Our First Impressions of India

 We've been in India for a week. Here's what we've been getting up to:

Arrived in Mumbai to an insane temperature, but the humidity was what made it bad. In the airport I certainly didn't and I don't think the others knew what to do. We got a taxi down to Colaba Causeway (where we stayed) and the traffic was terrifying. Most roads made Picadilly Circus look like a carefully organised high street in a sleepy village. Horns here are used to let people know your coming not tell them you are annoyed. Very few cars have a left wing mirror so when a motor cyclist decides to cut across the bus in front from the left hand side a horn is the only way to pre-warn them. Mumbai is a city full of extremes with slum housing stacked several stories high with each room (largely made from 5 pieces of corrugated iron) right next to sky scraping hotels and offices. We moved on to Matheran quite quickly. It is a small town on top of a hill, rather touristy but absolutely beautiful. Most young people are very interested in us and everyone is very friendly.  Unfailingly the first thing people ask is where we are from and sometimes if they can have a photo with us. Right now we are in Pune, a fast growing business centre which seems very western and rather wealthy. I better shut up and leave something for the others to say.
Having a great time hope you like the photos.
Jamie

The Gateway of India, Mumbai

I don't think Jamie got across just how hot it was in Mumbai; when you shower you're clean and cold for only a few minutes before the humidity bakes you again! It was really fun and a pretty big shock but we've acclimatised quite well I think. Several times day people will come up to you, children included, and ask for food or money. Sometimes they are just skinny but other times they're disabled and it's so much harder to refuse.
Matheran was really beautiful and quite the opposite from Mumbai; pretty cool in comparison (we even turned off our fan one night!) and it's much quieter. A few power cuts a night seemed to be the norm as well as load of thunder and incredible lighting which amazed us but didn't seem to attract the locals attention whatsoever.
Moving on to Pune was quite an interesting journey; up fairly early and after a rickety taxi ride we ended up waiting for one of our trains to depart for 2 and a half hours once we had boarded, lot's of people were very interested to speak to us which was nice (most of the attention we drew up until then was just stares, which we get non stop). When speak to someone on the train, the subject of our ancestors ruling over India came up half way through the conversation to awkwardness and amusement from us. It's kinda embarrassing that most Indians can speak English well and we can just about manage a hello in Hindi.When we arrived there were lots of people trying to get us in their taxi and take us to their hotel recommendations (where they'd receive commission) which we had to constantly watch out for but on the plus side we were able to haggle our taxi ride and hotel room prices to about a third of the price! So much more to write but I'm outta time..
Peter

A view of Mumbai harbour.

Mumbai was unlike anything I have ever seen before. Looming city skyscrapers are placed right next to shockingly dirty slums, there is never a quiet second because of the horns, and there are people everywhere; Jamie said something similar, but Oxford street is empty in comparison. We had a taxi driver take us on a semi tour round the city on our second day there, and saw this one place called fisherman's village. It is a small slum on the coast of Mumbai, where forty years ago a group of fishermen beached their boats and never left. It is an area where the houses are boats with corrugated iron and tarpaulins variously affixed, with a view that stretches across the harbour to the busy city centre, where hundreds of skyscrapers stand.
Moving on to Matheran couldn't have been more of a change. Gone were the car-filled streets, replaced with pedestrian only winding roads through the quiet forest, where the only sounds that could be heard were the wind in the trees, the birds and the monkeys. We spent two days walking around the hill station, seeing incredible landscapes from the various "points" around its perimeter. The photo below of all three of us was taken at "Porcupine Point", the most popular of them all. When we woke after our first night in Matheran, we were met with a completely impenetrable mist that covered the entire hill. Our morning walk to the viewpoints became gazes into the void which, if anything, were nearly as scary and impressive as the views themselves. The weather cleared up for the next two days (barring the terrifying displays of thunder and lightning, which shook the island every night to no-one's amazement but us) and we left again after three nights. Our train journey to Pune was as eye-opening as anything else, and we engaged in an hour and a half conversation with a couple of friendly and talkative Indian men, discussing our plans and home life, as well as receiving detailed recommendations as to what we should see next. Pune is similar to Mumbai, without the deathly heat and with (slightly) less crazy roads. We are leaving for Aurangabad tomorrow, to see the famous Buddhist and Hindu carved caves at Ellora and Ajanta, so I guess we'll post again after that. Till then, we are surviving fine and having a great time, washing behind our ears and only drinking bottled water, we're only one week in out of twelve, and I think its only going to get better. (Touch wood). Over and out.
John

Check the sideshow on the right for more pictures, or the same pictures but bigger ( or go to http://picasaweb.google.co.in/johnpeterjamie/JohnPeterAndJamieGoToIndia# ), and please leave a comment below!

Porcupine point in Matheran.

We were followed throughout our third day in Matheran by a scrawny but very loyal dog, who we lovingly named Jemil. (It seemed the obvious choice really) Here he is in all his canine glory:

Jemil followed us for 8 hours. Good boy!

Jemil can't hack.