We wake up on the train and it seems the others (sharing one carriage) have had an interesting night. Erin was found sleeping with her tongue touching the seat (not recommended here) and everyone else was rudely awakened by a local guy stretching and farting his way to start the day. I have slept soundly, pretty much the whole way, cradling my passport & valuables.
As we pull into Mumbai we pass some of the infamous slums, where Slumdog Millionaire was set, and watch kids playing alongside the railway lines, people taking a wash in a bucket and others going to the toilet. The slums are said to export over $600M worth of goods yearly and many people who hold blue collar jobs still live there.
We head into a couple of retro looking taxis and arrive at the worst hotel of the trip so far, the optimistically named Royal Castle. The rooms stink of cigarette smoke and our bathroom is 20 degrees hotter than the bedroom due to the hot water boiler. Like most places we've stayed, there is no toilet paper - a simple hand held shower nozzle by the pan replaces the need and reduces the paper going into the city's already groaning sewage system.
The rooms aren't quite ready so we head for brunch (again at the optimistically named Cafe Ideal) where I go for a cheese & pineapple toastie.
Michael, Laura and I head to find a mall to buy some semi decent clothes as Ricky tells us we'll be going to a nice restaurant tonight. I find a Mango and buy myself a couple of dresses (the curry, naan and cheese toasties has most definitely taken their toll - I'm thinking forward to the bikini situation in Goa - eek!).
I head back to the hotel and crash for the afternoon as I'm still not 100%. A few of the others head out for a Slum & Laundry tour before we meet up for our evening out.
All glammed up we head out onto the streets of Bombay and to 'Leopold's'. Upon arrival I'm not sure the new dress was entirely necessary as it has more of a cafe feel. We're led upstairs to the air con part of the establishment which turns out being an Indian style Smokey Joes (minus the pole and decent (yes) toilets). Neon bar signs buzz on the walls, a DJ playing Brian Adams, Bonnie Tyler, Dire Straits and the Ghostbusters theme tune operates from the corner. I learn that this bar is where part of the eleven coordinated Mumbai terror attacks occurred.
The food is pretty bad and I'm not drinking so it's a tame night for me.
I head to bed Bombay dreaming and looking forward to a reunion with my friend Rekha tomorrow morning.
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