Week 47: Mumbai: day trip to a very large city

February 17, 2016

"We are usually the fastest walking, have you noticed how fast people walk here in the city?" Patrick says, as we are doing a walking tour of architecture in Mumbai. "It's all the noise of honking, makes you hussel" Rachel adds. A different pace between city and countryside.

The hotel provided us a pamphlet with the timetable of the bus to Mandwa connecting to the ferry to Mumbai, and we are told to go to the bus station. We are up at usual time 6am and take a tuk tuk to the bus station. Asking a group of men, "bus to Mandwa" we get the head waggle and waved to the other side of station. There we ask again and get the head waggle and wave back to where we were. We see the ticket office, and ask again about the bus to Mandwa. Again the wobble of the head, a wave, and "outside, you see bus".

There are a three companies that make this connection, Ajanta, PNP and Maldar. We go out and walk to the next side street and see a bus with Ajanta written on the front. First part successfully completed, we buy a ticket and are on our first Indian bus ride.

The ride to Mandwa takes about 45 minutes and we are let off the furthest point possible from the ferry. Walking the distance of the jetty, we que up along the railing when the ferry boat arrives. We are surprised how orderly the loading of the ferry goes. The ferry ride is another hour, the morning is still very hazy as we approached the Gateway of Mumbai.

After disembarking, we orient ourselves to the map and begin the walking tour. Our first stop is at a bakery for a good cup of coffee and croissant. Then we continue the walk seeing the colonial architecture. Before heading back to the ferry, we are craving familiar food when we spot a Subway, and share an Italian Sub with veggies on cracked wheat bread.

The trip back to Alibag went quicker than the going. Tomorrow we start cycling inland.

We take an early bus to the jetty at Mandwa from here this boat takes us to "India Gateway" in Mumbai.

The haze is thick this morning. Several oil rigs are set-up in the bay.

We walk an "architetural tour' past several significant buildings in Mumbai.

People feed the seagulls off our boat back towards Alibag.

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