The final 2 destinations in India were so markedly different! My first late afternoon and evening in Mumbai were spent recovering from my mild bout of GI illness. I missed out on a walk to a nearby beach, Girgaon Chowpatty where the colourful street food market yielded a delicious dinner complete with many rave reviews of the ice cream. The thought of food still didn’t appeal to me and I didn’t trust my gut not to mutiny so the FOMO (fear of missing out) was real! It was worth it though as a good sleep and some rehydration meant that I woke the next morning ready for my day in Mumbai!

Our first destination was the largest open air laundry in Mumbai (called a Dhobi Ghat) that’s been operating since 1890. Laundry comes from all over the city and a combination of basic hand washing and modern mechanized washing is used. Workers here earn a good living.

We boarded the train again and made our way to the Colaba area of Mumbai for a historic walking tour. The British colonial architecture dominating the skyline was a bit disorienting – like stepping into a different country.

We wandered the streets for a few hours and stopped for photo ops at the Gateway of India (built from 1911-1924 in honour of a visit from King George V) and the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel (made world famous by the tragic terrorist bombings in 2008).

Also notable is the historic train station in Mumbai, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, a UNESCO world heritage site. Possessing beautiful, ornate architectural details and servicing over 1000 trains per day, this was an awe inspiring Mumbai attraction!

Our tour ended with a delicious lunch at a Parsee restaurant where I got to rehydrate with fresh watermelon juice with actual watermelon chunks (everyone who knows me is aware of my watermelon obsession)!

The 30C heat and humidity of Mumbai were stifling after the cooler weather on the rest of the trip so after lunch we headed to the famous Leopold Cafe (read ‘Shantaram’ for more) and I had my first alcoholic drink of the trip. Alcohol is heavily taxed in this state (Maharashtra) and my pint came to 465 rupees or roughly $7.60. It was still gratifyingly refreshing!!!

The group split in two (shoppers and non-shoppers 😆) and Sophia and I headed off to explore the opulence inside of the Taj Hotel. I can honestly say I’ve never felt so underdressed. So many colourful, bejewelled women and men! The Taj is open to everyone, but it really is best to show up in your finest!

The heat and the lack of calories over the previous couple of days was starting to get to me so we went back to the hotel for a bit of a rest before dinner. Saurabh hit yet another home run with his suggestion for us and he, I and Sophia hopped in a cab and headed back down to Colaba to Bademiya for more mouthwatering Mughlai food. After dinner we walked back to the Taj to grab some night shots.

Finally we ended the night with a harrowing taxi ride back to Chowpatty beach for dessert and a walk. Hilariously, Saurabh attempted to tell the driver to slow down ‘nicely’ by commenting that we’d ‘just had a very big dinner‘. It didn’t work, so he told us to just keep looking out the side windows and not to look ahead 😆. We were thankful to be close enough to walk back to our hotel from the beach!

Our next morning started early with a trip to the airport for our 10am flight to Goa. Our flight departed an hour late because of some technical issues but was otherwise uneventful and our driver and van were waiting immediately upon our arrival to take us directly to our first stop – lunch and a tour at a spice plantation.

For some reason, I still wasn’t feeling completely healthy and was finding the heat draining. It also killed my appetite so I didn’t optimally appreciate my lunch – which was actually exceptionally good for a buffet. And I’d been on a spice tour in Sri Lanka before so recognized many of the plants we were shown. So overall not the most exciting attraction on my visit to India, but pleasant. And also not the most notable photos….

Our next stop was the Basilica of Bom Jesus where (most of) St. Francis Xavier’s remains are interred. Really, parts of him are spread all over the world and I find it hard to comprehend this practice of dismembering and displaying the body parts of religious figures randomly in different locations. The church itself is an impressive piece of red sandstone architecture built in the late 1500’s.

Close by is the Sé Cathedral of Santa Catarina, of Portuguese origin, it’s one of the largest Catholic Churches in Asia and another UNESCO world heritage site.

Saurabh in front of our brightly coloured van – christened the ‘Scooby Doo Van’ (better known as the Mystery Van) for obvious reasons.

After a busy day including a flight, driving winding roads and seeing the sights, I still wasn’t feeling 100%. Ugh – I sound so whiny!!! Believe me, it physically hurt me to miss out on another evening meal but my throbbing tension headache wasn’t going to make for a fun evening out so I stayed in again and skipped dinner. The rest of the group was sweet to let me know that I hadn’t missed out – the beach culture in Goa calls for deafening pounding techno music and overpriced restaurants. So everyone else was back within an hour and a half.

Goa day 2 started with a trip to the fish market and another cooking class. At this one the highlight was the stuffed Kingfish with the addition of a standout ingredient – Goan vinegar (made from sap extracted from Goan coconut trees) – delicious! And I finally learned how to clean prawns and open a coconut properly!!!

The beach in Goa was crowded – but predominantly with local men. Women dress very conservatively in India, even on the beach. So I always just felt more comfortable the more covered up I was. A tunic and leggings was fine since I wasn’t going in the water anyhow.

Truth – I’m not super charmed by Goa. It reminds me of Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand. Too much focus on partying and commercialism destroys any illusion of ‘nature’. Lots and lots and lots of kitschy stores, the ever present garbage problem (a walk on the sand near the water means dodging plastic bags and bottles, lost shoes and tobacco spit). And the nightlife is dominated by that pounding techno music I mentioned earlier – like head splitting, eardrum exploding loud music! And it’s coming from every beach restaurant so if you choose one to sit down at that isn’t playing music you just get this cacophony coming at you from all sides.

However, Saurabh brilliantly found us a wonderful restaurant for our final meal together as a group on a beach further south from where we were staying. It was a great evening sitting at our table overlooking the water and enjoying the sound of the ocean, the evening breeze and fantastic conversation!

And that’s a wrap for India! See you in Egypt!