A few days in Mumbai

January 27, 2011 to January 30, 2011

just a bit of cycling

Luxury is something that's easy to get used to... such as extra-fluffy white towels, room service, A/C, clean bed linen, running hot water, a toilet seat... (okay, some of this stuff is not uber-luxury, but various places I've stayed on this trip have lacked all of them).

My flight to Taiwan leaves on January 30th at 1:30 AM, so really this means I'll be going on Saturday night.

Before then I can do a spot of sightseeing, which, to be frank, isn't my forte and is something I've no penchant for.

First off I have a couple of cool pints. Wonderful stuff! It's around 11:00 and surprise surprise, freshly squeezed sugarcane juice is actually cheaper here than anywhere so far - it's priced in various glass sizes and me being me I go for the biggest at just 12 rupees a pint. Like I said, I have a second one. Fab!

The bike just has my saddlebag and handlebar-bag on and the traffic in this mega-city feels remarkably easy to negotiate.

There's a sense of deja vu and London keeps going through my mind as I pedal along the wide streets, hemmed in by grandiose Victorian facades... I lived in the English capital for a few years in the mid-90s, riding a ten-speed Claud Butler whenever I went into the city for concerts etc. It just feels like I'm back there, except for the taxis here being small, black, 1960's-Reliant-looking cars with yellow roofs - kind of like a wasps. And the palm trees.

One productive thing that could be done while in limbo is trace some more old scooter racers and I do a web-search and come up with a lead.

Day 2: Friday

A guy has replied to my email, but without giving any real leads so hopefully someone will come through today and I can meet some scooter guys before Saturday lunchtime. It'd have been best to have done more research, much sooner.

I don't have two juices this morning - I go for the hat-trick. Yes, they're that good... pineapple shakes at 14 rupees each.

The Arabian-side promenade is lined with Art Deco buildings, as the land they're built on was was only reclaimed from the sea relatively recently. It's a wide carriageway and I pedal along going north with the water on my left and reach the beach area... yes, there's a beach in Bombay.

My ride lasts for about 20 minutes and the area on my right is where I head for as there's a clothing store to check out and a gift to get for Debbie, but the gear they sell looks kind of dated and not what she'd want, so I head back the way I came and spot a Cafe Coffee Day and rest there for a while, looking west as the sun gets low .

The same guy has kindly emailed me some contact numbers for old scooter racers, so I'll now call them and hopefully meet at least one before I fly home.

Bingo. I have an interview tonight, but not until 9:30 and have opted to get a taxi there as the train ride doesn't appeal. If I get a few photos, it'll more than pay for the fare.

I also have an interview lined up for the morning, again on the outskirts of Bombay. My luck must be in.

What an epic ride. It takes two hours to reach my destination, which is out past the airport, and I don't arrive until 10:30pm - an hour late.

It seems that my idea of cycling to the terminal to get my flight tomorrow afternoon isn't such a great one and getting another cab with my bike strapped on top is the way to go.

Day 3 - Saturday

My panniers are packed early and bits and bobs that are no longer required get jettisoned - the white top, an Ikea towel, most of my underwear and bathroom stuff.

It's another long cab journey north and I recognize sights as the taxi - this time an original Fiat-copy from decades ago - bumps and swerves along. The worn interior still has remnants of the original cloth on the door panels and roof and the style looks pre-War to me; all shades of brown. It's wonderful. Locals call these 1100cc relics 'Padmini Premiers'. I'm not sure what to call this one... antique, perhaps.

The interview, as was last night's, is with a veteran scooter racer and after a couple of hours the cab driver chauffeurs me back and agrees to pick me up at 8:00 tonight for the ride out to the International airport. Despite the car being small, he says the cycle will be okay on the roof-rack. We'll see.

This means there'll be a few hours for me to spend hanging around the departure lounge. It could be worse.

I'm not going to box up my Brodie, even though Cathy Pacific annoyingly insisted on such a thing when I left Taiwan: I'll just wing it as usual. If it needs to be boxed, there'll be time (and airport facilities) to sort out something. Hopefully.

I wander towards the seafront carrying my camera bag and before I get there pop in a trendy-looking sort of place called Mocca and have a large Blue Mountain and what turns out to be the biggest brownie ever. This thing is a mountain! It's actually three wedges with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and is covered with chocolate sauce: Who knows how many calories? Like I care.

The taxi driver with hazel eyes must have fantasies about being a rally ace and competing in the Monte Carlo or something, as he puts the pedal down and makes the ride to the airport something of a tense ordeal.

The Cathy Pacific staff at check-in are polite and very courteous just as they are trained to be and they make the right noises about my bike, but phone calls are made about it not being boxed. I simply lie. I tell them I flew to Bangladesh without it in a box and this seems to swing it. Bingo.

It's actually Day 4 now - Sunday. It's hard to keep track. Night flights. The flight to Hong Kong lasted almost 5 hours and that's not really enough to get a good sleep, but I'll be in my own bed tonight.

Today's ride: 25 km (16 miles)
Total: 3,660 km (2,273 miles)

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