The final night of the trip was spent in the typical fashion, uncomfortably on a night bus. It’s funny how for the majority of the trip something always got in the way of us having a decent night sleep. This time it was the fact that out of the entire bus, I had to be seated in the only broken seat right behind the only broken window that wouldn’t close. The beautiful defect of my seat was the fact that it would not stay pushed back; meaning that 
the second I’d get comfortable and start to fall asleep, my seat would slowly start inching forward on its own, eventually waking me up as my head abruptly met the seat in front of me, which was nicely pushed back way past its limit. This happened over and over again…throughout the night. It was all I could do not to cry from being so tired and wanting to sleep so bad. I looked over at Audrey at one point, tears in my eyes, and just whine, “I can’t do this!” I think she laughed…and in retrospect the situation was pretty comedic. To make it even worse, my iPod, alwa
ys the savior on these night rides, had just broke and so I was left alone with the noise of the bus to calm my suffering. It did get better eventually, or I should say I got entertained. Looking out the window, enjoying the late night chai/coffee reststops, and even trying to time the seat, see how long it would take to move from down to up. FYI its fastest record was about 2 min…its slowest maybe 8 min…
We arrived in Mumbai bright and early, and began heading down to the touristy area of Colaba. I was pumped when Audrey, who had only been to Mumbai once, briefly, and had had a bad experience, turned to me and said it was surprisingly a nice city. =) This made me very happy as most likely it will be my future home! She even compared it to the London of India…I always say it’s like an Indian New York City.
We ate a quick breakfast in a touristy café downtown then hit up the India Ga
te, sneaking into the Taj Hotel while we were there. Next, we strolled up to the High Court and University buildings, along the way passing by a brand new hummus & falafel restaurant that I have to say, probably was a convincing factor for me wanting to move here. On the way over to the beach we passed by 
a cute coffee house, which we couldn’t resist making a pit-stop in. It was awesome! The coffee absolutely fabulous and strong, such a rare thing to find here! Refreshed and revived, we continued to the beach and up, eventually grabbing the suburban train to the north. We got off a couple stops north from where we could watch (and take pictures) of the biggest washing ghat in the city. This sounds like an odd tourist attraction, and it is, but it is also one of the coolest. Pretty muc
h, this is a unch of ghats, a kind of tub, where all of the cities laundry gets washed, and from a bridge right across from the train station you can actually stand and look down and see it all. It’s pretty interesting to watch. From there we headed towards the famous Mumbai mosque with the loooooong walkway through the water. Usually the walkway is covered by water, and it looks like the Mosque is floating, but because of droughts, water issues, etc. the water has receded and now the walkway is visible, walkable, and surrounded by rocks and trash. It was a pretty intense and crowded experience walking down it, and when we had finally reached the Mosque at the end, they wouldn’t let me in unless I left the running shoes that were tied to my bag outside, and knowing me, there was no way I was parting with my running shoes…so we never went in. Good walk though.
Back on the mainland, all that was left was to grab a cab to the airport…even this had to be trouble though. It seemed fine at first, we grabbed it, he used the meter, and we were on our way. The drive was long and trafficy, Audrey slept on my shoulder, while the cab driver kept talking to me in bad English and I kept trying to pretend like I was 
interested/listening/understanding. But, when we got to the airport, and we tried to pay what the meter said, it got ugly. The cab driver was asking for 300 Rps. more than what it said, which we outright refused. I gave him what he deserved and started walking away. This kind of thing unfortunately, does happen a lot, and usually once you leave they leave it alone. Well, not this guy. He actually came after me, pulled my back and wouldn’t let me go. I started screaming and getting the attention of the security guard, who came over to mediate, meanwhile with the usual India nosey crowd forming. When I explained that he was trying to overcharge us, the 300 surplus amount that he was requesting dropped drastically to 50 more than what we should owe…let me stress still higher than the actual amount. The worst though was that the security guard sort of just mediated the bargaining between me and the guy, with the end result us having to pay the 50 more, which really makes no sense. The guy got no penalty for trying to rip us off so absurdly, and then got rewarded by having us still pay more, while we were forced to have to act greatful that we weren’t ripped off more. Explain that, please?! The whole thing though was wrong and unfair, and definitely left us with a bad taste.
Once in the airport we beelined for the bathroom, trying to make ourselves as presentable and somewhat clean as we could…it wasn’t easy. We were so dead and tired and smelly. I felt physically sick from the lack of sleep. The plane ride was uneventful. We arrived back in Delhi, and again…all we needed was a taxi, but it had to be difficult. Not wanting to take a rickshaw in the freezing cold of Delhi, we went for the pre-paid taxi (this just means you pay for the fare at a regulated booth before getting in the cab). The only problem was that (as is always the case in overpopulated India) we were not the only ones waiting for a cab. In fact, we were just one of many many many people in the chaotic line with no guard or anyone manning it, meaning no order whatsoever. Despite the single-file line, people were cutting and pushing to get in the cabs, creating disorderly chaos that meant the line barely moved or progressed. Then they got smarter and stopped bothering with the line altogether, instead trying to hail the cabs before they even reached the loading area. This made it even more difficult to get one that was free, and when we tried the trick of hailing it before the loading area, we actually got in trouble and 
the cabs refused to take us. Now please explain that to me?! So, at this point, tired, feeling sick, and freezing (we were wearing summer south India clothes in cold north India), I start to lose it. I began screaming and yelling at the guards who weren’t doing their job, but telling me to be patient and wait, screaming at the cabs who refused to stop or take us, and screaming at the people who kept stealing the cabs from us. Finally, I grabbed one that was stopped and empty, and for no reason, as we got in, the driver got out. Oh no no no! I really lost it then, yelling at him to get in and take us! I think I must have been making quite a scene, because he kind of looked at me like I was crazy, then got back in and drove off…with us in the cab.
So, it seemed like it was all going to end well, but then I asked him…just to make sure…
whether he knew where he was going. Let me explain…in Delhi (and most of India) cab drivers will always take you even if they have no idea where they are going. This gets so annoying, especially when you just want to get somewhere and you have to wait for them to get lost, ask for directions, get lost again, ask for directions again, and over and over again. The trick is to ask before you get in if they know. If they don’t answer, that’s usually a “no”, as they never actually say “no” in India, they just keep quiet. Well this driver didn’t answer when I asked, a definite bad sign. Just to make sure, I asked again, but still no answer. So, now I was even more upset. A pre-paid taxi driver who doesn’t know how to drive from the airport to our place…great! Luckily, in the end, it turned out okay. He knew enough to get to one point and Audrey and I took over the directing from there, eventually making it home…to the good old MIA. And once in the house and warm in my bed, I started to feel bad and guilty about losing my temper…but…sometimes you really just can’t help it…
So…that was that. The amazing and awesome Kerala-Goa trip finally came to an end, and for the first time in two weeks, I slept…and slept well!!!!!!!! =)
the second I’d get comfortable and start to fall asleep, my seat would slowly start inching forward on its own, eventually waking me up as my head abruptly met the seat in front of me, which was nicely pushed back way past its limit. This happened over and over again…throughout the night. It was all I could do not to cry from being so tired and wanting to sleep so bad. I looked over at Audrey at one point, tears in my eyes, and just whine, “I can’t do this!” I think she laughed…and in retrospect the situation was pretty comedic. To make it even worse, my iPod, alwa
ys the savior on these night rides, had just broke and so I was left alone with the noise of the bus to calm my suffering. It did get better eventually, or I should say I got entertained. Looking out the window, enjoying the late night chai/coffee reststops, and even trying to time the seat, see how long it would take to move from down to up. FYI its fastest record was about 2 min…its slowest maybe 8 min…
We arrived in Mumbai bright and early, and began heading down to the touristy area of Colaba. I was pumped when Audrey, who had only been to Mumbai once, briefly, and had had a bad experience, turned to me and said it was surprisingly a nice city. =) This made me very happy as most likely it will be my future home! She even compared it to the London of India…I always say it’s like an Indian New York City.We ate a quick breakfast in a touristy café downtown then hit up the India Ga
te, sneaking into the Taj Hotel while we were there. Next, we strolled up to the High Court and University buildings, along the way passing by a brand new hummus & falafel restaurant that I have to say, probably was a convincing factor for me wanting to move here. On the way over to the beach we passed by 
a cute coffee house, which we couldn’t resist making a pit-stop in. It was awesome! The coffee absolutely fabulous and strong, such a rare thing to find here! Refreshed and revived, we continued to the beach and up, eventually grabbing the suburban train to the north. We got off a couple stops north from where we could watch (and take pictures) of the biggest washing ghat in the city. This sounds like an odd tourist attraction, and it is, but it is also one of the coolest. Pretty muc
h, this is a unch of ghats, a kind of tub, where all of the cities laundry gets washed, and from a bridge right across from the train station you can actually stand and look down and see it all. It’s pretty interesting to watch. From there we headed towards the famous Mumbai mosque with the loooooong walkway through the water. Usually the walkway is covered by water, and it looks like the Mosque is floating, but because of droughts, water issues, etc. the water has receded and now the walkway is visible, walkable, and surrounded by rocks and trash. It was a pretty intense and crowded experience walking down it, and when we had finally reached the Mosque at the end, they wouldn’t let me in unless I left the running shoes that were tied to my bag outside, and knowing me, there was no way I was parting with my running shoes…so we never went in. Good walk though.
Back on the mainland, all that was left was to grab a cab to the airport…even this had to be trouble though. It seemed fine at first, we grabbed it, he used the meter, and we were on our way. The drive was long and trafficy, Audrey slept on my shoulder, while the cab driver kept talking to me in bad English and I kept trying to pretend like I was 
interested/listening/understanding. But, when we got to the airport, and we tried to pay what the meter said, it got ugly. The cab driver was asking for 300 Rps. more than what it said, which we outright refused. I gave him what he deserved and started walking away. This kind of thing unfortunately, does happen a lot, and usually once you leave they leave it alone. Well, not this guy. He actually came after me, pulled my back and wouldn’t let me go. I started screaming and getting the attention of the security guard, who came over to mediate, meanwhile with the usual India nosey crowd forming. When I explained that he was trying to overcharge us, the 300 surplus amount that he was requesting dropped drastically to 50 more than what we should owe…let me stress still higher than the actual amount. The worst though was that the security guard sort of just mediated the bargaining between me and the guy, with the end result us having to pay the 50 more, which really makes no sense. The guy got no penalty for trying to rip us off so absurdly, and then got rewarded by having us still pay more, while we were forced to have to act greatful that we weren’t ripped off more. Explain that, please?! The whole thing though was wrong and unfair, and definitely left us with a bad taste.
Once in the airport we beelined for the bathroom, trying to make ourselves as presentable and somewhat clean as we could…it wasn’t easy. We were so dead and tired and smelly. I felt physically sick from the lack of sleep. The plane ride was uneventful. We arrived back in Delhi, and again…all we needed was a taxi, but it had to be difficult. Not wanting to take a rickshaw in the freezing cold of Delhi, we went for the pre-paid taxi (this just means you pay for the fare at a regulated booth before getting in the cab). The only problem was that (as is always the case in overpopulated India) we were not the only ones waiting for a cab. In fact, we were just one of many many many people in the chaotic line with no guard or anyone manning it, meaning no order whatsoever. Despite the single-file line, people were cutting and pushing to get in the cabs, creating disorderly chaos that meant the line barely moved or progressed. Then they got smarter and stopped bothering with the line altogether, instead trying to hail the cabs before they even reached the loading area. This made it even more difficult to get one that was free, and when we tried the trick of hailing it before the loading area, we actually got in trouble and 
the cabs refused to take us. Now please explain that to me?! So, at this point, tired, feeling sick, and freezing (we were wearing summer south India clothes in cold north India), I start to lose it. I began screaming and yelling at the guards who weren’t doing their job, but telling me to be patient and wait, screaming at the cabs who refused to stop or take us, and screaming at the people who kept stealing the cabs from us. Finally, I grabbed one that was stopped and empty, and for no reason, as we got in, the driver got out. Oh no no no! I really lost it then, yelling at him to get in and take us! I think I must have been making quite a scene, because he kind of looked at me like I was crazy, then got back in and drove off…with us in the cab.So, it seemed like it was all going to end well, but then I asked him…just to make sure…
whether he knew where he was going. Let me explain…in Delhi (and most of India) cab drivers will always take you even if they have no idea where they are going. This gets so annoying, especially when you just want to get somewhere and you have to wait for them to get lost, ask for directions, get lost again, ask for directions again, and over and over again. The trick is to ask before you get in if they know. If they don’t answer, that’s usually a “no”, as they never actually say “no” in India, they just keep quiet. Well this driver didn’t answer when I asked, a definite bad sign. Just to make sure, I asked again, but still no answer. So, now I was even more upset. A pre-paid taxi driver who doesn’t know how to drive from the airport to our place…great! Luckily, in the end, it turned out okay. He knew enough to get to one point and Audrey and I took over the directing from there, eventually making it home…to the good old MIA. And once in the house and warm in my bed, I started to feel bad and guilty about losing my temper…but…sometimes you really just can’t help it…So…that was that. The amazing and awesome Kerala-Goa trip finally came to an end, and for the first time in two weeks, I slept…and slept well!!!!!!!! =)
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