Brett and Bernii

We arrived in Mumbai, India after an overnight flight from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It took a long time to get through border control, but we eventually made it to our taxi and on to our hotel in Colaba.

We were staying at Apollo Guest House for three nights (AU$77.32 per night). It is located nextdoor to the famous Leopold Cafe which was featured in Gregory David Roberts’ novel Shantaram. It was also a target of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks where 11 people were killed and 28 injured. The food at Leopold Cafe was very good and reasonably priced, however their beer options were very expensive compared to other locations in Colaba.

Drinking in Mumbai was often a case of pick two: cold, quick or cheap… Then only get one of them. And that’s if they have you have ordered in stock.

We visited the Gateway of India monument which is nearby our hotel. We also spent some time exploring the local Colaba area, planning to venture a bit further on our return to Mumbai.

After three days in Mumbai, we flew to Delhi to join an 8 day Intrepid Tour of India’s Golden Triangle.

The first two nights were spent at the Florence Inn Hotel where we met our travel companions and went for a group dinner. On the second day we caught the metro into Old Delhi where we visited the Jama Masjid mosque, the Gurudwara Sisganj Sahib Sikh temple, and the Chandni Chowk Market. The market was extremely busy. We then returned to the hotel where we had a few drinks and went out for another group dinner.

On the third day we arose early to catch the bus to Jaipur. After arriving, we checked in to our hotel Arya Niwas and then went for a walk through the market and visited Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds. We then visited an artisan block printing factory where they demonstrated their craft.

That evening we went to dinner at a fantastic rooftop restaurant where the group sang Happy Birthday to Bernii and we shared a chocolate birthday cake.

The following day we visited the Amber Palace and stopped to see the Jal Mahal Water Palace on the way back to Jaipur. We then went to the Jantar Mantar conservatory which was very interesting to learn about the importance of astrology in the Hindu religion.

The next day we caught the bus to Lotwara, a small villiage between Jaipur and Agra. We stayed at Lotwara Fort. During the afternoon, we walked through the village and visited the school where we planted a tree as part of a conservation project sponsored by Intrepid. We then returned to the Fort where we enjoyed a few drinks on the rooftop while we watched the sunset, before enjoying a nice meal for dinner.

From Lotwara we drove to Fatehpur Sikri where we spent some time exploring the city and learning about the structures within the old city.

We caught the bus from Fatehpur Sikri to Agra where we checked in to our hotel Pushp Villa. We had some free time before meeting in the lobby to catch the bus to the Taj Mahal. Walking through the main gate entrance to the Taj Mahal complex was a bit surreal – you could see the Taj Mahal building in the distance through the gate.

We had a few hours to explore the complex, visit the inside of the mausoleum, and take some photos while the sun went down. We then caught the bus back to the hotel and went for another group dinner.

The following morning, we visited Agra Fort, a massive red sandstone and marble Mughal fort complex. Our tour guide showed us around the fort and explained the history of the complex.

We then went to Sheroes Hangout Cafe for lunch. It is run by survivours of acid attacks and was a very confronting experience, and shocking to see that these attacks are still happening in India.

After lunch we drove back to Delhi to the Florence Inn (AU$55.74 per night) where we said our goodbyes to the tour group and spent the next two days exploring Connaught Place and the shops, restaurants and bars in that area.

We flew from Delhi to Goa and spent four nights at Alba Rooms Palolem (AU$58.47 per night), on Palolem Beach. The days were spent between local cafes and beachside restaurants and bars. On the second day, we ran into my brother who was taking part in the South India Rickshaw Run which finished in Goa that afternoon. We had a quick beer before he and his mate left for the finish line.

From Goa, we flew back to Mumbai to spend one week – three nights at Abode Hotel (AU$212.48 per night) followed by four nights at Apollo Guest House (AU$77.00 per night). We caught up with my brother again in Mumbai.

We booked in a street food tour for the Friday afternoon, however we ended up missing it as I needed to go to the hospital for surgery to address an acute issue that had arisen. It likely resulted from the exertion of trekking up and down Mount Toubkal a month earlier. The medical treatment in Mumbai was exceptionally fast – I attended a clinic and saw a physician at 10:00am. I then saw a specialist at the hospital at 11:00am and was admitted to hospital immediately and in surgery by 4:00pm, all in the same day. I was discharged after two nights and returned to Apollo Guest House for one night before we flew to Chennai.

We spent three nights at the Pullman Chennai Anna Salai hotel (AU$157.80 per night), using that time to rest and recover.

From Chennai we depart India and head back to South East Asia for our next new country – Malaysia.