Mumbai

Youd think my body would need more then 4 hours of sleep after not sleeping for 2 ,but thats not the case. Jet lag is kicking my ass and consequently I woke up at 6am and couldnt fall back asleep. So I decided to get up and do some blogging

We stayed at Shia's Grammy's house in South Bombay which overlooked the Indian Ocean. So beautiful! As I drank my chai (tea) and had some fresh fruit the servants brought me, I typed away until Jamie got up at about 8:30. Apparently I gave her a panic attack because I wasnt in the room when she awoke and as a result thought I may have disappeared due to the pessimistic nature of being a female traveler in India. However, she joined me in the living room where we had a great conversation with "Shia Senior Senior" (Shia's Grandma) in our super cool traditional India nightgowns. Must see the pics! I then convinced Jamie to go on a fantastic run with me because there was a nice walkway in front of the apartment that went along the water. We got our gear on and began jogging. Surprisingly there were plenty of people jogging and doing yoga, as well as mischeivous teenagers that seemingly ditch school to hang out with each other Anyways, we both had a difficult time keeping any sort of pace because it was 85 degrees outside and 85% humitity... Not exactly the ideal fitness weather but regarless we ran about 1.5 miles.

Afterwards, we showered and got ready for the days activities. We had a private driver coutesy of Shia's family that took us to a few historical sites in Mumbai. FIrst stop was the Gateway of India. This is a monument from when the British first ruled India. It is right next to the Taj Mahal hotel, the most luxurious hotel in the city. We snapped a few pics and proceeded to walk to the Colaba causeway, a street of bargain stores and street vendors. Jamie bought some killer pajminas and I regrettably didnt get any of my own. Everything was super cheap and we polished our haggling skills. However, we had to resist the distractions from the shop keepers trying to get our attention... Hello miss! Yes yes, 300 rupees for you, special deal, yes yes, good morning...We stopped at a restuarant/bar called Leopold's that was recommended to us. We were going to get a pint but they shook their head and said, "No no." I think it was a little early, but who says you cant have a beer at 11am? I know, right?! So we spilt a local bottle of brew, cause I suppose that was ok.

Next was the Prince of Whales museum. WE got our tickets where Jamie paid 15 rupees and I paid 300 cause I forgot to brign my student ID with me. Son of a bitch! Note to Heather: please brign me mine!)So we walked around the old colonial building that the museum is currently in. They had arififacts from as early as 2500 BC to modern art peices. I especially like the air-conditioned exhibits.

Our tummy's were beginning to rumble so we decided to get some chow and headed back to Shia's apartment. I have no idea what the dish was called but we devoured some spicy dish that looked like a curry with some buttered bread. SO DELICIOUS! We were already feeling a little weary from the lack of sleep and the days adventures so we watched a couple movies while Shia took what I would call an epic nap of 6 hours. Lol. When she woke up, we had an authenic homemade Indian dinner with her fmaily. They were absolutely adorable and I cannot even begin to describe the level of tastiness of the meal. OFF THE CHARTS! They gave us some tips about traveling in Delhi and Varanasi as we left this mroning. We didnt get back to Shia Senior Senior's apartment until midnight last night, which gave us 6 hours of sleep yet again before having to take a plane to Delhi.

When we get to Delhi, we will check into our hostel and hopefully meet some other backpackers to share some adventures with. We have been warned that women arent allowed to walk around at night (not that we would dad) so we want to be safe and maximize the daylight. So raise your glass and cheers to the next 2 days in Delhi!