Jack Johnson, Have You Ever Even BEEN in a Monsoon?! - Bombay/Mumbai

So much rain!

Everyone warned us that when we landed in Mumbai (formally known as Bombay..there isn't an Indian I've spoken to who actually calls if Mumbai. Everyone here still calls it Bombay) we would see slums. Since being in India I haven't seen a single one, so I really didn't know what to expect. I don't think these photos really portray how large it was. I was in complete shock. I'd never seen anything like this before. And in true Mumbai style, as we descended it began to rain. It sort of added to the solemness I felt looking at the view from the airplane. 

  

When we got off the plane a driver from the hotel came to pick us up. Below are a couple videos Marisa took. They show off all the wonderful sounds that Mumbai had to offer.

On our way to meet the other interns! So excited!

Doreen, another Passport to India intern studying at Columbia University,  met us at our hotel. The goal was that she would take us on our first ever auto ride! In Delhi, Honeywell doesn't allow us to use external transportation, so we use a company car. Mumbai is a much safer city than Delhi though, so the three of us were soooooo excited to ride in an autorickshaw for the first time. I think the laws in Mumbai that govern what autos can and can't do must be stricter than in Delhi because we were refused by no less than 8 autos. Doreen would tell them where we needed to go (Doreen has pretty good working Hindi) and then they would reject us because we had four people and would only allow a maximum of three in the auto. If that maximum exists in Delhi, it is NEVER followed lol I have seriously counted 15 people in an auto before, so I was floored when we were getting rejected for trying to fit four people in an auto. We ended up having a cab take us to a place called Five Spice where we met up with Ben, the other Passport to India intern who met John Kerry with me, and two other Columbia students also on the Passport to India program. Afterwards, Doreen showed Marisa, Melanie, and I a little bit more of town. We went to a famous brownie place and ate a very very delicious brownie. We also went to a famous ice cream place called Naturals. It's only in Mumbai and they are very famous for making homemade all natural ice cream. I had a scoop of chocolate almond and a scoop of jaggery fruit. It was so yummy!

Don't even THINK about it! Or else...

Afterwards we just walked around and saw various parts of town. Mumbai just has a completely different feel than Delhi. We walked past a lake and palm trees and eventually made our way up to the skywalk. We got a really cool view of the city this way! And it was raining...so skywalks with roofs are always a good thing in that type of situation.

We found a lake! I can't believe there is water in this country. :p Delhi
is so incredibly dry!

Palm trees!

Sheep

Cool skywalk views

Posing on the skywalk

View from the skywalk! 

Arriving at the station!

The next day David, another Columbia Passport to India intern, and Doreen met the three of us at our hotel again. Today we road the train! It was the first time the girls and I had ever ridden the train. David and Doreen were pros at it since they rode it every day for work. Doreen was actually PUSHED OUT OF A TRAIN! Apparently this is a pretty common thing. To avoid this we made sure to sit in the first class cabin. The last story I want to have is one where I get pushed out of a train...When we stepped out of the hotel it was raining. David and Doreen said that the monsoon hadn't been that bad in a few weeks and that we were due for some rain. While walking to the train station I didn't find the rain bad at all. It felt quite refreshing actually. The train ride itself was enjoyable. It was cool to see all the scenery but extremely depressing at the same time. Again I was exposed to poverty like I'd never seen before.

Doreen finally snuck into a picture!

People just jump on and off this thing...CrAzY!

Marine Drive

When we reached our destination of Colaba, we took a stroll down Marine Drive! I was looking at the Indian Ocean! How crazy is that?! Okay, okay, so technically it was the Arabian Sea, but let's not get caught up in the deatils. It was basically the Indian Ocean. And wow, the view was so pretty! The breeze felt so awesome! It was the coolest I've been since being in India (minus any air conditioned places). There were a TON of couples out on dates sitting on the ledge of the concrete looking out over the sea holding hands and kissing. The romance was interrupted however by the monsoon. And man, did it ever monsoon! One second everything was fine, the next couples were running away to take shelter under the nearest anything. Lucky for me I didn't bring a poncho *facepalm or an umbrella *facepalm. The five of us ran towards the street to hail for a cab. I think we are getting pretty good at squishing people into tiny vehicles. I think after this trip we will automatically get our clown car certification. We were dropped off by the Gateway to India (not to be confused with the India Gate see: http://workhardplayhardsequoiainindiauop.blogspot.in/2013/07/india-us-higher-education-dialogue-my.html ). It is located right on the sea. Next to the Gateway to India there were ferry boats taking people to Elephanta Island.

So cool!

Enjoying Mumbai =)

First view of the Gateway to India

Let me just try to paint this picture for you. It is pouring down rain. We purchase ferry tickets and then walk

down a slippery stone ramp towards the ferry boat that was semi-docked. What do I mean by semi-docked? I mean at any given point in time the boat was between 1ft-5ft away from the ramp. One by one as the boat came close people would jump onto the ferry. Literally jump. Once we made it on safely we quickly claimed seats in the middle to avoid the rain one would experience from sitting on the edges. After sitting for about 10 minutes on the boat, we began to observe people jumping from our boat to another ferry boat. Apparently the engine on our had blown our or something, so people from our boat jumped to another boat which was semi-docked to our semi-docked boat. The five of us immediately followed suit in order to contend for the coveted middle seats.

We got seats on the first ship! ..shoot we have to move!

Semi-docked and on the second ship safely!

Row of Ferry Boats!

And we are off!

The ferry ride itself was an hour long. I wouldn't say I ever felt that my life was in danger, but I did plan an escape route and told people the various landmarks we should meet at should we go under (the red buoy, abandoned cement building fort, etc...you know technical things like this). The ride was sooo bumpy! Sometimes we would go WAY up high so the bow of the ship would be several feet out of the water. We weren't vertical, but I'd say we hit at LEAST a 45 degree angle to the water. After doing that we would start swaying side to side. If I had been sitting on the edge, I could have easily touched my hand to the water when the boat was rocking back and forth like this. Eventually the rains stopped and with it the crazy waves. Throughout the whole boat ride we guessed which island would end up being Elephanta Island (there were many different choices!).

An Old, Pretty Ship!

Almost there =)

The island was absolutely gorgeous from far away. I had no idea what to expect when we got here. All I had heard was that there were caves on the island. When we approached I just saw trees on trees on trees on trees! I had never seen so much green since being in India! I got so excited! It was very beautiful. We docked at a small village called Gharapuri. The dock and streets leading to the World Heritage Site entrance were filled with villagers selling everything. Fruit, vegetables, sun hats, religious fixtures, clothes, post cards, their own services (guides), etc. The one thing which caught my particular attention was the corn. Corn is commonly sold on the streets everywhere. We had been instructed to not eat the street food, but Marisa had already tried this corn and said it was to die for so I just couldn't resist! I had my first street food there on the island. It was so tasty! They cook the corn on top of black coals and then rub a spice mixture and lime all over it. Delicious AND cheap! Only 10 rupees! =) We took a touristy train thing from the dock to the World Heritage Site entrance. Dogs began chasing the train after us begging for food. A couple of ravens even ATTACKED David! They clawed at his head!

On the train!

So many shops

First street food! Score!

Dog, Goat, and Ravens

In order to reach the caves, we had to climb. It was extremely steep and made me remember just how out of shape I am! The rock stairs were lined with shops on shops on shops that were all covered by blue tarps. The light coming through the tarps made all of our clothes appear to be different colors. Before we entered shopland we ran into this sign...

We didn't know at the time, but this sign's warning is for real.

Shops!

We did it!

At the top of the mountain we ran into these characters immediately.

Immediately one came up to Melanie and tried to grab her lemon soda! Thieving monkeys...Melanie put the lemon soda in Doreen's bag to keep the monkey from getting it.

Don't kick the monkey Melanie!

So what exactly is Elephanta Island? The island was given its name by Portuguese explorers who found a monolithic basalt sculpture of an elephant near where they landed in the 17th century. When they tried to take it back with them, they dropped it in the sea when their chains broke. The British later found it and placed it in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The island is famous now for its caves. These caves have been dated back all the way to the 5th century. They were carved into the completely basalt mountain sides. The topic of who exactly carved these caves is still debated as no one knows for certain. The caves can be broken into two groups: five Hindu caves and two Buddhist caves. The caves were once painted, but now only trace evidence of this can be found. Take a look at these beautiful caves in this beautiful landscape!

Me in front of the first cave

I can't even imagine how much time and work all this was..especially back in the 5th century!

People still come to worship at these magnificent caves carved for their Gods so long ago. 

A large monkey followed us as we walked to the next group of caves. He was definitely the leader of the pack (we saw three other much smaller monkeys grooming him earlier). All of a sudden he ran up to Doreen and grabbed her right out of her hands! She and David jumped backwards as the monkey began searching through the bag and discarding unwanted items (poncho, water bottle, etc). Eventually he found exactly what he was searching for. Melanie's lemon soda! He grabbed it, and made a mad dash for the nearest tree all the while hooting and hollering. He had called the rest of his monkey pack! No less than 30 monkeys started charging straight for us! Marisa started yelling, "We've got to get out of here! Run! Everyone run! Get out of here!" Marisa and Melanie ran for the next batch of caves. I moved a safe distance away to observe what was happening. David and Doreen stayed right in the action and were able to capture pictures of what the three of us observed. The monkey got in the tree, unscrewed the cap to the soda and threw it. He then began chugging the soda. All of the other monkeys surrounded the tree and him hoping to get a sip. We didn't stay around long enough to see if any of them got their wish.

Unscrewing the Cap

Monkey Drinking the Lemon Soda!

 Marisa ended up taking a super senior picturey shot of me while I was looking up through a hole in one of the caves. I didn't know the crazy girl took a picture!

There were puppies living in this cave!

So green! =)

Of course when we were about to finish all the caves, the rain began to pour down like crazy. Remember folks...this girl still doesn't have an umbrella or poncho with her. The five of us took shelter from the rain in one of the caves. As we were about to descend the small bit we had climbed, we realized some stairs. David had mentioned some other Columbia Passport to India interns climbed all the way to the very very top of Elephanta Island's mountain. So up, up, up we went!

Of course it started raining. We still marched onward to reach the top though! I personally think all the amazing views were well worth the trek!

After gazing at the beautiful scenery, it was time to return to Mumbai. The plan was to hit up the Starbucks (Melanie is obsessed with Starbucks, and we hadn't yet found one in Delhi) and then shop in Colaba. The ferry ride back wasn't nearly as scary as the ride to the island. Getting off the ferry, however, was more eventful. We had to hop through FIVE semi-docked ferries in order to reach land. We took some time when we got off the ferry to enjoy the Gateway to India. The British built Mumbai with the intention of it being a way to open up India to the rest of the world. The city was very well planned, and very well thought out in construction compared to the other big cities in India (remember, Delhi has been constructed and destroyed seven different times...) There is definitely a huge British influence still present in the city. It can be seen in the architecture of buildings and through the mannerisms of the local people. On our way to Starbucks we stopped at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel to take a look inside this gorgeous hotel. This five star hotel owned by Tata first received guests in 1903. It is extremely famous; many celebrities and government officials often stay at this hotel when visiting India. It was so glamorous. We didn't take an official tour, but we walked around a bit. It felt like we were stepping into Victorian England times. Rooms in the hotel range between just over 10,000 rupees to 170,000 rupees per night (~$173-$3000 with a dollar to rupee rate being ~1:58) before taxes.

Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

Being fancy in the fancy hotel

We then made our way to Starbucks. It was located right behind the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel which was very convenient. It was nice to have a bathroom and a place to freshen up after almost five hours hiking in the rain. Afterwards we headed to the streets of Colaba in order to do some shopping. Prices were SO much cheaper here than in Delhi. We did a ton of shopping, and I bought the best pants in the entire world. We didn't stay out too late, since we were all so exhausted from the day.

First auto ride ever! =)

Sunday was spent mostly shopping. David and Doreen picked us up and guess what?! We took autos! These were the first auto rides the three of us had ever had, so we were soooooo very excited! We took autos basically all day which was so awesome.

View from the auto

David and Doreen took us to Candies, a local bakery, for brunch. I had so many delicious quiche! The bakery was very cool. It had multiple floors that all served the same thing, but the floors were not attached as one building. It was interesting because the entire establishment seemed to go up a mountain. You would walk in and be in the bakery. Then you would walk outside and up and see a ton of seating as you walked up the stairs. Detached to the side would be another outlet of the bakery where you could order. We never walked all the way up to the top to see exactly how high it went, but the experience was cool. They were playing a very strange alien movie from 1998 called Species II was playing. For those who haven't seen it, let's just say it isn't the kind of movie you would want to wake up and eat breakfast while watching, or really just ever watch. It was so bad. Afterwards we headed to the infamous Lincoln road for shopping! Of course, the rain began to pour, pour, pour! I liked the pants I bought so much the day before I made everyone go back to Colaba, so I could buy some as gifts! They are seriously the best pants in the world. For lunch we ate street food! I think my body is finally getting used to all this spicy food. I had pao bahji, and it was absolutely delicious! I had it for the first time when we visited Kingdom of Dreams with Tapish. It is a local dish from Mumbai, so when we decided to come here I couldn't leave without getting some from its home state!

Candies

Shops Shops Shops Shops

Sunny days never last long in Mumbai 

Bollywood Star Strut

David and I telling each other our life stories

Shopping

Fresh flower bracelets!

I've been feeling like a real local here lately. I'm taking autos, eating street food, riding the trains and metros, and wearing Indian clothes. Look at me go =)

We returned to the guest house super late at night. Here is a picture of Marisa sleeping, per usual. Just remember: The next time you go to Mumbai, BRING YOUR RAIN GEAR!

Next up...Jaipur and THE GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE EVER! So stay tuned =)

Love,

Sequoia

Creeping into next week:

The next week was super super sad. The other interns left =( Schools are done so differently here! Cherry and Shreyoshi missed nearly a month of school to stay at the internship for a full 8 weeks. It was so sad to say goodbye to Cherry, Swapnika, Anand, Surya, and Shreyoshi. I'm missing them so much already =( The office is very empty and not near as lively without them. It'll be fun spending more time with the newer set of interns though. They'll be here until August 2nd, so we have some time to get to know them better =) I know someday I'll see Cherry, Swapnika, Anand, Surya, and Shreyoshi again someday. On Thursday of their last week I was able to go to Jainput, another shopping market, with Anand and the girls. I'm glad I got to spend that last bit of time with them before they left! They also introduced me to bhel pouri (more delicious street food =) ) which was so tasty! I seriously can't thank the five of them enough for all their help since I've been here! I really value the fast, wonderful, lifelong friendships we have formed. Hopefully I'll see you cool kids soon! Love you all!