New Mumbai

As we arrived, we didn't have a plan at all because we had all had a notoriously busy week before the trip. So our first goal was pretty simple: to get a good rest and to get a general feeling about the place.

No adrenaline rushes - buying the train tickets made the day successful, and each meal we had gave it an extra spice. A visit to one of the city's many incredibly rich bazaars is adventurous enough, especially during a several hour heavy downpour. Included in the adventure were somewhat less expected, and uncalled for, "services", as for example a death wish we received from a baksheesh hunter trying viciously to sell us cigarettes, and head-on collision with a motorcycle. Both ended with minor harmless bruises, one mental, the other physical.

It was obviously another huge change when we called up a contact, Mr. Hegde, a businessman living and working in the suburbs. He sent a chauffer to fetch us downtown, and after driving through a jumble of dilapidated Victorian style houses, huge shanty-towns and occasional curiously narrow skyskrapers for an hour and a half, we reached what is called New Mumbai, an oriental-style high-rise area, housing another 2 million people. Slovenia is but a suburb.

The day was more on the easy side, including a good meal, an informative meeting with Mr. Hegde (it wasn't really that formal, but none of us remembers the guys name), a relatively comfortable ride through Mumbai and a drop-off at the train station. No threats, no accidents, and we were quite happy with that.

In a couple of hours or so, we will be experiencing another contrast - we're heading towards a supposedly very calm place called Sanchi, near Bhopal, 800 km outside Mumbai. We've already done the better part of the trip - a 14-hour ride in a second class sleeper, a somewhat crowded but surprisingly effective and insanely cheap service by Indian Railways. And, may I say, with cleaner toilets than Slovenian second class.

I am still unable to upload any images, so the adventures of the misterious Team India will be showcased at a later point. Bye!