For a while now, we have been wanting to go to Bombay for a trek, just outside the city. There are some excellent hiking opportunities about an hour from Bombay, and personally I have been itching to get back into the great outdoors, particularly if it means discovering the scenery of a new country. So when Ben, Brian, and Michael needed to take a trip south to meet with some people and take a look at some eye hospitals, we thought it would be perfect to first spend a bit of time in Bombay. The plan was to travel to Bombay for two days, then continue on to Hyderabad (where we are now), and then finish up the trip in Chennai.
The original plan was to take the train from Aurangabad to Bombay, which takes about eight hours, but would give you a great look at Maharashtra. Unfortunately, our tickets didn't quite go through. We booked our tickets in advance, but we were put on the wait list. Basically that means if some VIP decides last minute that they want to take the train, we can get bumped. And that is precisely what happened, unfortunately. Particularly in India, connections can get you a long way. But luckily we found out about the tickets the night beforehand, and we weren't about to dwell on it. So we quickly booked plane tickets, which in the end earned us a few more hours of sleep than the 4 AM train would have.
We arrived in Bombay around 10, and since we were all a little exhausted we decided to hang out at the Bombay house for a while before heading out. So like the super cool people that we are, we flopped and watched multiple hours of How I Met Your Mother. But hey, every once in a while you have to indulge your American tv cravings. Once it got to be about lunch time, we headed out to my favourite restaurant in Bombay, and one of the things I was most excited about for this trip- Swati Snacks. Basically it serves typical street food, in an environment that won't tear my poor western stomach to bits. There is a huge selection, and it is great for sharing and getting a little taste of lots of different types of Indian food. Needless to say, I left lunch very satisfied.
After lunch we went to Phoenix, the biggest mall in Bombay. Stepping into that place, I felt like I was back in the west. Suddenly all of the stores were filled with European designer clothes, that were easily as expensive, if not more, than the things you would find in the US. And walking around, I found that the salwar kameez or sari that I have gotten used to seeing, had been replaced by short shorts and tank tops. I hardly saw any Indian clothes at all, just a few shops that were tucked away on the top floors, and the occasional older shopper. And for once, the white girl who was walking around didn't attract nearly as much attention. The posh Bombay kids weren't about to crane their necks at a display of western culture, when they pull on a pair of jeans and a printed tshirt just as often as do.
After some window shopping, we went to see a movie at the mall's theatre. At first glance, the theatre once again felt like a pool of western influence. But upon closer inspection I soon found that it was filled with some key cultural differences. For one thing, in addition to popcorn, one of the standard movie snacks is steamed corn with spices. It has the potential to be a healthy alternative to the greasy American classic, but considering the amount of butter they mix in, it really isn't all that much better for you. Then when we got into the the theatre, we had to find the seats that had been assigned to us on our tickets. And soon after sitting down, we had to stand back up again as they played the national anthem. I have gotten so used to hearing the kids sing it every morning, that I was almost expecting a chorus of "Goodmorning Teachers" as soon as the song ended, just as the students do. Then the movie started, and after an hour of standard movie watching, there was an intermission. All Indian movie theatres have intermissions, where people come around with snack menus. In Bollywood movies they have the intermission built in, so it works out just fine. But when they are showing western films, they have to stop it at a random point. The movie practically stopped midsentence, and then was backed up a bit when it started up again.
After the movie we went to dinner with Ben's cousins Deepak and Shirish, their wives Sarika and Pragaya, and two more cousins, Payal and Pooja. A good deal of the family lives in Bombay, so it has become a sort of hub for visits. As I have mentioned, visiting family is a very important part of Indian culture. You don't simply see people once a year for Christmas or Thanksgiving like in the US. So whenever we are flying through Bombay, it is important that we try and see everyone we can, at least once. And with such a large international family like Ben's, it is actually quite convenient. Whether they are visiting London, Toronto, or Chicago, there is always an available place to stay.
The next morning was the day if our hike. We left the house at six, so that we could be done hiking before the crippling heat of the afternoon fully set in. The six of us (Ben, Brian, Michael, two of Ben's friends from the colony, and myself) were joined by Deepak and a few of his friends. We all piled into three cars, and first headed over to a restaurant that was open early enough for some breakfast. The place was packed with people that were heading off to work. It basically reminded me of the Indian version of a 24 hour diner. And it was definitely far from your average tourist destination, so Michael and I were getting some particularly curious looks. We had idli sambar, which is a rice-based southern dish, and I had probably the best cup of coffee I have had all trip. It was served in a small metal cup, which you are meant to pour into a larger metal dish. All of the sugar is at the bottom, so you can pour it back and forth between the two dishes to mix the sugar in, depending on how sweet you want it. The wider metal dish also helps to cool the coffee to a better drinking tempature.
Once we had eaten, we headed off towards Karnala Bird Sanctuary, where we would be hiking. It is amazing how quickly things transition from a densely-packed urban environment to sprawling mountains and hills. On our way out of the city, there was a brief break in buildings and then we passed through New Mumbai. New Mumbai is basically the equivalent of the suburbs, though it looks nothing like the American version. It is considerably less dense than downtown Mumbai, but still it is made up of tall apartment buildings. We continued for about half an hour from there, and then finally reached our hiking site.
Suddenly finding myself in a calm natural retreat, it seemed impossible that we could be such a short drive from a bustling metropolitan area. It felt fantastic setting off on a trail for the first time in so long. Of course, there were huge differences between our rugged Indian trail, almost more of a staircase of roots and rocks, and your average well-maintained American trail. But no matter where you may be, there is always familiar comfort in being outside, treating your body to some pleasant exhaustion. And I actually loved the fact that the trail was so different from what I was used to. At no point was I going to get into a groove and let my mind believe I was back in the Rocky Mountains. The whole way I was aware of the fact that I wasn't just exploring a new mountain, but the outdoors of a new country.
We were hiking to the top of a mountain, where we found ourselves at an ancient fort called Karnala killa. The mountain is sometimes referred to as the thumbs up, because from the fort a giant point shoots up, making the entire mountain look like a hand. Of course, more than anything it made me want to rock climb to the actual top, because something about getting almost there just tore me up, but that would have required ropes and harnesses. Along the way we saw lots of wildlife, like giant spiders (I exaggerate not, they were probably about the size of my hand), monkeys, and the birds which were under protection. And once we got up high enough, we started seeing the magnificent mountain range that we found ourselves in. I think there is something really unique about Indian mountain ranges. The mountains were covered in trees and just rolled on as far as you could see. In the valleys between mountains and even over their tops, winter had brought a layer of thick mist. It was like gazing at a massive expanse of bubble wrap covered jungle, each mountain waiting for someone to reach over and pop it.
That was the main event of the trip, after which we mostly relaxed until our early morning flight to Hyderabad the next day. When I get home, I will write a post about our time in the south. So far though, I can very easily say that I have been having a great time with our bit of Indian travel. After all, that is why I am here- to experience and learn as much about this fantastic new country as I possibly can.
The original plan was to take the train from Aurangabad to Bombay, which takes about eight hours, but would give you a great look at Maharashtra. Unfortunately, our tickets didn't quite go through. We booked our tickets in advance, but we were put on the wait list. Basically that means if some VIP decides last minute that they want to take the train, we can get bumped. And that is precisely what happened, unfortunately. Particularly in India, connections can get you a long way. But luckily we found out about the tickets the night beforehand, and we weren't about to dwell on it. So we quickly booked plane tickets, which in the end earned us a few more hours of sleep than the 4 AM train would have.
We arrived in Bombay around 10, and since we were all a little exhausted we decided to hang out at the Bombay house for a while before heading out. So like the super cool people that we are, we flopped and watched multiple hours of How I Met Your Mother. But hey, every once in a while you have to indulge your American tv cravings. Once it got to be about lunch time, we headed out to my favourite restaurant in Bombay, and one of the things I was most excited about for this trip- Swati Snacks. Basically it serves typical street food, in an environment that won't tear my poor western stomach to bits. There is a huge selection, and it is great for sharing and getting a little taste of lots of different types of Indian food. Needless to say, I left lunch very satisfied.
After lunch we went to Phoenix, the biggest mall in Bombay. Stepping into that place, I felt like I was back in the west. Suddenly all of the stores were filled with European designer clothes, that were easily as expensive, if not more, than the things you would find in the US. And walking around, I found that the salwar kameez or sari that I have gotten used to seeing, had been replaced by short shorts and tank tops. I hardly saw any Indian clothes at all, just a few shops that were tucked away on the top floors, and the occasional older shopper. And for once, the white girl who was walking around didn't attract nearly as much attention. The posh Bombay kids weren't about to crane their necks at a display of western culture, when they pull on a pair of jeans and a printed tshirt just as often as do.
After some window shopping, we went to see a movie at the mall's theatre. At first glance, the theatre once again felt like a pool of western influence. But upon closer inspection I soon found that it was filled with some key cultural differences. For one thing, in addition to popcorn, one of the standard movie snacks is steamed corn with spices. It has the potential to be a healthy alternative to the greasy American classic, but considering the amount of butter they mix in, it really isn't all that much better for you. Then when we got into the the theatre, we had to find the seats that had been assigned to us on our tickets. And soon after sitting down, we had to stand back up again as they played the national anthem. I have gotten so used to hearing the kids sing it every morning, that I was almost expecting a chorus of "Goodmorning Teachers" as soon as the song ended, just as the students do. Then the movie started, and after an hour of standard movie watching, there was an intermission. All Indian movie theatres have intermissions, where people come around with snack menus. In Bollywood movies they have the intermission built in, so it works out just fine. But when they are showing western films, they have to stop it at a random point. The movie practically stopped midsentence, and then was backed up a bit when it started up again.
After the movie we went to dinner with Ben's cousins Deepak and Shirish, their wives Sarika and Pragaya, and two more cousins, Payal and Pooja. A good deal of the family lives in Bombay, so it has become a sort of hub for visits. As I have mentioned, visiting family is a very important part of Indian culture. You don't simply see people once a year for Christmas or Thanksgiving like in the US. So whenever we are flying through Bombay, it is important that we try and see everyone we can, at least once. And with such a large international family like Ben's, it is actually quite convenient. Whether they are visiting London, Toronto, or Chicago, there is always an available place to stay.
The next morning was the day if our hike. We left the house at six, so that we could be done hiking before the crippling heat of the afternoon fully set in. The six of us (Ben, Brian, Michael, two of Ben's friends from the colony, and myself) were joined by Deepak and a few of his friends. We all piled into three cars, and first headed over to a restaurant that was open early enough for some breakfast. The place was packed with people that were heading off to work. It basically reminded me of the Indian version of a 24 hour diner. And it was definitely far from your average tourist destination, so Michael and I were getting some particularly curious looks. We had idli sambar, which is a rice-based southern dish, and I had probably the best cup of coffee I have had all trip. It was served in a small metal cup, which you are meant to pour into a larger metal dish. All of the sugar is at the bottom, so you can pour it back and forth between the two dishes to mix the sugar in, depending on how sweet you want it. The wider metal dish also helps to cool the coffee to a better drinking tempature.
 |
| One of our first big views of the scenery from the trail. |
Once we had eaten, we headed off towards Karnala Bird Sanctuary, where we would be hiking. It is amazing how quickly things transition from a densely-packed urban environment to sprawling mountains and hills. On our way out of the city, there was a brief break in buildings and then we passed through New Mumbai. New Mumbai is basically the equivalent of the suburbs, though it looks nothing like the American version. It is considerably less dense than downtown Mumbai, but still it is made up of tall apartment buildings. We continued for about half an hour from there, and then finally reached our hiking site.
 |
| Our rugged Indian trail required some expert butt-scooching. |
Suddenly finding myself in a calm natural retreat, it seemed impossible that we could be such a short drive from a bustling metropolitan area. It felt fantastic setting off on a trail for the first time in so long. Of course, there were huge differences between our rugged Indian trail, almost more of a staircase of roots and rocks, and your average well-maintained American trail. But no matter where you may be, there is always familiar comfort in being outside, treating your body to some pleasant exhaustion. And I actually loved the fact that the trail was so different from what I was used to. At no point was I going to get into a groove and let my mind believe I was back in the Rocky Mountains. The whole way I was aware of the fact that I wasn't just exploring a new mountain, but the outdoors of a new country.
 |
| View from close to the top of the mountain. |
We were hiking to the top of a mountain, where we found ourselves at an ancient fort called Karnala killa. The mountain is sometimes referred to as the thumbs up, because from the fort a giant point shoots up, making the entire mountain look like a hand. Of course, more than anything it made me want to rock climb to the actual top, because something about getting almost there just tore me up, but that would have required ropes and harnesses. Along the way we saw lots of wildlife, like giant spiders (I exaggerate not, they were probably about the size of my hand), monkeys, and the birds which were under protection. And once we got up high enough, we started seeing the magnificent mountain range that we found ourselves in. I think there is something really unique about Indian mountain ranges. The mountains were covered in trees and just rolled on as far as you could see. In the valleys between mountains and even over their tops, winter had brought a layer of thick mist. It was like gazing at a massive expanse of bubble wrap covered jungle, each mountain waiting for someone to reach over and pop it.
 |
| The walls of Karnala fort. |
That was the main event of the trip, after which we mostly relaxed until our early morning flight to Hyderabad the next day. When I get home, I will write a post about our time in the south. So far though, I can very easily say that I have been having a great time with our bit of Indian travel. After all, that is why I am here- to experience and learn as much about this fantastic new country as I possibly can.
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