Thanks for stopping by! So much for the sight and intense smells here. Most smells are amazing. You should smell the amazing flowers, and gorgeous flower arrangements here, made on the street. Intense perfume! The heat is very intense, and I had to return to the hotel to cool down. I saw a little guy on the street who saw me looking at the sugar cane pulping machine, and asked for a drink, so I bought him one. I couldn't bring myself to indulge in all that sugar!! Headed by taxi to the Gateway of India. Huge monument as you can see in the pic. Very impressive Taj Mahal hotel.....amazing architecture. I bought a ticket to go to Elephanta Island ( half hour boat trip). I paid R10 to go on the roof, and took pics of the locals who were decked out!! Met some guys there and they invited me to join them when we got off ( a bunch of engineers!). The sea is very brown here, I think due to silt, and looks like river water. Lots of ships going by and garbage floating in the sea. The small island is very tropical. We docked at a promontory and walked to the island. Toy train took folk along but we walked. It was great to be one of the locals!! There was a huge path up the mountain, shaded with tarps, and the vendors set up on each side. You had to pass them. Monkeys danced over the tarps above, and were evident everywhere grooming etc. People fed them but my friends said not to approach them. Some looked so cute grooming but others were aggressive, growling. I saw some Indians attacked by them, and they threw stones at them. The caves were cut into the mountain side. Not sure of the rock, but they were quite fascinating. My friends were taking selfies all the time!! I joined in the pics! There were 5 caves, and the heat outside was less in the caves. Quite impressive. All manifestations of Lord Shiva. Lots of stone cutters chiselling away at rocks outside the caves. We climbed up a long path, and enjoyed a nice view of the island and the long jetty to the boats below. We arrived at an old world war 2 gun structure. Lots of monkeys there. Met two Canadians there!!! An Indian lady wanted me to photograph her, but wanted Rs !! You can get so easily caught. And HOLY COWS...I saw my first ones, but they were being shooed off, for some reason. I took pics of the locals eating lunch on the ground. Most people slept on the boat going back due to the heat. This time I went below with the general populous. On docking, my friends asked me to come and share an ethnic meal. We all jumped in the taxi, and either our taxi or the one next door almost cut off the other. The two taxis were neck and neck. Both drivers yelling at each other and gesticulating. The other guy had no passengers but there were 5 of us in ours. They started to try and cut each other off. It was scary and also like a Hollywood movie chase. After that I went to a Kerala restaurant, as my friends were from there. Very local place! We all washed our hands, and I sat with them. I wasn't hungry. They ate the chicken brijani with their hands, and offered me some!! One guy was vegetarian, so we went to another restaurant, strictly locals, which was excellent. This one served dosas, and I sampled some. Excellent. I had lemonade, made with the gorgeous small Indian lemons. More selfies!! I want to return to that place, as I loved the vegetarian food, and so so cheap!!!! My friends left to tour a museum, but I was wiped from a day in the sun, and returned to my hotel. Showered in cold water of course, and fell asleep all night!!!!!!! I am told that winter comes in November. I wait in anticipation. I am excited that I will be in Mumbai for the 3 days of Diwali- Festival of Lights. It will be amazing.....Christmas in India for the Hindus....what could be better!!! S0 much happened today so thanks for reading thus far!! The Indian people are awesome!!
No comments:
Post a Comment