Mumbai - fifteen seconds of fame and a close shave with death

Another long sleepless bus ride, this time from Goa to Mumbai. It was much improved, however, by our pre-trip preparations: seek out the nearest street stall with Samosas and buy minimum five! Jo didn't adhere to the rule too well and only bought two. It was further improved when I found a bar near the bus stop and bought a Kingfisher beer to accompany me on the journey to Mumbai. Although it only lasted the first 15 minutes of the trip, by that stage it had become an acquaintance very close to my heart. The bus trip was made all the more exciting by random stops along the way, at which our bus conductor who I christened Yeller-yeller would randomly change people's seating positions, place luggage all over the place (we weren't allowed to put it in the boot for some reason, maybe they were carrying drugs in there!), and yell at newcomers and oldtimers alike (Jo especially!!:P) A fun time was had by all on the bus (NOT!).

Once we were off the bus, first stop was to see if we could secure tourist tickets on a train in two days (trains are usually booked out 15 days ahead, but a tourist quota of two or so seats per train is reserved for foreigners). It was very important for Jo that we be able to catch a train to Ajmer, as she will be starting her Vet volunteering up there on the 24th. Success! we had no idea that it would be so easy, and what's more, it was incredibly cheap, at only 340Rp per person all the way from Mumbai to Ajmer on a second class AC sleeper. Looks like we got ripped off with previous bookings at tourist offices.

With the very kind help of One-legged Sam, we located a satisfactory hotel in the thick of Colaba. After a very brief respite we unleashed ourselves on the city...Mumbai is madness! Absolutely crazy city, the first 5 minutes walking down the street we were approached by talent scouts wanting us to be extras in a bollywood film. So if that's not dodgy that's what we will be doing tomorrow. Two minutes after that I found a barber which does shaves for 35Rp (less than a dollar) and it was the closest shave I've ever experienced! First the barber shaved me with an extremely sharp cutthroat razor (my only experience with a barber in Oz was one in which he had a semi-blunt razor), then he put the shaving cream on again and picked up another, even sharper razor for the smoothest shave possible. Two minutes after leaving the barber, a beggar died precisely as we walked past them! We also took an extremely long ferry ride to the Elephanta caves, which, after multiple tourist taxes for both the town and the attraction themselves, were not very exciting. I'd recommend that the time it takes to get out there, even without the 250Rp entrance fees, is not worth it. So ends our day's excitement in Mumbai, time for lots of sleep!!