchwork. Neha, on the other hand, who is a very talented artist, produced a beautiful painting!

    It was lovely to see the variety of art made by the workshop participants.

    When the workshop was over, Neha and I walked home. On the way, we stopped to admire a mural which will soon be hidden from public view forever. At Maya, I sat chatting to Sheetal and Ikjot. They were ordering pizza for delivery, so I stayed and had some, too.

    During the evening, I got a call from Emily at Blandred Camping. After 2 interviews and rigorous background checks, I appear to have landed a summer job 😊.    En savoir plus

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